Name:  Icess Fernandez Rojas

Hometown:  Houston, TX – baby!

Residence:  North Shore

What is your earliest memory of writing? 

The womb, as I was writing my grievances for the tiny room of which I was assigned. I’ve been giving my mom headaches ever since. Ha! It’s part of my charm, she says.

How did you become a writer?

That’s a really hard question. I wrote short stories and things in school and as a hobby (it is no longer a hobby). I always knew I’d write books but I believe that I began learning some of the fundamentals of writing as a journalist. It’s a great training ground for the nitty gritty like writing to a length or word count, writing on deadline, keeping the reader in mind, asking questions of characters (sources). However, I think what launched my writing ahead, really solidified it in my head and brought me closer to my path was getting the MFA. My program was set up with the writer’s life in mind which is perfect. Writers write and they read and they do that with full-time jobs. That’s amazing. There was none of the romantic notion in my program and they very much taught me that this is a writing life not just a thing I do.

Tell us about your writing process.

Procrastination. HA! I’m a fiction writer so it starts with a character and their voice in my head. That sounds crazy but that’s how it happens. And because I write in the long form, there’s always a danger of my short stories becoming my next novel project. I have a couple like that now, so I work really hard at the short form to keep my character to short form while I finish longer forms. I’m working on my first book in a mystery series now which really should have been done a while ago but that’s another conversation for another day. That has been on my front burner for awhile. However, sometimes I need a break so I’ll do something else for a bit – short stories, a poem (written badly but written) or creative non-fiction, which is fascinating me at the moment. What’s interesting though is my revision process, THAT is a process. And one I’m learning to appreciate each time I do it.

What are you working on now?

JENNIE MANNING! I feel like I’m always working on her because I am. Even though there’s a version of the book that I would say is complete, she’s not done. Because it’s the first in a series, there are decisions I have to make with tone and character background and motivation I need to feel comfortable with so it’s taking longer. However, she’s coming along swimmingly. This is the book I’ve wanted to write since I was 13 and it has Houston as the setting. It’s important to me that Houston is portrayed not only as a character (it’s written in noir) but also that we see the real deal. I have seen books set in Houston that take place in River Oaks or other places of affluence. That’s not the Houston I know. Houston is wonderful but hot and grimy. It’s rock hard but has pockets of southern traditions. Houston is business and society. There are rules and regulations in Houston that make it function – a code. That’s the world of Detective Jennie Manning.

On the non-writing, yet writing related front, I’m working on turning my writing into a business by teaching classes. I’m teaching a fiction writing class that I am so loving. I’m developing a non-fiction class that focuses on publishing and a blogging course.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

Writer’s block doesn’t exist! That’s the wonderful part about being a reporter for so many years, you don’t have that luxury. When there’s a deadline, you turn something in. You made that happen!  In grad school, my fellow writers were kind shocked at how I could get so many pages written while they were “blocked.”  Literally it’s that deadline on the calendar. Stuff just has to be done.

I also try to read as much as I can and try new techniques with my writing so if something isn’t working, I try one of those. Or a writing prompt. Or I Netflix. Yes, Netflixing is part of the process.

Which writers and teachers have most influenced you as a writer?

My 8^th grade English teacher was the first one who said that maybe I should pursue this writing thing. I laughed and said, yeah, but I wanna make money. HA!!! Then my senior AP teacher, Mrs. Landry was amazing and tough. She taught me to read deeper and to not take things at face value. She also taught me to come correct. DO NOT go in Mrs. Landry’s class without being prepared…unless you want to die.

And then later on, the writers come in – Garcia Marquez is my dude, my teacher. Isabel Allende is magical. Clarice Lispector is my spirit animal, Junot Diaz is the realest dude, he’s air. Edwidge Danticat is life; Cristina Garcia taught me that it was possible to be nostalgic for an island that I hadn’t visited; Ana Menendez taught me you could be a journalist and still write amazing prose; Carolina Garcia-Aguilera who’s Lupe Solano series inspired the world of Jennie Manning; Walter Mosley who taught me it was possible to write noir AND be a person of color; Raymond Chandler, like why aren’t more people reading his books! I don’t understand. That dude is a genius, no debate.

What books have had the biggest impact on your trajectory?

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – gave me air. Dreaming in Cuban, The Hour of the Star, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Devil in a Blue Dress. Old school: The Babysitter’s Club series, The Box Car Children, Encyclopedia Brown, Whispers From the Dark (Joan L Nixon, yo from that H-town!) Judy Blume anything. Where the Wild Things Are.

What’s your advice to aspiring writers? Write poorly. Write absolute crap. That’s how you get to the good stuff. Read and write. That’s all you have to do.