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This podcast is for anyone who loves a good story. Board now for interviews and writing samples from talented authors!
If you would like to be featured, email your work to storystation@riverbendmediagroup.com
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Every story is a ticket to somewhere extraordinary. No need to pack a bag, just settle in and let the words transport you. Now boarding: an insight to an author's mind. This is The Story Station.
Emma: If you love good food and good stories, Patricia Marcantonio cooks up both. Patricia is the author of several award-winning books, the latest being Trini's Magic Kitchen, a coming of age story containing recipes from Patricia's own family. Patricia, thank you so much for joining me today.
Patricia: Well, I'm honored that you asked me today.
Emma: My first question for you is why do you write?
Patricia: Oh, my gosh. That's always a tough one. You know, I love to tell stories. And when I was a kid, you know, my family were great storytellers. They tell jokes and, oh, and, you know, stories about their past and I would listen and just be enraptured. And so I wanted to tell my own.
Plus I was very shy when I was a kid. So this was kind of a way to put out, I guess, my alter ego in my stories. And it would... It just, you know, it gives me great pleasure, to tell these stories and share stories, like, not so much around a campfire like you would think, but just, you know, in print and other and on stage. So I just love it.
Emma: I remember seeing on your website that you write plays too.
Patricia: I do. I actually kinda just got into that a few years ago. And yeah. And those are... Those are a blast to write. They're very hard. They're very hard to write, but I had one published. It was based on my children's book that I did a long time ago, and it was a children's play, and it got published. And it's been... I think it's been performed around the country. So, yeah, they're really fun plays. So it's another story. There's another story out there.
Emma: I like that. It's not so different from just writing a children's book or a novel.
Patricia: Right. Well, that's what I think of myself more as a storyteller. Some of my agents probably get a little annoyed that they don't have a brand, you know, like a Baldacci or something. You know, I'm specifically staying, like, in a mystery or whatever—horror. So I... yeah. So I consider myself that. And I don't... I don't think that... That's my brand, I guess, storyteller. I'd like to have it anyway.
Emma: That's one thing that impressed me looking at your website was just how many different types of stories you have. Do you have a favorite genre to write in?
Patricia: Yeah, no. Like, you know, I love them all. They're all have different... It's kind of like what I like to read and watch. I used to be a reporter, a news reporter, and I covered crime. So I like courtroom crime stuff, stories. And they actually they a few cases actually inspired some of my books.
And I like horror movies and being scared, but mostly how people react to that, the horror.
And kids coming-of-age books, because I was so shy at school, you know, I think I wanted to share some of that, the difficulties of growing up, but tell kids, "hey, you live through it, and it makes you stronger."
And I just... I think I did a woman's fiction, I think, I had published. And mysteries are fun because they're like puzzles. They, like, challenge my head, you know? And bad guys always get their just desserts in the end, which is not always so in real life, unfortunately. So I, you know, there's different things I love about each one.
I love science fiction, but I have not done a lot of science fiction. I did one actually, so a screenplay, and I'm hoping to turn that into a novel. So, yeah, it's kind of like what I love. Stories that I love gets me interested in wanting to do my own kind of version of them.
Emma: So of all those genres, is there one that is more difficult for you than others?
Patricia: Oh, man. They're all, you know, they're... Writing is tough. I mean, you know, you sit... You're sitting in a chair and basically, you know, there's a lot of research, no matter what. And I do—I've done historical, oh my gosh, how many, four historical novels, and I just finished another one set in the 1800s. And so I actually enjoy the research, but it's a lot of writing and rewriting. And so it's just tough because you're spending months of your life on these projects.
And I almost forgot the question now, but about writing, I love it. So it's always... Any genre is really tough because you're... Depending on the... Horror, if you're gonna write, you know, what's... I do a lot of psychological profiling of the people, of my characters.
And like I said, with historical, you have to do research back then. And if you're right, Victorian, oh my gosh, you better get it right because Victorian readers are like, man. And I did a lot of—I believe I did a lot of research, but I got, like, no. I get this letter from this gal saying, "No, that's not how you bow to an earl!" I said, "oh, okay."
But so, yeah. You know, to me, like I said, the toughest, not genre, but the type of writing is playwriting because you only have dialogue and movement, and that's all you have to work with. And that's really tough and challenging, but I kinda like that too.
