The year 2021 has officially come to an end, the holidays are finally over, and, let's face it, we probably all have a long list of resolutions that won't get done. However, if you need inspiration to finally make those dreams a reality, look no further than the author Jonny Garza Villa, this winter's Book Club selection.
At the beginning of 2020, Garza Villa had not much more than a rough first draft and a dream. Now, as we close out 2021, they are a successful published author, with one book flying off the shelves and another on the way.
I sat down to talk with Garza Villa about their first novel, Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, this soon-to-be young-adult classic's starry inspiration, and their journey into the publishing industry.
Love, Simon vibes
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, Garza Villa's romance about a long-distance relationship between Mat, a Vietnamese American Queer teen in California and Jules, a closeted Mexican American boy in South Texas, was inspired by similar coming-of-age stories he had gotten into recently.
"I was inspired by reading Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli," Garza Villa told me. "I read it shortly before seeing Love, Simon. I wanted to consume both of them at the same time, and I love both of them."
While they loved Love, Simon, they noticed the story was overwhelmingly white and not necessarily reflective of their experiences.
"I saw it with some Chicana friends of mine who are all Queer and Mexican Americans, and after the movie, we all had this discussion about our own experiences as Mexican-American Queer people and young Queer people of color. We don't get that same sort of opportunity as, like, books by white Queer people about white Queer people. And I was just, like, well, someone should write that book."
The more they thought about it, the more Garza Villa felt compelled to write their own Love, Simon story. "I kind of went into [it] thinking, I can do that. I can write a book. Why not? I knew I didn't know what I was doing or what would happen if I even drafted this and what the process of publishing it would even look like. I just kind of wanted to prove to myself that I could write something like this, and that's just how it started."
Garza Villa dove into the writing process, starting their first draft during NaNoWriMo 2019. They describe their process as "chaotic" and "a little obsessive."
"I'm a Sagittarius," Garza Villa said, "so when I get an idea, it's like, I have to do this, and it's my entire personality until I get bored of it or it finishes. I'm not necessarily someone who likes to outline a lot, so first drafts are kind of like vibes and aesthetics and skeleton dialogues and not a lot of plot. A lot of times I'll send drafts to my agent, and they'll be like, make sure something is happening in this story. We love vibes, but it can't just be kissing then it's over."
Garza Villa's writing process is also highly influenced by nontraditional methods. "I like to rely on things that are not necessarily writing but are productive. I love to go to Spotify and create playlists and go to Pinterest and create aesthetics and get myself in the mood to write about the scene or the character or something that makes me more creative when I finally get into Microsoft Word."
A hero after their own heart
When it came to drafting the story, Garza Villa knew they wanted to see themselves in the book. The main character, Jules, is heavily influenced by his own experiences as a Mexican American teen growing up closeted in South Texas. "I would say that a lot of myself went into Jules' character. A lot of just like my hopes and dreams, but also trepidations and secrets and traumas even went into him as a character, especially internally."
Garza Villa also styled Jules' friend group after their own. "The friend group, just as a whole, reflects the [one] I was able to make in college, after high school. They're very much just, like, day one, always-have-your-back sort of characters, and that does reflect the change I had from high school to college... In high school [I was surrounded by people] who I don't think I would have [been comfortable coming] out to. In college, it was very different: being introduced to Queer people of color and close friends I knew wouldn't have that same [discomfort] around it."
While Garza Villa worked hard to make sure Jules' story reflects experiences unique to themselves and some of their Queer and BIPOC friends, they also noted that in other ways, their own high school experience was quite different from the one they created for Jules.
"I grew up in a small, predominantly white, conservative town in southeast Texas, and I was not [a] person who embraced my culture. Moving to San Antonio after high school, I found myself as a Mexican person, a Chicano person. But even then, writing this book — especially from the point of view of a high schooler, when I knew that in my own experiences, I was not [accepting my identity] at this point in my life — there was a lot of imposter syndrome. I wondered, am I Mexican enough to write this book?... Is someone gonna clock this and be like, oh you're fake?"
Connecting to Mexican culture
The first step to for Garza Villa to connect with their culture was rediscovering their favorite parts of their Mexican heritage. "The foundation of getting into it was food. I relied on food as just a thing I had always been comfortable with my whole life, as something I culturally belonged with. I put it on strong with the food in the book. I knew that I wanted to make Jules a person who was very proudly Mexican American, and I wanted to do that respectfully and in a way that felt like I was putting my part of it into that."
Despite their own experiences having differed from those they created for Jules, Garza Villa still thinks writing for teens and young adults is very important. "I do just see something special about writing specifically about the 17, 18, even 19 age range of a person," they said, "[about] being so close to the next period of your life and feeling so much more like an adult than you ever had, but also getting these experiences where you realize you're not an adult and not ready for what's going to happen next. That sort of optimism but reluctance that can come with that age. I wanted to focus on that sort of stuff with my writing."
Garza Villa says they loved many of the coming-of-age experiences depicted in Love, Simon but noticed that some of them were did not match their own Queer experiences in the town they grew up in.
"I felt, especially as Queer people who come from environments and towns where we're not necessarily allowed to be ourselves, that there's this sort of transition period of being able to move away... That just really has been a huge point of my own life, and I just stick with that in different degrees and points of views."
