In Between Writing and Reading: Salvation Review and Interview

Salva, Beth, and I are visiting Jude today at In Between Writing and Reading. This is one of those sites we fell in love with as soon as we saw it! Jude's reviews are beautifully written, and like Salva, Jude has lived in both Mexico and the United States. When she accepted our invitation to join the blog tour, we were thrilled! Then, of course, there were the nail-biting nerves. But she wrote up a wonderful review and really enjoyed Salva's story. Oh happy day!

Interview Taster Question:
I think we've all felt at some point in our lives like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and that we have to please the needs of our parents or friends, which made Salva a really relatable character. So what was the process of creating him as a character?

I don’t think I exactly create my characters. It’s more a process of listening. Salva didn’t bother to introduce himself the first time we met. He was busy colliding with Beth and telling me how she was a walking disaster area. Then Pepe, Salva’s best friend, shoved him into the prologue. At which point I realized I had a story. Because Salva was conflicted, brilliant, and not quite comfortable at the center of the spotlight. I had written about a scene and a half when I realized that his major flaw was the fact that he allowed his friends to direct his inner compass. And I had written a full 160 pages before I realized he wasn’t telling me that his mother was dead. (Talk about denial). It took two-thirds of the second draft before I found out how stubborn he was. And by that point, of course, there was no turning back!

 

To read Jude's review and the rest of the interview, follow the link to In Between Writing and Reading.