Nicky Gonzalez

Nicky Gonzalez is a writer from Hialeah, Florida. Her fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, BOMB, The Kenyon Review, Taco Bell Quarterly, and other publications. She has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Granum Foundation, Millay Arts, Lighthouse Works, and the Hambidge Center. She lives in Massachusetts.

Gonzalez's debut novel is Mayra.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Mayra is both a friendship novel and a Gothic novel, so I wanted a title that straddled both of those subgenres. There are a few Gothic novels that are titled with simply a person’s name (Rebecca, Dracula) and the same goes for friendship novels (Sula, Marlena). It’s definitely a subtle nod, but I hope it communicates the friendship/gothic connection to some readers, at least subconsciously.

What's in a name?

When it comes to naming Mayra, not much! I met a few Mayras (pronounced “my-ruh”) growing up and I always loved the way the name sounded. Euphony was the number one factor.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

I think she’d say, “Wait, this is published? I’m published?” As for the book itself, I think she wouldn’t be very surprised. In response to the storyline in the fictive present, she’d say, “Okay, so we still like weird stuff.” But a good chunk of the novel is comprised of flashbacks to the narrator and Mayra as teenagers. Those flashback scenes and settings would feel familiar to teenage Nicky, but she might be surprised to learn that anyone would want to read about some kids messing around in Hialeah.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find beginnings much harder because the possibilities are literally endless. I write very slowly when I’m in the early stages of a project, and as I continue to work and more of the story is revealed to me, I pick up speed. Very rarely do I know the ending of a story when I begin, but as I work on the story, the ending or possible endings start to coalesce. When it comes to short stories, I’ll sometimes arrive at the ending by surprise. I’ll write the last sentence and think, “Oh, of course that’s the end.” Beginnings are tough. There are so many ways into every story. It’s hard to choose.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I think there’s a least a drop of me in every character, but I also see a at least a drop of myself in every person I meet. It’s a chicken and egg situation. Did I consciously place aspects of my personality in that character or did I write that character and then find myself empathizing with them after the fact? I don’t know!

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I watch a lot of TV and movies. I was heavily influenced by anthology shows growing up: Twilight Zone, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, Goosebumps (though there were a few episodes of Goosebumps I was too afraid to watch). I also watched a lot of absurdist cartoons growing up and continue to watch them now, which I think gives my work a surrealist and sometimes comic undertone.

Visit Nicky Gonzalez's website.

--Marshal Zeringue