#tristan and iseult

¡Qué bonita bandera! AKA what heritage(s) do you claim?

My dad was born in Argentina before immigrating to California as a teen, and I’m very proud of my Argentine heritage.

When was the first time you saw yourself represented?

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros was the only book featuring Latinx characters that I read in English class. Although the life experiences of those characters were very different from my own, just reading about people with Spanish names like mine was exciting and gratifying in a way my 12-year-old self didn’t quite understand. Also, as silly as it might sound, Cameron Diaz first became famous when I was in high school and I’d never seen a white Latina like me on the screen before; it made those conversations about “not looking like a Pérez” easier to take and allowed me to educate those willing to listen.

How do you connect to your heritage through your books (if at all)?

It’s taken me a while to work up the courage to write a Latinx MC mostly because I’ve been worried that my experience isn’t representative and therefore invalid somehow. Then I realized, ¡Qué idiota soy! My experience is my own and I can only tell my own stories, and I don’t need anyone else’s permission. The result is my current middle-grade WIP set in New York, where I grew up, and it’s the book of my heart. My debut YA is a high fantasy but one of the leads is of mixed heritage within his world. Subconsciously I have always included characters who have to negotiate two different cultures as surrogates for myself, I think.

What do you hope for the future of Latinx books?

¡Más y más! I hope that there are more and more books on shelves featuring Latinx characters who demonstrate the breadth and diversity of Latinx cultures as well as stories where Latinx protagonists have adventures or fly spaceships just like any other white character.

What is the book that inspired you to write for kids/teens?

I don’t think I can pick just one! The three books that inspired me as a young teen were The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. The heroines of these novels are headstrong and independent, and I wanted to be just like them. They helped shape the way I saw the world as well as what I thought I might be able to achieve, and my greatest hope is that my heroines might inspire other teens in the same way.

What are you writing now?

Sweet Black Waves, the first book in my debut trilogy, will be released by Imprint/Macmillan on June 5th, 2018 and I’m brimming with excitement! Taking inspiration from the medieval tale of Tristan and Eseult, my retelling shines a light on the legend’s true heroine––the princess’s cousin, Branwen––and her ancient healing magic. Branwen is my ode to the heroines whom I Ioved so much as a teen and I can’t wait to share her with readers. I’m currently hard at work on the second book in the series!

Kristina Pérez is a half-Argentine/half-Norwegian native New Yorker. She has spent the past two decades working as a journalist and academic in Europe and Asia, and has a PhD in Medieval Literature from the University of Cambridge. Sweet Black Waves is Kristina’s debut YA novel, out June 5th, 2018 from Imprint/Macmillan. This lush fantasy of warring countries and family secrets is the first in a trilogy inspired by the star-crossed tale of Tristan and Eseult.

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