Episode 74: Hector Duarte Jr. Author Interview

R
Hello cinnabar moths or any kind of moth you’d like to be welcome to the Writers Triangle, Cinnabar Moth’s podcast for all things publishing and books. Today we are here with Hector Duarte, Jr, author of aqueous over columns. Hector, how are you doing today?

H
Great. How are you doing? I’m doing pretty good myself. Thanks

R
for asking. And thanks for coming on and talking with me.

H
No, thank you for having me. I very much appreciate it.

R
I’m gonna get into. Are you feeling excited about the release of Icarus over Collins that’s coming out this upcoming Tuesday?

H
Yes, I absolutely 100%. It’s a lot, a long process. And I really can’t believe that it’s actually going to make it out into the world in print for people to read. So I’m very, very stoked about that one.

R
So you say it’s been a long process? How long ago did you start writing Icarus over Collins?

H
So that story is so there’s not to give too much away. But the main plot element deals with by the way, sorry, Rasta. I think of going off script here. Can we curse on the podcast or no?

R
Oh, yeah. Curse. Cursing is fine. Don’t worry about that.

H
We want to be sure it just in case of the casual slip, but so anyway, yeah. That this incident. So the incident of I was teaching at a high school in 2000. That had to happen 2018. And I there was actually a student who fell off a balcony like that he was trying to, he was at a high rise in at his parents apartment. He got locked out. And he was trying to jump from the top floor to his floor. The balcony gave out and he actually fell to his death. He was young 16. And he turned 16 that day. And I it just I decided to write about it. And but obviously I fictionalized it, because writing about it from a nonfiction perspective, so to speak, would have been just sort of difficult. I just wanted to fictionalize it. So it had to been sorry to answer your question. 2018 was when I really first started, like the bones of the story. So that’s what four years, three, four years? And then I think I turned the drop to cinnabar moth, like a year ago, maybe or just under a year. So yeah, easily four years, four years? Not long.

R
Okay. So you, you started off with this nonfiction event that actually happened, and then fictionalized it into a chorus over columns. When it came to writing the story, what was the process like over those four years or so?

H
Um, so it’s basically, you know, and I think this is, this is true for any, you know, I had a, I had a writing professor at Florida International University that used to say, you know, nonfiction, I’m not going to name his name, because after I’d say this, quote, might get in trouble for what he used to say, you know, nonfiction is the art of things didn’t quite happen this way. And fiction is things actually happened this way. Right? So you hear that old adage, things are Stranger Than Fiction, or you can’t write something that seems. So the idea was, you know, in my fiction, at least, I can absolutely guarantee you that easily. 70 to 80% of it is somewhat based on something that’s happened to me or it’s happening to me at the moment. And then the rest is just me making it up. So that’s sort of how that how that came about. You know, it’s just a way of processing it. Because obviously, it’s, I’ve been teaching now, I’m a school teacher, that’s what I do for full time work. And I’ve been I’ve been teaching since 2006. So that’s going on 16 years, actually a second year. So in that time, I’ve seen unfortunately, a lot of great things mostly, but it also a lot of tragedy, you know, and I’ve taught high school, so I’ve lost some students and their tragic circumstances. And that was one of them. That was one of those things where, and I said, Okay, how do I this is weird, you know, it’s odd. It’s very strange. How can I processes and I just noticed, I’m someone who, even though lately I’ve been flirting with more nonfiction, to lead fictionalizing something helps me processes and also that So that’s sort of where that came from. And then the rest of the story, those of you who read it, hopefully, fingers crossed one person who reads it, you’re gonna see that it obviously goes on a different on a completely different track where, you know, sort of the the, the kid falling from the balcony that death happens really early on. And then the rest of the plot is just basically, it’s just a revenge story, which is exactly what I set out to tell.

R
So did you go in with – you say it’s the story you have to tell? Did you go in with the idea that you’re going to write a revenge story from the very beginning? Or is that something that developed later on during that process?