So each of them have their toughness, but they all have their rewards, too, when I can get it right, or sometimes, I hope.
Emma: That's always the hope, right?
Patricia: That's always the hope you get it right. I think my rule is if I don't like it first and I'm not entertained by it, then nobody else will be.
Emma: Yeah.
Patricia: So that's my... kinda my rule, if that makes sense.
Emma: Oh, totally. So with all those different genres and different projects, do you usually choose one project and focus on that one, or do you kind of bounce back and forth?
Patricia: That's a really good question. And, you know, I have a lot of writing friends, and they differ because no writer... You know, it's whatever works for you. I don't know if you're a writer too. You probably are. Yeah? There you go. But, yeah, some will just kind of focus, have to focus on one thing and that. But, you know, sometimes I'll have two different projects going, two or three. I'm just finishing up this mystery set in the 1800s, but I'm also outlining another horror book. And then I have a YA I wanna do.
So I kinda like float to different things sometimes, except if I'm on like a deadline, then I have to focus on if I have to finish or if I have... The publisher says, "okay. You have to do these edits, and then we need them now." So I then I have to just focus. But usually, I'm kinda have, like, two or three things going.
Emma: That sounds like a challenge. Like, one morning, you could be writing a horror scene, and then in the afternoon, you're writing a scene about a child going to school.
Patricia: Yeah, I know! Well, and sometimes, I used to think of my going to elementary school sometimes as a horror story, because I was so shy, I was like, "oh, no."
So I'm that type, but I know people... It doesn't always work that way. Some people just have to, like, focus on one thing and we could get that done. Now there is sometimes that when I have, like, a lot of ideas—and I have notebooks full. You can't see my messy desk, but I have notebooks full of projects. And then so I said, well, where do I work? Which one do I work on? What's kind of the one you get most enthusiastic about and excited about? And so you that's maybe one that you'll focus on among your ideas.
Emma: That's what I usually do. I have one book. I start writing it until I get bored, and then I start working on another one until I get bored of that one. But the problem is sometimes I just don't finish anything.
Patricia: Well, yeah, I had that where, you know, I've had books that I started and then it just you know, they weren't going anywhere. They... I kind of said, well, I... My rule again, well, I'm kinda bored with this. And if I'm bored, people who read or try to read are gonna be bored. So, yeah, it's, I think, what you both have the most passion for and what you wanna say and just telling the story.
Emma: Where do you find your inspiration?
Patricia: Oh, my gosh. I... You know, I kinda feel that I can see a story in anything. And on some of my novels, like this courtroom novel that I had that I finished a while ago, that it was, like, based on a court case that I had about a woman who was abused. And so, she killed her husband in self-defense. So I was intrigued by that, but the story also was about growing up Latino in the 1950s, which was really... I had to do some research about that and what was going on back there. Plus, it was a love story. And so it started out basically with that court case, but then it kinda grew out of there because I also ask a lot of "what ifs," you know, what if, you know, you're a Latino, a young Latino woman with a college degree in the 1950s, what do you do? And the answer was not a lot. And what if you... What if she fell in love with this Anglo attorney and how do they make that work in an intolerant town? So it kinda grew out of there.
You know, a lot of inspiration comes from my family background, and I'd written a book a couple years ago about my being shy. And I only have really one friend in elementary and junior high and high school. I was pretty pathetic, sorry.
Emma: Me too.
Patricia: But she was a great friend. She's still my friend to this day. This is based on a true story. And I was so shy in junior high and I thought, "well, I'm gonna become a cheerleader to win popularity." And so I kind of wrote a story about how you can't really buy popularity and then in the end I thought, "you know, I don't wanna hang around with those girls. I just wanna be myself." So it kinda grew out of that inspiration. Plus, my best friend who lived nearby, her mom was kind of alcoholic. And so she would come over to my house and then she'd be my only friend. So we used to say we saved each other's lives. And so that book was about friendship and how you save people's lives with just being there for them.
So a lot of the stuff comes out of who I know or things I've heard or stories I've heard.
Emma: That's a lot of things to incorporate.
Patricia: Yeah.
Emma: Which is impressive.
Patricia: Thank you, thank you.
Emma: What advice would you give to people on incorporating culture and history and all these things into their writing?
