Ask the Author: Stephen J.C. Andes
Answered Questions (6)
Stephen J.C. Andes
This is where I was referring to Resistance. Writer's block is part of Resistance. If you just show up and write, like a professional, you'll have days that suck. You'll also have good days. But you gotta show up. Don't wait for inspiration. Inspiration is fleeting. But if you show up to write, inspiration will eventually hit you.
Stephen J.C. Andes
I get to read, write, and talk all day--like for my job. It's pretty great.
Stephen J.C. Andes
You have permission to write. You have a story. Tell it. It's ok that it's not perfect. Just write. You'll get better. It takes courage.
Stephen J.C. Andes
I've just completed a new book manuscript. It's a history of the pop culture character Zorro! Basically, I went on a journey to Mexico to find the origins to Zorro. I found out, in the process, that a real-life inspiration is behind the fictional character. In the days of the California Gold Rush a Mexican bandit named Joaquin Murrieta developed a reputation as a Robin Hood of El Dorado. The fiction writer Johnston McCulley, the guy who created the first Zorro novel in 1919, took elements of Murrieta, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and the Count of Monte Cristo and blended them together in making his heroic character. Essentially, I argue, Zorro is America's first superhero and he has Latinx origins. That means that Latinx history and experience is as fundamental to American culture as the superhero!
The book is called "Zorro's Shadow: How a Mexican Legend Became America's First Superhero." It's coming out next year (2020) with Chicago Review Press.
The book is called "Zorro's Shadow: How a Mexican Legend Became America's First Superhero." It's coming out next year (2020) with Chicago Review Press.
Stephen J.C. Andes
You gotta deal with resistance. There's a great book called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. He talks about how Resistance shows up in creative work. Thus, to defeat Resistance you have to just show up everyday. It's not about chasing your muse. It's about showing up so your muse knows where to find you.
Stephen J.C. Andes
It starts in the Vatican Secret Archive. I was there doing research for another book project. In the marbled index room of the archive, with Renaissance popes and statues of saints looking over my shoulder from walls and niches, I found a listing for "Sofia del Valle."
A woman in the Vatican archive files? I thought to myself. Soon, I found out that Sofia had hundreds of letters back and forth to well-known bishops. She traveled extensively. She raised money for Catholic ministries in Mexico while in the United States. At least 3 popes knew her by name. She was friends with Dorothy Day and Maria von Trapp (of Sound of Music Fame!). In short, she was everywhere. I decided I needed to tell her story.
A woman in the Vatican archive files? I thought to myself. Soon, I found out that Sofia had hundreds of letters back and forth to well-known bishops. She traveled extensively. She raised money for Catholic ministries in Mexico while in the United States. At least 3 popes knew her by name. She was friends with Dorothy Day and Maria von Trapp (of Sound of Music Fame!). In short, she was everywhere. I decided I needed to tell her story.
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