Author Interview: Allison K. Garcia

Happy Monday, Reader Friends!

Thanks for stopping by Diversity Between the Pages. I’ve got the lovely Allison K. García here to talk about her debut novel, Vivir el Dream. Let’s get started!

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About the Book

The Blurb: “Linda Palacios crossed the border at age three with her mother, Juanita, to escape their traumatic life in Mexico and to pursue the American dream. Years later, Linda nears college graduation. With little hope for the future as an undocumented immigrant, Linda wonders where her life is going.

Tim Draker, a long-unemployed businessman, has wondered the same thing. Overcome with despair, he decides to take his own life. Before he can carry out his plan, he changes course when he finds a job as a mechanic. Embarrassed about working at a garage in the barrio, he lies to his wife in hopes of finding something better.

After Juanita’s coworker gets deported, she takes in her friend’s son, Hector, whom her daughter Linda can’t stand, While Juanita deals with nightmares of her traumatic past, she loses her job and decides to go into business for herself.

Will the three of them allow God to guide them through the challenges to come, or will they let their own desires and goals get in the way of His path?”

Links: Amazon, Goodreads

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About the Author

Allison K. García is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a passion for writing. Latina at heart, Allison has absorbed the love and culture of her friends, family, and hermanos en Cristo and has used her experiences to cast a glimpse into the journey of undocumented Christians.

Follow: Website, Facebook, Twitter

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Interview

Toni: Thank you so much for joining me today. I’m so excited to talk about your debut novel, Vivir el Dream. I get positively giddy when I talk about diverse Christian fiction, so I love that the majority of your characters are Hispanic. What made you decide to write about immigration in the Latino culture?

Allison: Thanks, Toni! I’m pretty giddy myself! I can’t remember exactly when I came up with the idea for the book. I just know that God placed it on my heart to write it after I had seen a lot of injustice with my hermanos at the church and with therapy clients and with my friends and family. I feel it is a topic that everyone has an opinion on but few know much about. I hoped to shed some light on why people come, what kinds of things they have to go through to get here, and what can happen once you’ve crossed the border. As I think back, I believe I was inspired in part by the deportation of a close friend from church.

Toni: I can only imagine how that would effect a person. I’m glad you used it to shed light on the subject. Vivir el Dream focuses on Linda, an undocumented college student; Juanita, her mother; and Tim, a Caucasian who has some prejudice towards the Latino race. How did you decide to focus on these three and provide them their own povs (point-of-view)?

Allison: I think I came back fresh from a conference where they told us that one POV wasn’t cool anymore, so it probably stemmed from that. I think this was the first story I wrote from more than one POV, but now I love it! I like the idea of it being like a movie with different camera angles, so you can see things from different people’s points of view. For me Linda is the central character so choosing her was a no-brainer. And I felt Juanita had important history that needed to be heard, and I wanted people to understand why she came and all they had to go through and how she carries the traumas with her. With Tim, I placed a lot of the covert racism that isn’t shown but is hidden under the surface for a lot of folks. Also when I started the book in 2012, it was in the midst of a lot of financial turmoil in the country, so I think some of that seeped in as well.

Toni: Camera angles, yes! That’s a perfect way to describe it. I loved how you did that. Did you fear that you would paint the Latino culture with stereotypes considering your own ethnic background?

Allison: I both love and hate this question. I love it because it is an important and hard question to ask. There are so many stereotypes out there for different people of color, I don’t want to add any more to the mix and it is something very much to be aware of. I also hate this question because as a white person in the majority, I know I need to tread carefully in this realm. Really, what I did was write with my heart. I just hope that I am enough enmeshed in the Latino culture with my husband and his family, with my church family, and with my friends, that I have accurately portrayed the beauty of Latino culture and the struggles that Latino people experience. It’s so hard because my heart wants me to be Latino, but deep down I know I’m only a white person with European roots and I can’t. I’m only on the outside looking in. So that’s a hard question for me.

Toni: But you answered it so eloquently. 🙂 What made you choose a Spanish title?

Allison: I went through a thorough choosing process. I wanted Dream in the title because of both The Dream Act and “the American dream.” I felt Vivir gave it a cool vibe and helped showcase the authenticity of Spanish language used within the book.

Toni: I love the title! What is the message you hope readers will leave with after reading Vivir el Dream?

Allison: That despite all the things going on in your life, God is there. He has a plan, and your faith in Him can carry you through.

Toni: Amen! How about some easier questions?

Allison: Yes, please! You put me on the spot before! Haha! But in a good way! It is good to have the experience of feeling singled out and put on the spot. Helps you understand others who experience it every day.

Toni: I like to just dive right into the diversity topic. 😉 Maybe I’ll use more finesse in the future, lol. Beaches or mountains?

Allison: I like beaches and mountains! I live in the Shenandoah Valley so the mountains are right there, but I still think I might choose beach!

Toni: They are both beautiful in their own ways. Coffee or Tea?

Allison: Normally I might say tea but I’ve gotten into coffee lately. So…both!

Toni: I recently started drinking ice coffee, so I hear you. TV or Movies?

Allison: Also both! I love bingewatching TV shows but I also love a good movie!

Toni: Netflix is my friend for both of those options. Last but not least, what’s next for you on your writing journey?

Allison: I plan to translate Vivir el Dream into Spanish (with the help of several native speakers)! I also have another completed Latino fiction book, Finding Amor, that’s ready for editing, plus I’ve written 6 out of 8 books of Prince Miguel and His Journey Home, a children’s fantasy series.

Toni: Wow! That’s awesome. Praying you success in your writing endeavors. Readers, do you have any questions for Allison?

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Interview conducted by Toni Shiloh

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