Patricia: Oh, that's a great... Yeah, your questions are really good.
You know, being a Latino, like, maybe half of my novels, or maybe 75% probably, have Latino characters and Latino culture in them. And to me, I do it because I'm very proud of being a Mexican American and that culture that I grew up with. And I think it's kind of wanting to share my stories so people could learn about what a beautiful culture it is and also say, "oh my gosh, they're just people. Yeah, we share that same..." So it's... I think it's my way of promoting understanding out there to people and also educating because when I read books, I wanna learn about somebody else's culture.
I remember reading Memoirs of a Geisha, which I never knew about that, or when I went through a world war history phase. So I read a lot about that too. I want to understand where people came from. Actually, one of my favorite books of all time of course is To Kill a Mockingbird. The theme of that to me has stuck with me my whole life, and I read it when I was a kid. And that was basically, you never know somebody until you step into their shoes, like Atticus told Scout about Boo Radley. And I love that philosophy. And I think I kind of try to live my life by that. And then also in my stories is kind of, "hey, this is what this person is living." And if you step into their shoes or read about them, you kinda have a greater understanding of people.
I think that's how you do any kind of culture, woman or black or indigenous or whatever. There's stories about people, about where they're coming from, so you're stepping into their shoes for a while, I think, and I hope that enriches you.
Emma: That is beautiful.
Patricia: Thank you.
Emma: So, specifically, because we're talking about Trini's Magic Kitchen... Is that your latest book that you've come out with?
Patricia: Yes, this is my latest. It should—yeah. That's coming. It's, published by Arte Publico Press, which is, like, the largest publisher of Latino literature, and plus it's affiliated with the University of Houston. And they did my other book that I was telling you about, the court case set in the fifties, A Verdict in the Desert.
The eBook is out, and I haven't quite heard when this one's coming out, but sometime soon. And it's a YA about a young woman, and she... Her mom doesn't cook, and you'll find out why in the book. So she doesn't cook, but they eat out a lot. You know, she says their drawers are stuffed with those pamphlets of menus where they can order in. Anyway, her mom loses her job, so she has to go live with her grandparents. And in the Latino culture and a lot of cultures, Italian and or whoever—my husband's Italian, Marcantonio. So—and in their culture too, food is a great rallying point and gathering point for people. And so she—her grandparents teach her how to, basically, how to cook these Mexican dishes, but she also learns about the joys of cooking for people you love. And meanwhile, among all that, she has to go to a new school. And so there's a lot going on with Trini with her kitchen.
And I did include recipes that I learned as a kid and watched my parents cook. I have a tamale recipe in there. And the first time I'd moved away and I asked, I said, I can't make tamales like my mom and dad. And I used to watch them, but... So I remember calling them, like, every ten minutes because it was like I couldn't remember that recipe even though I'd written it down. So I think that was a joy for me is sharing some of the recipes that I learned as a kid.
Like, there's a bread pudding in there that my grandfather used to make, capirotada, which is really yummy. So that's where Trini is. It's a fun book. And like I said, it should be out very soon, I hope, but the eBook is already out.
Emma: I think I can relate to Trini, because I remember when I moved out of the house, I called my dad to ask him how to make oatmeal. And he's like, "seriously?" And I was like, "well, it's hard!" When you make rice, you add the water and then the rice. You make noodles, you add the water... I don't know. I was like, do you add the water first? Do you add the oats first? I don't know.
Patricia: I like that.
Emma: And so my sister cooked for me for most of my college experience, but I have learned to cook now, and I do enjoy it, so...
Patricia: Yeah. Well, some people aren't cooks and, you know, they don't... They're not really excited by it while others just love it, but...
Emma: And you're right. It does bring people together and it can definitely be a very familial thing.
Patricia: Oh, yeah, always. I mean, you know, always I remember growing up, my dad making tamales and then, like, around Christmas time, and so all of our cousins would come, and food was, like, a main part of all that enjoying.
But it was really the guff and the main thing was getting together, though, we got together over food a lot. Yeah. I think menudo on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, he'd make that a lot as a tradition. So, yeah, I think, to me, when I'm growing up, I just, like, was part of my essence there. So I was glad I was I could be able to tell that story of a love of cooking and family and how they got along in this book.
