Have you ever found yourself buried deep in a book, resonating deeply with its story and characters, and then you stumble upon an author bio in the back that just blows your mind? If you haven’t had that experience yet, you will when you pick up one of Kristina León Cuvée’s books. This awesome author is a seasoned STEM content research strategist with a Master of Science degree in applied psychology who has worked for five Fortune 500 companies. And, boy, does she have a story to tell!
Nikki: Thank you so much for joining me, Kristina! Gosh, with your background, I have so many questions, but I’m going to kick things off with a bookish one first. What genres are your favorite?
Kristina: I typically write in the fantasy and science fiction genres. I honestly read more non-fiction than fiction, though I love a good novel. The types of books on my TBR (to be read) list are usually of the ontological variety, like The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
I love that! I find that so many fiction writers only read fiction, and I just can’t relate. I’m usually reading one fiction book and one non-fiction at any given time! So, you’re self-published, right?
I’m self-published and will continue to self-publish until an imprint of a major publisher or Amazon reaches out to me directly with interest in publishing one of my books. For years I dreamed of getting a literary agent and a huge book deal from a Big Five publishing house. That was my original plan for my first novel, in fact. I queried a handful of agents and didn’t get any interest, so I decided to self-publish instead.
I totally understand that. I had the same approach with my first novel… I wanted to pursue the traditional route, and while I received many kind words from agents, it just wasn’t meant to be. But I love the freedom that comes with being an indie author, especially in terms of branding. What platform do you use to publish?
I use Kindle Direct Publishing and like their user interface, so I’ll keep using them unless I decide to pivot to another system. But it was a difficult thing to come to terms with when I realized getting traditionally published could take years. What was even more sobering about that discovery was how long the publishing process itself can take too (one to three years in editing and design before your book even goes to market). On top of how long both of those processes can take — getting an agent and a book deal, then editing and design — there are no guarantees that the publisher will do a good job of marketing your book. Many traditional publishers make most of their profit from 20% of the books they publish while the other 80% flounder and flop, so I’m told.
I’m not willing to relinquish that much control over my publishing timeline, manuscript, and design choices with no guarantee of a positive outcome. Naturally, there are a lot of unknowns in publishing whether you go that route or self-publish, but I don’t want to put all my eggs in someone else’s basket (a big publisher) with no assurance that they’re going to give it their best effort when it comes to marketing and advertising. Believe it or not, a lot of the marketing still falls on the author, even when they’re traditionally published.
(laughs) We really are marketers, aren’t we? We have to wear so many hats… By the way, I’m a big fan of your sombrero on your author website. I’ll just sneak that tidbit in to entice our readers to go check it out. But let’s give them some more reason to swing by! Tell us about your written works.
My debut novel is Monroe’s Map, which I self-published in the fall of 2023 and is available on Amazon. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy novel about a teenage space junkie who has his heart set on an expedition to Mexico to see if there’s a Mayan ruin in the Lacandon Jungle.
Oh my gosh, that is so cool. Writing in the sci-fi arena myself, I find that though I’m intrigued by the adventures my characters embark on, I don’t particularly like them as people. How do you feel about your characters?
I’ve always liked a quote from Aaron Sorkin about this: “I don’t always agree with my characters.” I echo these sentiments about my characters. Whether they’re well-intentioned or ill-intentioned, there’s a part of me in each of them and I understand them all.
Human beings have so many design flaws — some folks more than others — so it’s only logical that those flaws make it into the characterization of fictional people. That’s what makes character arcs so interesting.
Agreed! And since you wrote Monroe’s Map while living in California, Texas, and Massachusetts, you must have had so many unique experiences to influence your thinking. Now, speaking of flaws, I have to ask one question that people will absolutely judge you for. What milk do you prefer? Oat, coconut, or legit milk-milk?
Almond milk is a staple in my diet, but I take oat milk in my chai lattes from Starbucks.
I love a good chai latte. Okay, back to books. Are there any tropes you try to avoid as a writer?
Helicopter parents and overly attached mothers. This trope is so tired and I want nothing to do with it.
The doting mother who still makes her children’s lunch well beyond the point they could make their own lunch is troubling to me. In recent decades, American culture has developed new social norms around appropriate levels of parental management over their children’s wellbeing and daily affairs. A certain level of nurturing is necessary, of course, but overly involved mothers are problematic for healthy life span development.
That is such an interesting response! I suppose I’ve never thought about it, but now that you mention it, I have seen that trope arise time and time again.
Yes! And there’s a huge amount of literature on this subject — a field of research I studied extensively while obtaining my Master of Science in applied psychology — and a growing body of evidence points to the need for parents to provide more autonomy than many children, adolescents, and emerging adults typically get in contemporary storytelling. In order to become independent, well-adjusted people that won’t suffer from internalizing or externalizing problems related to being over-managed by their parents (particularly their mothers), I think children and adolescents should be treated with more respect and dignity than they usually get in 21st century media and books.
We see this trope time and again in movies and TV shows too: the over-zealous or timid youth in need of a heavy hand or careful monitoring. It’s portrayed in many child and adolescent characters who are generally accompanied by maternal figures that hover over their affairs all the time. It’s like a bad habit that writers, directors, and producers are reluctant to break.
That is an amazing point, and I love that you’re here to educate on it. With your background, your characters must be the most fascinating cast. Did you always know you’d be a writer one day?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was really young. I was born knowing I was going to be a writer.
I believe it, you have such a natural penchant for storytelling. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me! To close things out, I just have one more question for you. If you could live in any fictional world, which would you choose?
I would say Bridgerton, Downton Abbey, and/or The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Kristina León Cuvée is an author you need to know! She’s working on a dark fantasy at the moment, but you can keep consuming her content in the meantime by visiting her Fictitious Times Journal. This fictional news stream is fascinating, and getting to know her writing style there is a treat like no other.
Want to learn more about other indie authors to know? Keep an eye on my Indie Author Spotlight Series for more.