Among what stands out most about Petra is her extensive knowledge of cuentos (folktales). YT: One of the most enchanting aspects of the story is the way Petra holds her heritage so close to her heart. Magical places can be alluring and certain things came to me as a wrote it out-what if along the shore with a lake, there were specific beings that have the beauty of Earth’s butterflies but live within the lake, something that is fascinating, but not exactly reachable. The bioluminescence trope can be overused so I thought, “how can Sagan have its own unique creatures which glow?”. When Petra lands with the others, I wanted it to be magical but still incorporate a lot of pieces of what I’ve seen and loved in sci-fi but tried to give it my own perspective. Sagan is also a tidal locked planet (which means it doesn’t rotate as Earth and other planets do).

The Collective performed a genetic alteration that has made certain conditions dangerous. In The Last Cuentista, there are atmospheric conditions that the characters don’t expect. There are things that are so beautiful and others that are dangerous. I want readers to be as excited and yet a bit scared of the unfamiliar on Sagan because that’s how it really is in real life on Earth. How did you envision your world building? Is there anything on Sagan that was influenced by Earth?ĭBH: Oh it was wonderful building Sagan as a planet. YT: The new planet, Sagan, is so different from Earth. But I also chose to incorporate traditional folklore, like Blancaflor, but in my version I made Blancaflor the hero who returns and rules the kingdom, rather than the prince. I am also a huge fan of sci-fi, such as Star Trek, I can talk about it extensively. Soon after, I decided the short story I’d written should be a novel. I wanted to place value in the girl’s mind rather than how the original story is set up. “Take a traditional fairytale and make it sci-fi.” I immediately thought about The Princess and the Pea, where we see that the princess is tested through sleep. What are the reasons you decided to write a science fiction fantasy novel?ĭBH: The story came from a short story writing prompt. It also gives a nod to what author Daniel Nayeri references in his own debut novel about who owns the truth.

YT: This really resonates with how I grew up listening to and reading stories as well. I had the opportunity to include, like Blancaflor, and change it. The story belongs to the storyteller, and Petra responds to her environment-in this case the bad being, The Chancellor-to shape her own stories. Even La Llorona was based on truth at some point, until it began to be changed by the storytellers. For instance, the ancient folklore on the flood has been told among many cultures, including the Aztecs in Mexico and Maasai and others in Africa, and they are two completely different continents. Many cultures tell universal stories of very similar topics, etc.

The last cuentista donna barba higuera