Emma: It makes me kinda hungry just talking about it. Do you have any tips for writing characters that feel genuine?
Patricia: That's always a tough one because having really good characters is tough. And for me, it's what I wanna achieve is characters that people will care about. They wanna make sure they're happy in the end or in the case of villains that they go to prison or whatever or they get their... There's justice for their bad deeds.
So what I usually do, and I think a lot of writers do this, probably, we all do it, is we have to grow our characters from seeds. You know, it's kind of like basically character profiles where you know what they love—and not everything's gonna go in your book. But you'll know these characters so well. You grow them from, like, little seedlings or whatever, and they're forming in your mind and you know what they want, what their motivations are, what they fear.
So that way, if you put something conflict, and that's what novels are, conflict, you put that conflict in front of them, this is how they're gonna act. This is what they're gonna learn. This is what they haven't learned. This is their weaknesses. This is their strengths. And to me, I'm hoping when I do a good job of that, then people will relate and care what happens to that character. And whether they do change, to me is a big thing. It's changing it, that they're not the same person at the beginning as they were at the end. They've either gotta be changed for the better or the worst. Although I kinda do happy endings, I make mine for the better.
But, yeah, I...you know, and I kind of love... I have to fall in love with my characters too, I think. My protagonist, the antagonist, you still gotta like them. You gotta make them real and scary. I remember one of the first novels I wrote, it was about a serial killer. So I did research on serial killers and... Which is really, really disturbing, but... and I did a Jack the Ripper and the whole thing. So to me, if you have... they have their own motivations, and you wanna actually make them not pure evil, or anyway. I—I think the more interesting villains are the ones that you're saying, "okay. I see why he went bad" or "she went bad." Even with Hannibal Lecter, I mean, this guy had a backstory.
So in the end, I think, at least for my protagonist, you want them at the end to... to smack of humanity. And sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't, but it's something I always just strive for, I think, as a writer.
Emma: Do your characters ever surprise you?
Patricia: Well, not really because if they do, then I don't think you did your job. Although they—it sounds weird, but people... If you talk to other writers, they'll say the same thing. They do kinda talk to you because you you've made this character and then you're saying, "oh, no, I want this guy to go do this." And it's almost like your character saying, "well, no, I wouldn't do that." You know, "I'm not—it's not in my character to do that." So if you've done your job, then they shouldn't surprise you. You know where they're going.
And I think the only surprise will be how that... When you make that work, if you put a twist in and you're throwing all these twisted things that are gonna happen. So it's gonna be a surprise to your character, but how they act... because if they stay in character, then they'll react a certain way because that's how you grew them up.
Emma: Oh, right. Because then you know them.
Patricia: Then you know them, yeah. You know them. And like I said, in that respect, you may throw surprises at them, but how they react is not gonna be a surprise.
Emma: Is there anything else you'd like to share about either your books or just writing?
Patricia: No. I... you know, I could talk writing all day.
Emma: Yes.
Patricia: It's better than writing, actually. I mean, it's... I have fun, and when it stops being fun, I'll do something else. Like I said, I just love to tell stories, and I find stories in most everything—in pictures that I'll see or just historical events. I ask that "what if" or "what's the story behind that?" And that kind of just excites me or goes in one of my notebooks for later. But, yeah, I, you know, I just love it.
It's something that I think for fledgling writers, I'd speak to them, you know, in classes sometimes and they say, oh, you know, "I wanna be a writer." And it's like, they wanna... they're gonna be rich. I said, "no, probably not." But you have to love what you do. And I think only a few writers will come really make a living at it and get rich. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, but I do okay, I should say.
But the biggest thing that is such a joy is that people or publishers still ask for my... wanna get my stuff out there, and that's like the like an icing on the cake. The joy for me is finishing that project and telling my story. And yeah, it's cool when people say, "yeah, I wanna read that." Because I'll get it out there one way or another, so.
Emma: Do your family members read your books?
Patricia: Oh, yeah. They're—you know, I always used to joke that I think the only sales I get are from some of my huge family, but, no, they're very supportive, my husband and my daughters, in what I do because like I said, you know, sometimes for hours, I'll be stuck in here, especially if I'm on a deadline. And they're just—they're wonderful.