H
No. So I wrote the death scene, which is pretty much the first chapter. And then I said, Okay, what is and then, which is the weird thing, right? Because that’s what, that’s what I think all stories are. And I think that’s where people make a big mistake. You see, I have this great, you know, you tell people, you’re a writer, you go to a bar, right? kind of tell people, I tend to go to a bar, liberal bars, I have books, or no books I’m writing. And I tell people I like to write and they have a great story for you. And then they told me their life story. But, you know, once you have that, okay, what’s the story? You know what I mean? Like, that’s it because you can sit here and say, okay, a kid falls from the balcony on Miami Beach High Rise. Okay, then that’s obviously a tragic story. But what’s the story, I guess? And I hope I don’t sound like, you know, kind of like, jaded or anything, but I wrote that one chapter is that okay, now what? What happens now? Where is it going? Right? Because the kids dead. Now what? What happens? And that’s where that story. That’s where it turns into a sort of revenge story. I just wanted to see if I could write a very sort of basic revenge plot, which it’s not a monologue. It’s not. It’s kind of all over the place, honestly, from from a writer’s perspective. But I’m pretty happy with with the end product for sure. Because I think it’s, it’s very experimental. And that’s what I wanted to.

R
Okay, so you, you had the core like, event happen, but then from there you have there needs to be more though.

R
Right, exactly. Absolutely. Absolutely. Because, you know, a kid falling off a balcony, or anything like that is a news story, right? So who, what, when, where, and that’s sort of, you know, it’s great for that day, right? That’s what news coverage is, like, what’s happening today. But if you want someone to sit there and be riveted, if you want someone to sit there for two hours, and watch a movie, if you want someone to sit there for three days and read them all, you need or you know, listen to a podcast, whatever the case is, you need to have something that’s going to keep them coming back, keep them interested. And that’s that’s the very, very hard part of writing. You know, I, like I said, I, you know, and I’m not trying to sound like a douche or anything, but I did. I, I got my MFA in fiction and creative writing. So obviously, one of the things I learned in college was when you’re writing, it’s plotting, right? A lot of plot, like, Okay, what’s the story here? How do you keep and that, to me is the hardest part of writing, you know, characters are sort of unique characters are sort of easy to write. Sort of intriguing. Dialogue is easy. But it’s that plot. Okay, that what’s, what’s the thing that’s going to keep the viewer interested. And I to me, for me, personally, as a writer, that’s the hardest part. That’s what I was trying to, to sort of keep in mind.

R
Yeah, that definitely makes sense to me, because the plot is one of the key parts of that kind of engine for keeping everything moving forward. Right. And without it, things fall apart very quickly. I think that some reader some readers have preferences, you know, they’ll say I like I like connecting with these diverse interesting characters. I need an immersive dialogue, or I need the settings to be beautifully described. But at the end of the day, if the plot is extremely weak, it can lead to everything else falling apart.

H
Yeah, absolutely. 100% I mean, look, a great example that a great example that is Squid Game, have you watched – did you see Squid Game ?

H
I have not I’ve heard about it, but I haven’t watched it.

H
You haven’t? Okay. So, you know, if you watch it, or for anyone who’s listening out there, it’s basically right. It’s this kind of horrific game, sort of like a game show. But you know, people’s lives are at stake and basically the plot, right? So that’s, that’s the first sort of episode, right? Oh my god, there’s these sort of crazy tests and competitions that people are put through. And they’re pretty horrific, right? And that’s sort of the intriguing, unique part of it. But what you need at the end of the day for that series to run, which it did, and to do it well, is a plot right? At the end of the day, the plot of that show, is sort of a while by the end of it, is this sort of like, it’s the individual characters? And how are they going to get through this? Right, because poor and entry only lasts for so long. Right? That’s, it gets to a point where you gotta give people more. Right. And that’s, that, to me, is the challenging part.

H
Yeah, the giving people something to bond with and connect to, to, to keep them interested. So with with process with writing, would you say that it was painful or difficult for you to go from that, you know, the initial chapter into actually filling out the story and getting it completed?

