Featured Interview With Teresa Dovalpage
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. But I studied English there since I was very young–I always mention in my book signings that I don’t have an accent when I write! I came to the United States in 1996 and currently live in Hobbs, New Mexico, where I teach English as a Second Language and Spanish at New Mexico Junior College. My husband and I have three dogs: a Rhodesian Ridgeback that weighs 120 lbs, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a cute, blue-eyed mutt.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was a nerdy kid…always with a book in my hands. I moved from reader to writer at around thirteen years old…my first stories were what you would call “Gothic” today, only that we didn’t use that term in Cuba, back then. My friends said they were just…well, weird. But I had fun writing them!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author in English is Anne Tyler. In Spanish, Leopoldo Alas (Clarin). I read all genres, really. No favorites, though I like mysteries and memoirs. My friends, colleagues and quirky characters, in general, inspire me.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
When I finished Death Comes in through the Kitchen (Soho Press, 2018) I wasn’t even sure I would write a second mystery. But the Queen of Bones characters started appearing to me as soon as the first novel was sent to the publisher. Padrino, the santero detective, and Marlene Martinez, the Cuban Police lieutenant, insisted they wanted to appear in another book. Bueno! I obliged. It took me around nine months to finish the book. Queen of Bones is a mystery, but I also think of it as a Havana travelogue—readers get to know about the cemetery One of the largest in Latin America) well-to-do neighborhoods like El Vedado, and the very interesting Havana Chinatown, since one of the main characters, Juan Chiong, grew up there. There are also Santeria elements (Santeria is an Afro-Cuban syncretic religion) as well as plenty of food references because I like to cook, and to eat, as much as I like to write.
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