And I remember the first time I got a big check, I think, from a royalty or something, and I bought a garage door opener, and I said, "Jerry, see, that's from my book." I told my husband, "that's from so-and-so" or whatever's from this book or... so I bought my daughter some clothing at a... we were in Vegas one day and I said, "this is thanks to Felicity Carrol," which is one of the characters in my book. So, yeah, that's kind of fun. I mean, I like that. You know, it's rewarding. It's rewarding. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it. I would do something else.
Emma: With writing mysteries, do you have any tips for... Because I feel like there's a fine line to walk when you're doing mysteries because you wanna give the reader some clues to kinda string them along, but you don't wanna make it super obvious. But you want them to go back and reread it and think, "oh, wow. That—I should've seen that."
Patricia: Dropping clues.
Emma: Yeah.
Patricia: Mysteries are actually—when you mentioned about what's the toughest genre, I think it probably is mysteries now that I think about it.
Because you have to plot them out so methodically, because you have to drop the clues, the red herrings. And, of course, with it being a murder mystery, one of the best pieces of advice I heard was from, I think, Jennifer Dornbush. She said start with the murder and go back. And usually, people will do it the other way. They'll kind of like plot it out. But in a way that makes sense because you're saying, okay. This is how the killer got away with it or did he or she, and then you kinda go from there as far as setting it up.
But, yeah, mysteries are tough because they have to be plotted so, you know, you have to know where you put your red herrings. When I did the Felicity Carrol, I had a big, like, board with sticky notes and I put this is where killing, action, quiet times, because you can't have murder, murder, murder. I don't know. That'd be pretty bad.
So you have to like... You have to plot it out. And, of course, that doesn't mean that, you know, that's not gonna change while you write it because sometimes I'll add, like, a clue that I didn't have earlier or something. I said, oh, then I gotta go back and change some of the other story to make sure it fits for this clue or I find a new clue at the end that I should leave. So yeah, it's... They are tough that way.
And I wrote one book and I remember my daughter and she's an engineer and she goes, "oh, mom, I kind of figured that out." I said, "oh, man!" But my next book, she said, "I didn't... you've totally fooled me. I did not know who the murderer was." So that one is tough come to think of it.
So I take that back. Murder is the toughest genre.
Emma: Maybe you can help me because I was writing a book and I got about 50 pages in and I was like... but then, this was just on a Google document, so just... I'm writing and I'm like, I think this is my climax, but it seems so short for the type of story I want it to be. So what advice would you give for planning out your books and plotting them out like you said?
Patricia: Yeah. That's what you have to do. And people are... There some people that are called pantsers, I think, where they kind of know the general idea and then they just sit down and write.
I'm not one of those. But there's no right or wrong to writing, which is what makes it a cool thing. I mean, you do your thing. And if you come out with the product, then it doesn't matter the way how you got there. There's a lot of people that just kinda will sit down with and know their idea, but not me. I have to be a little bit more... This and this and this is gonna happen. And especially not on a mystery. Then you're really in trouble, I think, anyway, for me. For me.
Yeha, you really decide what goes where with your murders, and who's to blame, and you have to plant clues and have red herrings and false suspects and the whole thing. So... but it's fun. It's like a big challenge, too, because you're solving the mystery of how to write this mystery. And so it's kind of a double whammy in there, I think.
Emma: Would you be alright with reading the chapter from Trini's Magic Kitchen?
Patricia: To set this up, so Trini is... this is her first day at a new school, and a middle school. So, yeah, this is tough.
Grandpa Frank sat in his truck looking at me through the open window. I stood on the sidewalk frozen as an icicle in Antarctica—the part that wasn’t melting. I could only stare at my new middle school.
“Well, what you waiting for, Trini?” He made a shooing motion with his hands. “Go on in, Mija.”
I took my first step toward the building. My body turned cold and I shivered. Soldiers must have felt the same way going into battle in a strange country, one far more hazardous than any featured in a National Geographic special. Grandma and Grandpa and I had toured the place on Friday when they registered me. I got a class schedule and locker and other info I needed, but we wore visitor passes then.
Now it was the real thing. I was scared. I turned and was about to run back to Grandpa’s truck.
“Buena suerte, Trini.” He saluted.
“What?”
“Good luck.” He waved and drove off.
“Grandpa!”
He was long gone.
