Latinx Spider-Heroes
with Alex Segura author of Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow
#NuevasPaginas is a space that aims to amplify and spotlight Hispanic/Latine/x authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to their next favorite Hispanic/Latine/x authored book through a mini casual get-to-know-the-book-and-author interview. So give please spread the news so we can reach more readers and continue the love/support of Latine literature!
How does it work?!
Here’s the deal, I came up with a set of casual/random/fun questions to ask each Hispanic/Latinx/e author, I interview. If you are new here don’t forget to check out all the other amazing interviews! We also have a great line-up of guest authors coming up so make sure you don’t miss an issue by subscribing now!
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Hey Book Franz!
SURPRISE - I am popping back into your inbox this week with another special author interview. This one is from an author that has been featured here before and has a brand new book out this year, so if the name Alex Segura sounds familiar, you’ll know why…….
On Comics and Noir
#NuevasPaginasconLupita is a space that is both an archive and resource aimed to "spotlight" Hispanic/Latinx/e authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to new and/or old favorite Hispanic/Latinx/e authors and their books! So give this & every post a share to help us reach more readers!
Without further ado, our special guest author for today’s Nuevas Pagina issue is……Alex Segura author of Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow!
Could you tell me a bit about where this photo was taken? Is it special to your book in some way?
This is my office space, where I do most of my work. I look out onto a busy Queens street and hear the sounds of our neighborhood as I work. Otherwise, it's completely silent - unless my kids are home. I'm pretty flexible in terms of writing - I can do it elsewhere in the house, or on planes, etc. But this is my hub and it feels like the most comfortable place for me. I'm surrounded by art pages from the different comic books I've written, the awards I've won or been nominated for, and books I love.
Tell me about your book without telling me about your book - share any literary inspirations behind your book! If there are none, the gap you wanted to fill in the literary canon with your book
Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow is a love letter to the Spider-Man comics I read as a kid - adventure stories about teens or adults grappling with power and responsibility, and coming to terms with their destinies. I wanted to not only echo those stories, but add to the mythos - particularly by having two of the biggest Latinx Spider-Heroes spend some meaningful time together, and forge a lasting friendship.
What are two central themes in your book that you connect with the most and why?
A big theme is the idea that we're always learning - no matter our age, whether you're a high-schooler struggling with new powers or a jaded, veteran hero, you're always learning, and we see that in this book. Another is found family - that no matter how alone we might feel in terms of our biological family, whether by choice or circumstance, you can rebuild a network for yourself through shared experience.
If a book was home, where would your home be?
Oh, probably Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, or a Megan Abbott novel. Comics and noir are in my DNA.
If your book was a famous musician who would it be?
Taylor Swift! Great pop sensibility with soulful, heart-wrenching lyrics. :)
What comfort food could a reader pair with your book?
A nice plate of vegan picadillo, or a good helping of flan.
In what ways has access (or little to no access) to Hispanic/Latinx/e literature defined you as a writer?
It shapes everything I write and how I approach it. All my novels, even those that are work-for-hire or in other universes, are echoes of Miami, my Cuban-American heritage, and the books I read that defined me. I embrace it and lean into it whenever I can.
Where can readers keep up with your work?
www.instagram.com/alexsegurajr
Thank you to Alex Segura for taking the time to chat with me about his book! Please please make sure you purchase a copy (or request your local library carry a copy) #SupportLatinxLit!
Alex Segura is an acclaimed, award-winning writer of novels, comic books, short stories, and podcasts. He is the author of the noir novel Secret Identity (Flatiron Books), Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, and the Pete Fernandez Mystery series (including the Anthony Award-nominated crime novels Dangerous Ends, Blackout, and Miami Midnight). He's won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story two years in a row; written comic books including the super hero noir The Black Ghost, The Dusk, and The Awakened; and worked at Oni Press, Archie Comics, and DC Comics. A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.
Synopsis for ‘Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow’ from the Bookshop website:
Araña is a Spider-Girl lost in time. . . . Miguel is a Spider-Man who's lost his way. . . . Together, they're our only hope.
Araña. It means spider--and it also means Anya Corazon. She was a normal Brooklyn teenager with normal Brooklyn problems--until a few months ago, when she was gifted with amazing spiderlike abilities, from super-strength and heightened agility to web-slinging. A powerful mentor guided her on how best to use these new powers for good--until Anya lost him, just as she lost her mother, just as she's about to lose everything she knows.
Nueva York. It is the future of New York City, the home of the Spider-Man of 2099, and where Anya finds herself stranded, tossed across the century. And Nueva York's Spider-Man, billionaire CEO Miguel O'Hara, is Araña's only hope of getting home. But Araña and Spider-Man are about to discover that the enemies they face have dark and powerful connections to both heroes--and that this unlikely team across time will need to save much more than each other. . . .
Alex is so great!
Thanks for having me!!