H
Ah, I’m so I wouldn’t say painful, which is very, so one of the things I did with this stone novella manakala books, because it’s, there’s no way it is one, if you look at the length of some of the, and I’m very happy for cinnabar moth, for you know, publishing aid and going with it. Because it is very experimental, one of the things I wanted to do was see is it’s very much written in English and Spanish, it’s an entity Spanish hybrid. What I did was I, I purposely, I didn’t italicized. I didn’t necessarily set the reader up for a, I’m going to be switching back and forth. I just did it. And I did it very, there’s no warning. So like, there’s no like, it’s not, hey, one chapters in English, one chapters in Spanish, it’s just sort of, it’s in there. It’s embedded there, Spanish, with the English. And that’s what growing up in Miami, a place like Miami, that’s very much ingrained in me I can, you know, I speak with my parents. And I just switch it because there’s, you know, I’m proficient in Spanish, I’m pretty good. But there’s just some things, especially from speaking with talking fast. There’s something that I have to tell them in English, just for clarity sake. And that was one of the things I found myself doing. So I wrote the first chapter. For the most part, I want to say the first chapters in English, but then I just kept writing, and they said, You know what, kinda, and this is where I’m going to start cursing. So I’m gonna be honest with you. This is like, first work. But first book I published was a short story collection, which was my graduate thesis for school for Florida International University. So it’s very, if you look at it, it’s very sort of sorry, Rasta, can you hear me okay?

R
Yeah, I can hear you just fine.

H
Okay, no, no, because my computer’s like, warning that it says people are having some trouble hearing you. So I wasn’t sure.

R
Okay.

H
So okay, sorry about that. So, you know, my first, that first short story collection is called Desperate times call. It’s very sort of, you know, proper, and it was just me writing my graduate thesis and making sure I had, you know, characterization and plot and I was hitting all of the elements that they wanted, that my graduate thesis advisor wanted, this novel was very much me kind of saying, but I just want to write, like, I want to write what I want to write, I want to see where this goes, I want to not put too much emphasis on pre planning. And that’s exactly what I did. And part of me, writing in Spanish was me, you know, trying to capture Miami in a way that’s not gonna say that it hasn’t been captured before, because I don’t want to make it sound like I’m trying to do something extraordinary, because it’s not but the idea of, to me that language switching is very much in my head. You know what I mean? That’s how I grew up. It’s how I my friends do it, because I’ve heard them do it. And I hear people on the street everyday doing just switching back and forth. And that was part of me doing that, you know, and I don’t like, you know, people that Junot Diaz have done it before. You know, fine I felt like all that stuff was kind of gobbled up in the hype of the time, but I don’t know I felt like that was my guess. It was the best way I could represent my if that makes sense.

R
That does make sense to me, I think but I think the some And that is kind of not explored as much as it could be is that reality of living in a place that has multilingual people who just switch because it’s natural to them, they, you know, you grew up with both English and Spanish. And so both of them fit with you. And they’re comfortable. But there are times when one is just more comfortable for the thing you’re talking about than the other. And because the other person also speaks both languages, there’s no reason not to, it just, it’s natural for you to go between A and B, and flow like that. I definitely think that there’s quite a few books out there that could have potentially been improved if people were willing to explore that, and didn’t feel necessarily trapped to the English language or trapped to Spanish. Right. And so with going into that a little bit more with the kind of the growing up with being in a multimedia, the bilingual environment, and tying that into the story did how you, I know that’s natural for you and your speaking normally, did you find it difficult at all to blend those together when you’re writing it? Or did that also feel natural to you in terms of just your writing expressiveness?

H
It actually, if I’m being honest with you, it’s funny, because when I was writing, on the initial draft, it just came out it flowed. And it was, it was actually pretty good. As far as it was me just doing what I do normally, which is just being able to switch English or Spanish. But I did find like, on the, in the revision process, I found I found myself in worrying about like, the tax and more hurts, or making sure that something was, you know, physically correct, either, even if a lot of it is slang, or it tried to use some slang, but there’s just some things where I found myself second guessing, and saying, Okay, should I use this here, but I use this there. And I’ll be honest with you, I even look up, I even use Google Translate quite a bit to try to figure out because there’s just there were some, there are some scenes, where I just kind of, it’s weird. There’s some, there were some parts where I’m like, I want this to be in Spanish. Even if it was written in English, like the first draft, the little, maybe just a little vignette or a little scene. But I knew also that I wanted to make sure I got it right. As far as the sensory detail, you know, the, the sort of smell the taste, wherever it was happening at that moment. So initially, no, I just went with it in the first draft, but during the revision, which is I think, normal for any writer, I definitely found myself sort of going over it a little bit more carefully, more like a magnifying glass and saying, okay, is this like worrying about my audience? Or which I hate reading? But because, because that’s part of the, that’s part of the MFA, indoctrination, right? It’s this idea of like, you know, make sure you’re doing this, because they give you so many rules are awesome. And then you realize that they’re breaking, you know, the writers break those rules all the time. Yeah. And it’s, it’s weird. It’s weird when you realize that. But, you know, this was definitely my exercise and breaking some of those rules. But at the same time staying true to, because like, I, like we said, before you know, it, I do understand a lot of what, and listen, I’m forever grateful to the Florida International University MFA program. Because when I started, I couldn’t write myself out of a paper bag. Now I can at least I feel I can at least convey some sense of not gonna say I’m good, but I’m better than I was when I started, you know? And so I definitely found myself carefully kind of going over before just saying, okay, is this still accessible to me? You know, my goal is to challenge readers. But you know, at the end of the day, I still found that little, that little voice whispering in my head saying, Okay, make sure that certain people can read it, and I hate to say it, but it’s the truth. You know.