Taking a breath, I faced the school. Deep inside me, terror and excitement battled it out like video game enemies. Here were more things to worry about. I panicked because I didn’t know one person at that school. I was nervous about getting good grades as I did in Denver. Mostly, I was terrified I wouldn’t make any new friends and that The Capital L would be branded on my forehead in a bright red letter. My stomach imitated a blender set on HIGH.
I tried stoking up the excitement part. About the possibility of meeting new girls who might become my friends. About getting to know boys who had grown out of the burping or farting phase, unlike the ones back home.
The buzzer sounded and kids headed inside. I straightened up with hope. Back in Denver, Lily, Ella, and I had all sat next to each other on the first day of school before we had become best friends. I looked at them and said, “Hi.” They said, “Hi” back. We had started talking and became buddies.
That’s what I’d do at this school. Trini María Sánchez, I told myself. Get in there and find out what’s waiting for you. Under my breath, I practiced “Hi.”
“Hi” with friendliness.
“Hi” with coolness.
“Hi” with personality.
I just hope none of my “Hi’s” sounded pathetic and hopeless.
Holding my breath, I stepped into my homeroom, which they called Prime Time at this school. Although I really wanted to sit in the back, I sat in the middle. I was determined to make a friend. In the next row across from me two girls talked to each other.
I took a breath and said, “Hi” with a mix of self-assurance and friendliness.
The girls twisted around to look at me with no interest at all. They rotated back to their own chat.
I guess the “Hi” approach didn’t work as well in Alamosa. In each class, I found other girls to sit by and repeated a “Hi.” No one returned the greeting. After never so much as a “Hi” in return, I was ready to walk back to Denver in my new shoes. But I also understood why the kids at this school didn’t fall over themselves for a total stranger. Why say hello to a girl they didn’t know? They had probably known each other their whole lives.
Lunch was the highlight—when it came to food anyway. In addition to the regular hot lunch line, the school had a salad bar but also mixed it up with a potato bar, taco bar, and soup and sandwich bar. I could always drown my sadness with food, but calories weren’t the answer.
The lunch ladies looked eerily like the lunch ladies at my old school. They all smiled as they dished out the french bread pizza on the hot lunch menu that day. Maybe the job just drew the same kind of worker. People made happy by serving food to kids.
I headed to the salad bar, which was as good as any I’d seen in restaurants. Even Sizzler. Not loading up too much, I didn’t want to appear to be as desperate for food as I was for friends. Finding a table, I sat alone in a cafeteria full of noisy kids all talking to everyone else but me. The only thing I looked forward to was art, which was my last class in the afternoon.
Putting a fork of salad in my mouth, I chewed slowly with the possibility that I wasn’t going to make any friends at this school. I was destined to walk head down through the hallways. A ghost. I’d be so ignored that if aliens abducted me no one would remember my name. The news crew would ask the other kids, “Did you know the girl who was taken?” and they’d answer, “Who?”
Miserable at the thought, I couldn’t finish my lunch. From my backpack, I pulled out one of the Mexican treats Mom had left for me as my first-day-of-school present. Not as sweet as the American variety, Mexican candy combined sweet, salty, sour, and spicy, like fruit-flavored lollipops coated with chile powder or lemon. Mom and I had gone regularly to the Mexican grocery store near our apartment to buy goodies to eat while we watched movies.
Mom had also bought me Submarinos, the Mexican version of Twinkies that came in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. They didn’t have chile in the middle, but did have creamy filling. I had planned to save the Submarinos for after school to celebrate meeting lots of new friends, or so I hoped. But I needed the cakes now. I needed that creamy filling. I needed a hit of sugar.
With the time left before the next class started, the kids headed outside to do more socializing without me. Instead of following them, I ducked into the bathroom. No one was in there so I entered one of the stalls. Too discouraged to be grossed out, I took the wrapper off of a chocolate Submarino. About to take a bite, I heard crying in the stall next to me. Someone was feeling as horrible as me, probably sadder from the amount of crying I heard.
“Want a Submarino?” It was the only thing I could think of saying.
Thank you for traveling with us. Next stop: your work of art. Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, you name it. Email us at storystation@riverbendmediagroup.com. Submission guidelines are not shy; they can be found in the podcast description. The Story Station, hosted by Emma, is a production of Riverbend Media Group.