Guess what? Not only is my book out, I’m actually out there telling everyone about it! Well, at least my shortwave radio friends for starters. Michel Mendez recently invited me over to his radio show (which airs earlier than Moderna on WRMI and has been around for twenty years) to talk about “The Illustrator” and we had a nice conversation which spilled over to many other social issues. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d get so sidetracked. You know me; I like politics and although the main point of the interview was to get deep into the United Nationalist Party, Mr. Rivero and the prophetic warnings of the central Illustrator plot line, it ended up being a well-rounded approach to our troublesome times.
This blog post could also be a great opportunity for discussing my new (and first) book but again, I’m somewhat tempted into instead describe the experience for you. My very first television interview was exactly 10 years ago (yes, time really flies) and now, after this first “book interview”, it seems that discussing our work is pretty much like dissecting our very own lives, not only because it’s consumed days. The first sketches for this book, originally a graphic novel, were done in 2014 but besides the time it took, it’s another real passion for me so naturally, as it takes a life of its own, it will reflect my worldview and having the chance to leave that written down somewhere for posterity is priceless.
Writing as an occupation has taken me down the same lonely path of visual art, one of discipline, persistence, and a strong sense of responsibility. I’ve read a lot of occasional garbage, bad advice and lazy vanity meant to impress readers while wasting their time. Those were things I really tried to avoid and whenever I went back to edit stuff, I always tried to get to the condensed point. We should reward anyone who picks up our work with knowledge, wisdom, and compact paragraphs because dragging on for pages what can be said in a few words, is inconsiderate.
I don’t know if I’ve said this enough but Rachel as a character has existed since 2010 and now, in late 2018 she has finally come out of her pre-apocalyptic authoritarian world to meet the world! It’s like one of those monumental life chapters. Wow, Rachel is out there! Remember how the Spanish character in the Princess Bride movie doesn’t know what do with his life once he’s avenged his father by killing his legendary, six-fingered enemy? Well, in a sense I do feel the invigorating satisfaction of revenge in one weird way but unlike Inigo Montoya, I have too many plans pending. I can now scratch it off my to-do list (I’ve literally written down “finish book” like dozens of times on pink post-its) and it’s probably what climbing Mount Everest feels like! Bearing in mind I usually write in very cold rooms with sweaters and frozen fingers across the keyboard (kinda like right now) the Everest analogy is very accurate.
“Have you ever considered piracy?”
