The 12 Burning Wheels

Editorial Reviews. About the Author. Cesar Torres studied journalism at the Medill School of The 12 Burning Wheels - Kindle edition by Cesar Torres.
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You were taking a mental break between two novel manuscripts; how did the idea for the short story collection come to you? He said one of his greatest breakthroughs was to have a major breakup in his life.

I had finished the manuscript for my second novel and I was pretty happy about that. And then during that spring I went through a breakup that was very significant. Ending a relationship with a significant other that has served as a sounding board or dedicated reader can be disconcerting. It can take a long time to get over it. I knew one of the best things to get past that hurdle was to write more. Some non-writers have a very romanticized notion of how writers work and how ideas come to them. I always look at my grandpa, who was a union carpenter for decades.

He turned out art.

An Interview with Mexican-American Speculative Fiction Author Cesar Torres

I treat it like work. There was no thematic linking per se in the planning of it. So there are themes, particular words, even references to mythology that keep coming to the surface. The mythological hydra shows up in two different short stories. Family, and family relationships between children and parents, comes to the surface a lot. Isolation and loneliness are themes I keep seeing as I re-read. I usually have a concept; maybe I know the endpoint of the novel.

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But with these, I sat down with a notebook and wrote down twelve titles. Some of them are clearly references to titles of music, and the other ones I was just pulling out of thin air.

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It speaks a lot to the mental state I was in. What struck me about your book was the breadth of style, which I really enjoyed. Your stories ranged from classic speculative fiction to off-the-hook absurdity. Then there was this smaller piece, Mantis Love , a story about sexuality.

Cesar Torres interview

The choice of styles, that was a little bit more intentional, for sure. I knew I had a lot of room to play with.

I never really had that available to myself, I was pretty conventional on how structured short stories should be. It was a nice way to break out of that.

Burning Wheels

What kind of adjustments did you have to make craft-wise? I knew that with fewer words the narrative had to be very clear. The actual beats of what is happening in the story were more essential, which makes for a pared down kind of narrative. You never descended into moral posturing. For instance, Tincture , a great story about a love potion. You presented the facts and let the readers decide for themselves. Tincture , and also Honey , they both are stories about aspects of what might be love. I try not to judge.

I like the story to present the characters and narrative on their own. Your stories have horror sensibilities with elements of fantasy and magic realism. I really cut my teeth on horror fiction. The 80s were a time, you and I both know, where horror fiction was vibrant and there was a huge market for it. The magical bridge between us is Matt Staggs, a publicist who works in speculative fiction. He publicizes for Jeff Vandermeer and other writers. Music is a big part of your life and writing. I would read Rolling Stone from cover to cover. I loved rock journalism. I loved the legends of bands and the mythology that went with them.

Is that something you would be interested in doing? One of the original plans was to release a MP3 that would be a theme for the whole collection. I never had the time to do it but I may still release it afterwards. Music is a huge part of my life, part of my writing process. Books and music are just as equally essential to me. I would prefer people drinking a beer with really loud music and the occasional reading. You mentioned social networking like Twitter. Some writers struggle with the personal and professional aspects of online personas, but you manage it with humor and poise. How do you handle social networking?

When I was completing my first manuscript, I had my own blog and was making guest appearances on podcasts. I saw even back then that the marketing push was extremely heavy-handed. There was no longer a middleman; previously, we had publicists or marketing departments. Not truly close, but closer to what the real person is all about.

The 12 Burning Wheels by Cesar Torres

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