R
I think that that when that’s hammered into can be difficult to break away from and I think also, there is, you know, some care that gets put into it, no matter who you are, to make sure that it it can convey what you want to convey to someone who’s reading it. Right. And so I think that that type of process personally with having with my book, but when I was writing it as well, I did sometimes think, is this something that people will connect to? Like, will this even make sense to somebody who isn’t me?

H
Right? Right, right. Because, I mean, at the end of the lesson at the end of the day, you know, as a writer, you know, they, they kind of tell you, I guess, you know, the writers writer kind of, they write for themselves, but in reality, let’s be honest, you want to at least one of the, I mean, you want more, but realistically, you would want at least one other person out there to the stranger on the other side of the world to pick up your book and stay alive. And I can connect with this, you know, so you’re always writing for someone else, you know. But at the same time, I’m the type of person and maybe you feel it. I wonder like, do you feel that to where you’re kind of like, no, no, I just want to write for me. Do you ever feel like that’s defined? As a writer?

R
Yeah, there are sometimes I think, okay, but what if I didn’t want to write this the continuation of the story I wrote before, though, right? If I just want to do this other thing that I that popped into my head, that’s a cool idea. Let’s say that I can’t right now, because I’m writing this story. Exactly. Exactly. I definitely do get that sort of feeling of rebellion against it, or just wanting to give more, even though it’s not actually giving more to the reader is just giving more of my ideas onto the page. Do you experience that where you have like, these concepts that are really interesting, and, you know, feel that they would flesh out the world that you’re building, or the story that you’re building or these characters, but then you look at it, and you go, actually, this is just slowing down the pace of the book?

H
Oh, my God, listen, I have I constantly, I constantly write. And, you know, I’ll start writing. And let’s say I’m two pages in and I know, immediately, I’m like, This is not amazing. But I just keep doing because I know a bench. You know, there’s, and that’s something that that’s something I learned, again, in grad school. I remember there was one time where I had been like, it was just, I was trying to write for my thesis. And I just remember I couldn’t, I’m just sitting there for hours, nothing would come out. I was trying to force sentences, nothing, nothing. And then the next day, it just blow it just came out Oh, booboo, I remember I mentioned that to a colleague of mine. And he told me, he goes, you know, the previous night gave way to the night app, you know, so you sitting there kind of beating your head, staring at a blank screen not coming up with anything it does. It doesn’t feel like it at the moment, but it essentially informs some things. So even if you’re sitting there, you’re writing pages and pages and pages, knowing this is not going to make it. It might not even make it for that story. But I promise you, it’s going to eventually it’s going to come up again. That’s why I always keep everything in journals. If I’m writing something on word, I make sure I save it. Even if I’m writing gibberish, because eventually I do find I wonder if that’s ever happened to you. But like, if you ever because I noticed that happened to me with in the revision process where I’ll rewrite a sentence. And I realized that I wrote the same exact sentence, or the same exact plot line before without realizing like a line of dialogue, like I’ll have a character say a line of dialogue to change it. And I realized that I had written before, a very similar line before Has that ever happened to you?

R
Yeah, I think there are. There have been a couple of times where I went back and was like, Well, what if they say it this way instead? And I think I’ve said this before?

H
Yeah, yeah. Which is a great sign. Because one of the things they want all the things that I was taught was that once you know that your characters eventually speak to you. Right? So that goes to show you that your character is speaking to you, you know exactly what they’re going to say, at any given moment. So that’s the goal, right? Eventually. That’s the goal you want, the parents are speaking to you.