Coming out in the 2020s
After the premiere of Love, Simon, many LGBTQ+ people were critical of the story, saying they were sick of seeing the "coming out" trope repeated and that as a society, we have moved past these types of stories.
"As I was writing this, I was hearing a lot of sentiments about how coming out stories aren't necessary anymore. Those kinds of [stories about] coming into yourself as Queer people aren't needed anymore, and I wanted to reflect that there are parts of this country where seeing ourselves is not necessarily granted, and we must see those journeys."
In many spaces in America, coming out is still a massive struggle for teens. "I feel like there's an environmental impact that you have to take into consideration," Garza Villa said, "especially what it means for a Queer relationship in the same setting that I write my stories in, and coming from a Mexican point of view and a socially conservative point of view. I would say the environment itself is what makes the biggest difference."
Garza Villa works to showcase the difference between a rural Queer coming-of-age story, like that of Jules, and the experiences of someone growing into their Queer identity in a socially accepting environment, like Mat.
While, of course, not everybody in Los Angeles is accepting of public displays of Queer affection, "you're still in a place a little more accustomed to seeing Queer people out and about. And I thought it was important to get both those perspectives, and have a character like Jules, who was trying to figure out how to be open in his life, versus Mat, who is out and trying to get more people to be accepting of his life. I wanted to put those two together, because I think it's important."
Words of hope for young readers
After writing their first novel, Garza Villa realized what an impact Queer literature can have on young adult audiences. They hope readers can take away a sense of belonging after reading Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun.
"I hope that... anyone who knows what it is to be in Jules' shoes, and is still existing in a place that is similar to Jules' own experience of having to hide for his safety," they said, "knows that anywhere you are within your coming out... you are enough. You are enough for this world. There's no rush, you are loved, you are supported.
"And I hope just reading it — even if you're reading it behind closed doors in your bedroom at night — that you feel not so alone, that you feel that you have Jules and Mat and all Jules' friends and his sister all there to support you.
"And even if you don't know what it is to be in Jules' shoes, [I hope] you... know what it is to be a supportive friend or a supportive sibling."
Garza Villa added, "[For] someone getting into the next phase of your life, maybe as a college senior..., [with] all the expectations of our parents and the hopes we have personally, [while figuring out] what it is you want to do with your life... that's a whole hell of a lot sometimes. You're gonna do great."
The most rewarding part of becoming a successful author for Garza Villa is the feedback they receive from fans, especially young adults growing up near their hometown.
"I think it just kind of hits differently. I know from hearing from readers who grew up in South Texas along the Gulf Coast that [Jules] meant something to them. And to get those references — like Whataburger and Selena and even like the colloquial Spanish that comes from South Texas — that's different from living in New Mexico or Arizona or California... Those specific things put [readers] in a place that made this book home for them... I think it's important that we have stories that feel like home to us. I think we all kind of are raised to take it for granted, really, until we see it."
New year, new book
Garza Villa is already prepping their next young-adult novel, another BIPOC Queer rom-com. "In my next book, coming out in early 2023, called Ander and Santi Were Here, the main character is a nonbinary Chicana character. As connected as I felt to Jules, getting to write a Gay nonbinary character was, like, okay, I felt close to this."
Ander and Santi Were Here follow the titular character, Ander, a young muralist taking a gap year before heading off to college in Chicago, who falls for the new waiter at their family's taqueria, Santi. "They get into this very flirtatious will-they-won't-they situation, which gets complicated when ICE comes into the taqueria, and we find out that Santi is undocumented, so they have to figure out how to hold on to love when the world would rather they be separated."
With edits to their new book coming in 2022, Garza Villa has much to look forward to in the new year. "I love New Year's.... I'm not huge on resolutions, but just throw away last year and let's get into the new year and drink a little bit," they laughed.
They're celebrating the calendar change in sunny San Antonio, which, as they put it, is "actually having a cold front right now," although they admit a Texas cold front is nothing like Washington has ever seen. "As a person who lives very much south, every time it gets below 72 degrees, I'm not someone who is fun to be around."
Despite the "cold," Garza Villa is having a blast celebrating the holidays with family and friends. "When I think of the holidays, I think of tamales. Every New Year's, my grandma makes buñuelos, which is kind of like a fried tortilla covered in cinnamon and sugar. Like a Mexican crispy snickerdoodle sort of flavor going on. I think that's really where I find a lot of comforts. My favorite traditions are the foods I get to look forward to in December."
Their ideal date would also occur in winter, coinciding with their Sagittarius birthday. "Last year for my birthday, I wanted to go to this trail of lights in Austin. It's miles and miles of lights, and I think that would make a cute date. And listening to Mariah Carey on repeat while you go [along] a huge trail of lights and decorations," they mused.
Garza Villa is also thrilled to be included in the SGN Book Club. "I'm really happy that it's a winter selection," they said. "A lot of my favorite things happen in the winter in this novel. Jules is Sagittarius, and I love that. I hope you all enjoy it!"
For anyone interested in joining, pick up a copy of Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, find us at https://www.instagram.com/sgn_books/, and let us know what you think!