M. García (she/her) was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She moved to New York where she studied creative writing at The New School, worked in publishing, and lived under a pile of to-be-read books. She is the author of Even If the Sky Falls and The Resolutions from Katherine Tegen books (an imprint of HarperCollins) and a founding member of the Latinx children’s book artist collective Las Musas. You can find her at mgarciabooks.com or on Twitter and Instagram @MGarciaWrites.
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Voyage: What was the inspiration behind your novel, The Resolutions? What made you want to tell this story?
M. García: When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, I loved consuming everything there was on TV (OK, I still do) which very much shaped my odd little self. And I wrote THE RESOLUTIONS thinking back to those dozens of coming-of-age movies I watched every afternoon that rarely centered people that looked like my neighbors or classmates (you know the ones). I wanted to see my four Puerto Rican (yes, all four) main characters explore heartache, think about their future, sneak out at night to look at the stars, be silly, mess-up, and most importantly, have each other’s backs.
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V: When you write your stories, what is the one thing you hope readers will take away?
MG: This one is always a bit hard as every reader is different, though one [reader] once told me that my stories always have glimmers of hope no matter how dark they get. I also hope readers see themselves in THE RESOLUTIONS and know that they too deserve to be seen and centered.
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V: What was the hardest scene of The Resolutions to write?
MG: Oh gosh, you know I don’t think I remember? There were moments when a character’s arc just wasn’t working and I needed to re-think their emotional growth from the beginning, but I don’t remember a specific scene that was the hardest. But if I can cheat a bit and tell you about the scene that was the easiest and had the least edits, [it] was when Jess, one of my main characters, has an anxiety attack while on a run because the pressure she’s putting on herself is overwhelming. I wrote that scene in a blur of thoughts and emotions and ended up not editing it that much because it came from my own experiences.
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V: If you could tell your younger writer self anything, what would it be?
MG: Spend less time worrying about what others think of your love of horror movies, comic books, and Star Wars, etc., and just embrace it. That’s some prime nerd development time and you don’t need their negativity.
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V: What are your writing must-haves?
MG:
- I can’t write to music, but put on a 10-hour recording of storm sounds and I’m set!
- At least two drinks: One is usually a good cup of coffee with soy milk—hot, not iced, never iced—and the other is usually just water.
- Snacks mean I’ve taken a break and am now wandering around the kitchen, so I’m not sure this is a writing must-have.
- A very comfy chair or sofa. I can never sit in one position for long, so a chair or sofa that allows me to move and rearrange my legs is lovely.
- No outside interruptions—I do enough of that already, I don’t need the help.
- Breaks. I can’t power through for hours, I need breaks and time to contemplate all my mistakes.
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Head to our Instagram page (@voyageya) to hear Mia read the first page of The Resolutions! Find Mia’s video under the IGTV tab.