R
So sounds like with the process of writing Icarus over Collins, you you had this full opportunity that you gave yourself to explore things outside of the boundaries that you were taught in grad school, and really delve deeper into writing and have that discovery process for yourself as well as for the story is style. And you came out with what I think personally is an enjoyable book to read.

H
Oh, thank you. I do, I very much appreciate that thank you, hopefully, others will feel the same way.

R
And so you, you end up, you know, you finish writing a book, and the next step of that process is finding someplace to get it published. Right. So how did you end up discovering Cinnabar Moth publishing?

H
Okay, so cinnabar moth came from I had, I had pitched this book, left, right and center, I was in Twitter at the time. And I was just kind of, you know, looking through pages and, and just even going online and finding, I have a book called The, I can see right now my bookshelf, the literary marketplace. So I was using that. And I just kind of online indie publishers, and even big ones. And I was just, I would, I was sitting there, I must have pitched hon, I’m not even kidding. Hundreds of places, and most of them didn’t even respond. Some of them did, and they weren’t, you know, they would read the 10 pages, or whatever they asked for that it’s 25 or 30 pages, typically, is the common amount. And they I think, just the the language switching, they didn’t, they didn’t dig it too much, you know, so I got your common sort of, it’s great. And, but we just don’t think there’s a home for you know, that typically after a while, it’s so rote and mechanical, that you get screws, and then I didn’t see a call for cinnabar moth publishing novels, this must have been like, it’s been a year and a half, two years ago. And I said, Well, no, at that point, I was just so I, you know, let me just try have nothing to lose. And boom, you know, figuring figuring it was going to be a hard No, the good thing about here and also many times is, I guess, is that you develop a very thick skin. So after a while you just said Alright, whatever, doesn’t matter. It’s going to be another note. So once you hear that, yes, it’s like, you know, it tastes that much sweeter. And yeah, I got a response. And they were devoted to it. So and then, even. So, they were, they were interested in the novel. And then I think, Christopher asked me if I had any short stories, which I submitted, and they’ve been, they’ve published those as well, which has been, which has been very nice. I gotta be honest with you, cinnabar moth has been, for me as a writer has been very generous. As far as publishing my stuff and accepting it. You know, it’s, that’s rare these days. And also very good. And shot.

R
So you just got us through Twitter? And then you got the Yes, but what made you end up decide to ultimately to publish with us instead of continually searching for a different home?

H
So just the fact that I didn’t get the No, I wasn’t getting that rote mechanical response I mentioned before, it was very much sort of a unique, you know, response and a sort of warm embrace of this new, you know, of my of my story, and they weren’t afraid of the language switching, there wasn’t really much that they asked me to change, which I was appreciative of, you know, that that helps very much. It was this freedom to just to just write, which is very refreshing. And there’s no, I didn’t get a lot of parameters. And that’s, that, to me, as an as a writer, as an artist, is great. Because it’s very refreshing.

R
Thank you. It’s nice to hear that you – we do attempt to let our authors, you know, explore their writing and embrace the fullness of writing as a whole. And it’s great to hear that that’s been well received.

H
Yeah, keep it up. Because I’ll tell you, it makes a huge difference. It really does. It helps the writers morale, it helps the writers creativity, because you just, you just feel appreciated, and it makes you in my opinion, it makes you work that much harder and much better. Thank you.

R
And so you, you mentioned before that you were public, you had your graduate thesis of short stories published previously, and then you now gone through the publication process with us. What would you say has been kind of a surprising thing publishing with cinnabar moth?

H
So like, you know, like I said before, just the, the relaxed nature of it, you know, in terms of, you know, I didn’t get, when I sent in my draft, I didn’t get like crazy, insane copious amount of notes of, you know, change the server, our editors feel you need to do this, you know, it was, for the most part, there were some good edits, and there were clean one, which I pretty much wholeheartedly agree with. But the crux of the story was thought that I really thought, Okay, this is probably going to come back and maybe be a problem or after changes. None of that was floud. Or I was asked to change it. So that was, that was part of it just sort of at ease, and relaxed nature of publishing with you guys.

R
Okay, happy to hear that. And yeah, with the process for books we do, tends to try and keep the story as whole, as it can be in its original form, and look more to refine the existing product rather than change the story that authors give us? Because, you know, it’s, it’s your work, too, and we want you to feel like it’s still your book at the end of the process.

