James Cañón

James Cañón, author of Tales from the Town of Widows, answered a few questions for Authortrek, including:

Which writers have influenced you the most?

Willa Cather, Machado de Assis, Gabriel García Márquez and Sherwood Anderson.

Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture debate? Were you born a writer, or were there factors in your environment that enabled you to become a writer?

I believe that within everyone lies a creative spirit that, when allowed, manifests itself in beautiful and fantastic ways. I don't come from a literary family - my brothers and I are the first ones to go to college - but I had an amazing childhood, surrounded by highly imaginative people. That sort of environment, together with the people that came into my life later on, played a major role in my becoming a writer.

Read the entire interview.

See the Page 69 Test: Tales from the Town of Widows.

--Marshal Zeringue