Sarah McCoy

From a Q & A with Sarah McCoy, author of The Time It Snowed In Puerto Rico:

Q: In The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico, the description of the sights and smells of Puerto Rico are so evocative, the reader feels transported to the Caribbean. What sounds, tastes, smells, etc. make you feel transported to that region?

A: In my daily life, I'm incredibly influenced by my senses. The sound of the wind through summer leaves reminds me of lazy Virginia days. The taste of lemon-drop candies takes me back to the candy dish in my Oklahoma grandma's house. When I see snowcapped mountains, I'm transported to my childhood in Germany. The smell and feel of gardenia buds against my cheek reminds me of my grandparent's farm in Puerto Rico. Having been a child in a military family, I've lived a gypsy life so my memories are a sensory stewpot. I get unending glee running into a sight, smell, sound, taste, or feeling that instantaneously takes me back somewhere I thought I'd forgotten but no, it's there inside of me.

In writing this novel, I had the advantage of going home to Puerto Rico about 3/4th of the way through writing. It was incredibly helpful to stand on the porch of our house and look out over the island, seeing it both as my familiar home and as the new place I'd created in my imagination. I took copious notes and photos of all the small details - the roosters crowing each dawn, the way my bed sheets stuck to my body in the July heat, the taste of coconut milk drunk right from the hairy nut, my grandma's singing as she cooked, the clean smell of my grandpa's cologne and starch in his guayabera, everything. I wanted to experience it all fresh to help evoke my childhood memories. From that trip, I was able to fully remember details of things that before had only been bleary recollections: the first time I saw a cockfight and then faced frozen chicken feet in Grandma's freezer; the beat of bongo drums and click of my mom's dancing heels on the tiles; the smell and taste of Grandma's sofrito sizzling in a pot. These and so much more transport me to Puerto Rico.

As a writer, I believe one of my most fundamental jobs is to create what John Gardner called "the fictional dream." Meaning, I'm recreating Puerto Rico on the page in the hopes of transporting my readers to that reality. As human beings, we process our world through our senses; therefore, it's crucial that I provide as much tactile description as possible. Of course, there must be balance. A book of all description is nothing without the beating hearts of characters within, but it's through those characters' sensory experiences that the reader is able share in their worlds.

Q: At heart, this is a novel about the meaning of family. How did your family shape the story and the writing process? How do they feel about the book?

A: My family...[read on]

Read an excerpt from The Time It Snowed In Puerto Rico, and learn more about the book and author at Sarah McCoy’s website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico.

--Marshal Zeringue