The Latina Book Club is pleased to welcome author Susan X.
Bradley -- a Latina Nancy Drew -- who has written a fun mystery series staring a Latina teen heroine. Happy Reading!
WRITING TIP: Read, read, then read some more. Writers must be readers. Know your genre and the formula the reader expects. -- S.X. Bradley
Q: What does the X
stand for? And how does a Mexican-American from South Texas end up in
Ohio?
A: The X is because I don’t have a middle name. For all my
computer log-ins at work, they used to use your middle initial for your log-in
name. Since I didn’t have one, they used an X, and I liked it. As for living in
Ohio, I moved to be closer to my sister. She had two new babies, so I wanted to
be closer to my nieces and sister.
Q: Your love of mysteries started at an early
age. Can you remember what got you interested in mysteries? Do you remember
when you created your first one?
A: I owe my love for
mysteries to Nancy Drew. I loved her
books and thought she was the coolest girl on the planet. I used to pretend to
be Nancy Drew when I’d visit my grandparents in Mexico. My cousins would come
at the same time, and I’d create mysteries for us to solve. My grandparents have the most fascinating
property with an old wine cellar, train station, and factory on-site. It was
the perfect setting.
Q: Tell us about
Autumn, the protagonist of your mystery series. Why did Autumn have to be
a Latina teen? How does she celebrate her Latinidad?
A: Autumn is a 16 year
old girl that has a gift for math. She comes from a family of bakers, so they
have trouble relating to her. She feels very isolated, except for her
relationship with her sister. When that is taken away, she decides to try and
reach out to other people. I grew up in
South Texas (where the story takes place) and just knew that she had to be a Latina.
I grew up in that cultural and wanted to stay true to it. I also wanted to
feature a Latina character that had an affinity for one of the STEM disciplines
to show that side of their world as well. Autumn celebrates her Latinidad much
in the same way I did-large family gatherings. Tios and Tias are like your
second parents, and cousins are like your siblings.
Q: What is next for
Autumn? The poor girl had to solve her sister’s murder in book 1, and is
now working with the police on a series of kidnappings in book 2. How
does that happen to a 16-year old?
A: Yes, I have used
and abused poor Autumn. Teen domestic violence and online gaming are realistic
issues for teen, so I wanted to use those situations for Autumn. At the end of
book 2, I created a situation for Autumn that she will need to resolve once and
for all. That will be the basis for Book 3.
Q: What are your
favorite TV mystery shows? Movies?
A: I’m a huge Castle
fan, but I mainly watch HGTV and Netflix. I just finished watching Hemlock
Grove and House of Cards-Season 3. I like suspense and action movies. One of my
favorite movies of all times is Silence of the Lambs.
Q: Who are your
favorite mystery writers – Latino and non-Latino?
A: I’ll read anything
that Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter and Chelsea Cain write.
Nothing makes me happier than discovering a new author or series to read.
Q: Who are your
favorite YA writers – Latino and non-Latino?
A: I love Gayle
Forman’s books. Others I enjoy are Laurie Halse Anderson, Suzanne Collins,
Elizabeth Scott. .As far as my Latina writers, E. Charlton-Trujillo, Simone
Elkeles, and Meg Medina are also some faves.
Q: What’s your advice
to budding mystery writers?
A: Read, read, then
read some more. Writers must be readers. Know your genre and the formula the
reader expects.
Q: What are you
working on next?
A: I’m working a new
young adult mystery series, and I also revising a romantic suspense novel.
Q: Tell us about
yourself and how can fans reach you.
A: If you go to my
website, www.sxbradley.com, I have a contact form on there. I’m also on twitter as @susanxbradley.com and facebook: www.facebook.com/sxbradley. My blog is at http://susanxbradley.blogspot.com/. I love hearing from readers, so I hope you’ll reach out.#
Thank you, Susan!
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