Stir Q&A: Author Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, appearing at Vancouver Writers Fest, on pulp fiction and her love of horror
The New York Times best-selling author, whose latest is Velvet Was the Night, shifts between genres
Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Photo by Martin Dee
Vancouver Writers’ Fest (running to October 24) presents Spine-Chillingly Good: With Stephen Graham Jones and Silvia Moreno-Garcia on October 19 at 7:30 pm at the Waterfront Theatre; and Hook, Line, and Sinker with Carrie Jenkins, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Sam Wiebe on October 20 at 7:30 pm at Performance Works.
VANCOUVER-BASED WRITER Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s debut, Mexican Gothic (Penguin Random House), set in an isolated house in the Mexican countryside in the 1950s and centred on a stubborn socialite, was a dread-filled runaway success. Nominated for the Bram Stoker award, the chilling New York Times best-seller was named one of the best books of 2020 by the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and the Washington Post, among multiple other outlets.
Described by Kirkus Reviews as a “terrifying twist on classic gothic horror”, the book earned this line from NPR’s Fresh Air: “an inspired mash-up of Jane Eyre, Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, Dracula, Rebecca and that 1958 classic sci-fi movie, The Blob.”
Her latest, Velvet Was the Night (Penguin Random House), about a search for a missing woman, was named a Good Morning America Buzz Pick and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Writer Simone St. James called the historical novel a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir”.
Moreno-Garcia writes on the side, having always had a day job. She has also penned the crime novel Untamed Shores and speculative novels Gods of Jade and Shadow, Signal to Noise, Certain Dark Things, and The Beautiful Ones. She has edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award–winning She Walks in Shadows (aka Cthulhu’s Daughters).
Stir caught up with the prolific author in advance of her Vancouver Writers Fest appearances to hear more about her reading and writing habits.
How did literature first enter your life? What did you like to read growing up?
There were always books at home. I read everything as a kid. A lot of mythology books, a lot of classics (20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, Call of the Wild), a lot of pulp fiction and golden age science fiction and fantasy (Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard).
When did you start writing? What kinds of stories would you create in your earliest days of pursuing the craft?
I wrote as a kid. I made pastiches, which is what everyone does when they are starting out. But my more serious attempts happened when I was in my 20s. I sold my first story in 2006 and was paid $10. I figured if I could sell one story, I could sell another, and kept on selling to fanzines and semi-pro zines.
You have a Master's degree in science and technology studies. What is it about these fields that interests you?
The intersection between science and society. We tend to think of science as something completely separate and isolated from the rest of the world, but it’s not. Society shapes science and science influences society.
Where did your interest in goth horror stem from?
My mother introduced me to it at an early age when she gave me a volume of Poe’s stories to read. I eventually plowed through a bunch of the classics (Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.) She also watched a lot of horror movies, so we’d go to the video store and rent new horror releases. And then, on my own, I watched a lot of old movies, collected comic books, and kept on finding new material.
What's next for you?
I have a new novel out next year titled The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, set in 19th-century southern Mexico. Plus, the re-release of my first novel, Signal to Noise, about a group of teenagers who cast spells using vinyl records.
I bounce around genres, so you might want to check the descriptions of my books before reading them because one is often not like the other. But hopefully they’re all interesting.
What are you reading right now?
Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre by Lavie Tidhar. And Red Ants, by Jose Pergentino, a collection of fantastic short stories translated from the Zapotec.
For more information, see Vancouver Writers Fest.
This interview has been slightly condensed and edited.
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