Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

  • home
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Anthologies
    • Blue Birds
    • The Burning Season
    • Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine
    • May B.
    • Miraculous
    • Over in the Wetlands
    • A Race Around the World
    • Ride On, Will Cody!
  • Author Visits
  • Virtual Visits
  • Events
  • Teacher Resources
  • Contact
  • Writing One to One

Straight from the Source: Adrianna Cuevas on Writing Historical Fiction

Leave a Comment

Adrianna Cuevas is the author of the Pura Belpre honor book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez and Cuba in My Pocket. She is a first-generation Cuban-American originally from Miami, Florida. A former Spanish and ESOL teacher, Adrianna currently resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and son. She is represented by Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary.

What typically comes first for you: a character? An era? A story idea? How do you proceed from there?

I always begin my story brainstorming with a ‘what if’ question. The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, the question was ‘What if you could talk to animals?’ and for Cuba in My Pocket, it was ‘What if you had to move to another country by yourself?’ From there, I think of what type of character would be the most interesting to place in that ‘what if’ situation and then what type of setting would make that hypothetical situation the most dramatic. 

How do you conduct your research? 

For Cuba in My Pocket, I interviewed several family members regarding their immigration to the US. I had a prepared set of questions and then contacted them to ask follow-up questions as I began writing. I also read several books by Cuban-American authors regarding their immigration experiences as well.

At what point do you feel comfortable beginning to draft? How does your research continue once you begin writing?

I completed a loose outline of Cuba in My Pocket before beginning research in earnest because I knew the broad details of my dad’s immigration story. After completing my outline, I could see what gaps in information existed and conducted the necessary research to fill in what I needed.

What’s your least favorite thing about research?

It’s too easy to waste time chasing information that really isn’t critical to your story. An author can also fall victim to spending a lot of time researching a particular topic, only to realize it won’t work in the story. Research, while critical to a story’s authenticity and accuracy, is time-consuming and can often keep an author from their favorite part of the process- actually writing the story.

What are some obstacles writing historical fiction brings?

Moment of honesty– I don’t like writing historical fiction. My mind deviates too often to the magical and ridiculous. Being constricted by true events stifles the story I really want to tell. The main reason I wrote Cuba in My Pocket was because I wanted to preserve my father’s immigration story, not because of some deep love for writing historical fiction. I have quickly returned to writing contemporary fantasy– my comfort zone.

***

Inspired by stories from her father’s childhood, Cuevas’ latest is a triumph of the heart…A compassionate, emotionally astute portrait of a young Cuban in exile.
― Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

Cuevas’ intense and immersive account of a Cuban boy’s experience after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion brings a specific point in history alive … Drawing from her father’s boyhood experiences, Cuevas does an outstanding job of eliciting the confusing array of emotions Cumba feels as he is thrown into life in a new country.
― Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

Cuevas packs this sophomore novel with palpable emotions and themes of friendship, love, longing, and trauma, attentively conveying tumultuous historical events from the lens of one young refugee.
― Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Filed Under: authors, books and reading, historical fiction, the writing life

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meet Caroline Starr Rose
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

my books

Subscribe to my newsletter + to receive regular blog posts

categories

  • A Race Around the World
  • authors
  • Blue Birds
  • books and reading
  • classroom connections
  • encouragement
  • faith
  • family
  • historical fiction
  • home
  • Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine
  • May B.
  • Miraculous
  • non-fiction
  • Over in the Wetlands
  • poetry
  • publication
  • Ride On, Will Cody!
  • Song of the Raven
  • teaching
  • The Burning Season
  • The Notebook Series
  • the writing life
  • this and that

Copyright © 2023 · Caroline Starr Rose · Site by Design by Insight

I participate in Amazon Services LLC Associates and Bookshop.org, affiliate programs that allow me to make a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting this site!

Sign up for biweekly blog posts + my quarterly author newsletter and receive a printable quote from my novel, Blue Birds.