Amparo Ortíz is a shining light in the writing community: she’s incredibly supportive of other creatives, all while maintaining a professional reputation of being an amazing writer. Her path has been incredibly interesting to witness, from her contribution in an anthology to nabbing a Middle Grade graphic novel, which was why I thought she’d be a fantastic subject to interview…
Your first book, Saving Chupie, is being published in a few years (slated for 2022). What does it mean to you to have a Middle Grade Graphic Novel about Puerto Rican kids that’s being traditionally published in the US?
First of all, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful project, Adriana! It’s an honor to be featured on your blog during Latinx Heritage Month alongside people I admire!
SAVING CHUPIE is indeed coming out in 2022 from HarperCollins! Having a book like this come out from a traditional U.S. publisher means more than I’m able to explain. We see Puerto Rico front and center throughout the whole story, especially the town of Loíza, which is ten minutes away from where I live. The fact that I can write scenes with a biracial little girl discovering her mother and grandmother’s country for the first time, ten months after Hurricane María, while trying to save a Chupacabra from being hunted down, has been the most surreal experience of my writing career. *pinches arm*
Saving Chupie isn’t your first experience writing a comic or sequential manuscripts. In fact, you were a contributor to Puerto Rico Strong, which won an Eisner Award, and your piece was the very last one in the anthology, helping bookend the entire collection. Did that experience help in coming up with Saving Chupie? Did it also help that your illustrator, Ronnie Garcia, was a contributor as well?
Shout-out to everyone who contributed to Puerto Rico Strong! The short story I wrote for the anthology definitely led me to working on SAVING CHUPIE. My editor, the amazing Carolina Ortiz, actually ended up contacting my agent, the also amazing Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker, after reading my story. Carolina asked if I’d be interested in auditioning for a MG graphic novel project she’d been developing. That project turned out to be SAVING CHUPIE. I’d already fallen in love with the idea before Linda sent me the full outline. Ronnie García, illustrator extraordinaire, was already attached to the project and I lost my mind when I saw the preliminary sketches! So I wrote my sample pages for the audition and sent them off. Linda gave me The Call in January, and we’ve been working on getting the script in the best shape ever. After I’m done editing, Ronnie will keep giving me the feels with even more illustrations that I cannot wait to see.
How collaborative is making a graphic novel with your illustrator? Do you bounce ideas back and forth, or do you write something and Ronnie runs with it?
I was super lucky to have seen some of Ronnie’s sketches before writing a single word of the script. They helped me visualize the characters and the world in great detail, so everything I write is inspired by what they’ve drawn. I’ll be able to see the rest of their work in the coming months, though. Carolina has been my biggest collaborator at the moment. We’re getting closer to wrapping up edits and I’m excited to send the script off to Ronnie so we can see what all of our ideas put together look like!
A publisher gives you free reins to collab with another Latinx author and the author is free and on board as well, who are you picking and what are you writing?
I’m picking Mia García and we’re writing a dual POV romance, but it’s a fantasy. Like The Girl Of Fire And Thorns and Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply” had a baby. I’ve always wanted to write a fantasy romance, but since the romance part might not be my strong suit, Mia can totally rock it!
How does your identity affect your writing?
It affects my writing in terms of the people whose stories I want to tell. I started writing my first book at 17. The main character was a white boy who went to a fancy private school. As much as I love that story, I don’t relate that much to my protagonist. His story doesn’t feel as deep and true to me as all the ones I’ve written afterwards, which have all had Latinx MCs. I feel like there will always be space for white boys who go to fancy private schools on the shelves. Why don’t I [instead] show the different realities and complexities of being a member of the Latinx community instead? Why don’t I [instead] help readers who’re not used to seeing themselves in covers and pages find themselves in fiction, too? That’s where my heart is. I have a feeling it’ll stay there for as long as I live.
Who do you write for?
I write for anyone who thinks books should reflect the real world, even if there are monsters and magic on every page. But most importantly, I write for young readers who are searching for themselves. To say that I was a hopeless, thoroughly depressed teen would be an understatement. Books saved my life. So did writing. Maybe my words can help someone find a little bit of solace as they struggle to find who they’re supposed to be just by seeing someone who looks and lives like them do it, too.
What movie(s) would you pair your book with?
Confession: movies are one of my many loves! If I had to pair SAVING CHUPIE with one, I’d say The Iron Giant, even though that movie leans toward sci-fi. The premise is pretty much the same: a child befriends a weird creature and must protect them from grownup threats. Humor, heartfelt moments, and calamities ensue!
Shoutout a Latinx writer or creator whom you admire!
THERE ARE SO MANY. You, for starters, are a wonder and someone I look up to. The amount of work you put into promoting Latinx voices is astounding, especially considering that you’re also a writer! HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL, TELL ME YOUR SECRETS.
Also, Las Musas are doing incredible things for our community, specifically with their Las Hermanas mentorship program! I wish I’d had this opportunity when I first started writing/querying.
And my last shout-out goes to the awesome Rosa Colón, a fellow Puerto Rico Strong contributor who’s been putting in the work as a writer/illustrator for years on the island and abroad.
One of my dreams is to edit a mixed media Latinx anthology someday, so I hope to send an invite to everyone I’ve mentioned here!
Follow Amparo on Twitter and Instagram @amparo_ortiz!
You can grab a copy of Puerto Rico Strong right now and add Saving Chupie on Goodreads!
Amparo Ortíz
Amparo Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but she currently lives on the country’s northeastern coast. She holds a B.A. in Psychology, an M.A. in English, and a Ph.D. in celebrity gossip. When she’s not teaching ESL to her college students, she’s teaching herself Korean, on the constant hunt for pizza and Twizzlers, and writing about Latinx characters in worlds both contemporary and fantastical. Her short story comic, “What Remains In The Dark,” appears in the Eisner-winning PUERTO RICO STRONG, a comics anthology contributing to post-Hurricane María relief efforts (Lion Forge, 2018). Her middle grade graphic novel, SAVING CHUPIE, is forthcoming from HarperCollins in 2022.