Writers Who Read: Désireé Zamorano

Our Writers Who Read series continues this week with writer Désirée Zamorano.

Who are you?
Author of The Amado Women, multi-generational family drama, out this summer from Cinco Puntos Press. A Mexican-American who grew up reading everything I could get my hands on, from Maya Angelou to Bible stories to the encyclopedia set Man, Myth and Magic in the Compton Library. A native Californian, I didn’t discover noir mysteries until I read Raymond Chandler while sitting on the left bank of the Seine—and fell in love with noir so much I created my PI Inez Leon for Human Cargo and then Jackie Paz for Modern Cons, both ebooks published by Lucky Bat.

What are three beloved books you first read before the age of 12?
I did love Jack London’s Call of the Wild, and Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. When I discovered A Wrinkle in Time I wanted to be a character in that book.

What is one book you are always recommending to friends and family (and maybe the local barista) as an adult?
It kind of depends on who I’m talking to, sometimes it’s Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things To Me, other times it’s David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas.

What is your book kryptonite—those unique elements in a book, beyond just great writing and three-dimensional characters, that make you unable to resist reading?
I am absolutely gobsmacked by authors who weave multiple story lines and bring them all together in a dazzling finish. For me that would include practically everything by Kate Atkinson and Martin Cruz Smith.

What is your ideal time and place to read?
By the light of a late afternoon in a silent back yard with a cool breeze to keep me company.

Which books have had the biggest influence on your writing?
Carolyn See’s generous and insightful Making a Literary Life truly sustained me when my writing ambition was like a heavy stone on my chest. She compares writing to a quick and easy 30 minutes or a long and slow 18-hour chili recipe. I think now I can confidently say I’ve made the 18-hour recipe. Dagoberto Gilb’s Gritos, a collection of essays, reminded me of the challenges Mexican American authors face.

How do you balance reading and writing in your life?
I excuse my reading addiction as telling myself that all reading deepens my writing. The problem arises when I use reading or research in place of writing.

Choose your penned poison: ebook, physical book, or audio book?
Each one has a time and a place for me! I love ebooks on a plane, audio when I exercise, and a physical book in a physical place, like bed.

Do you consciously plan your future reading—i.e., set book goals, keep a TBR list, participate in book challenges or book clubs? Why or why not?
There are many writers I admire, like Roxane Gay, Kathryn Schulz, Sarah Weinman, Maud Newton. When they recommend something I keep a list—buy the books or request them from the library. Unfortunately at times my TBR list turns into a NEVER TBR pile.

What are you reading now?
Just finished Wendy C Ortiz’s Excavation—A Memoir. Truly stunning, like Marguerite Duras’s The Lover.

You can learn more about Désirée on her website or on Twitter. The Amado Women is available through most independent bookstores, and, of course, online; here’s a recent review of the book.