H
Yeah, today, again, you know, that’s, that’s, that’s very important. And that’s a good model. You know, because like I said, Before, it makes a huge difference, especially now that I really feel, you know, the writers, I really feel that writers these days feel under appreciated. And, you know, Expectedly, so just the market, it’s tough, you know, it’s tough. So you want to, you want to you want to be with someone who’s not going to ask you to compromise yourself to watch, but still publish you, you know.

R
And it can be a difficult balance sometimes. Yeah. And so you with the collection of short stories versus the process of publishing the book versus, you know, even the short stories that you’ve done with us, I imagine that process is a little bit different for publication for each of them as anything that’s been particularly surprising or noteworthy to you during this publication process.

H
No, I honestly. No, not so. Not so much. Nothing. I mean, well, I’ll be honest with you, the thing that I do appreciate, is, you know, like, something like this, that this interview can, I can tell you, the last publisher, I had, their their sort of promotion machine, quote, unquote, or their promotion model was it was almost non existent. So I appreciated that even this is happening, you know, and it’s something I’m not used to. So at first, it was a little like, well, what’s, what are what does that mean? What’s an interview? Because it wasn’t, you know, that didn’t really happen. It was just sort of like, Alright, we’ve got your story. Thank you very much. And then that was it. It was sort of like, you were forgotten, which is, which in and of itself is a very, we’ve, that was a strange. That was a very strange time in my life. Because, you know, one of the things that the the graduate program taught, he was like, okay, public, that’s what you want, right? It’s a dream. But, you know, publishing doesn’t necessarily mean anything. You know, and again, I’m not trying to sound like sour grapes or anything, but they don’t really prepare you for, okay, what happens when no one reads your work? What happens when no one’s paying attention, you know, that can be its own weird process. So, what Akers overcomes helped me do being with a house like cinnabar moth was just sort of relax, and go into it just for the sake of its own of the story. Not necessarily the result. And I think that’s very, that’s what I’ve been working on. In many facets of my life, not just prohibition, just doing the act for its own sake, as opposed to okay, what’s going to come up with this?

R
It does. And I think that that’s a very, I hear I’ve never gone through the writing school process, but I do think that just from my experiences of talking with other authors and kind of being on the publication side of things, there is a lot of stuff that just doesn’t get talked about, about the realities of being on the other side of publication or even going into the kind of machine of getting your book in, and then that entire process. And I do think there’s kind of an expectation of you get published, and then it’s wonderful, your books out there, people are gonna read it. And then well, maybe not.

H
Right, or just, you know, or even roster like I was talking to one of my own MFA friends, not too long ago, one of the things they, you know, the graduate program, the MFA program was a great four years that I had of just being I was in a bubble, you’re in a bubble, and you’re just writing and you’re creating in your workshop, and you’re with other writers that blah, blah, blah. Okay, but what happens now, when you have to go out and get a full time job, and, you know, like, I have a have a child, now, I can’t, you know, sit down and write every day, it’s not realistic for me, you know, none of my professors will tell you, Oh, yeah, I sit down for four hours, and I can’t do as much as I would want to, I wouldn’t love to sit down and write for four hours. But I can do it. I’m a father. I’m a full time teacher. It’s very unrealistic, you know, and one of the things that I for any MFA programs, any MFA program leaders are deemed that are the things is one of the biggest things I think we could take you in MFA programs, it’s financial literacy, because one of the things they don’t prepare you for is, okay, what do you have to do when you leave here now, and you can’t write for four hours a day, and you’re not in workshop, and yet, he had a real job. You know, they don’t, you know, it’s University is, is higher education, higher education is wonderful, especially graduate program. But in some ways, and this may sound controversial, but I’m just, in some ways, it’s very unrealistic. Because it’s, like I said, before, it’s, you’re in a bubble, you’re researching, you’re doing the thing you want to do constantly. But then now, when you’re split out into the real world, and you have to find work, now what what happens, you know, and I feel sometimes those programs will train you for that shit, even though

R
That definitely makes sense. And I do think that there’s kind of that imbalance of we’re teaching you about this thing that you’re that you came to study for. But we’re not expanding that to when you make it to the other side, what your life is going to actually look like.

H
Right.

R
And I do think that that’s a very common experience, even for undergraduate programs with people going in, and, you know, getting their degrees, but then not knowing what to do with them on the other side of that,

H
Especially here now in the United States here, it’s a serious, it’s a serious problem. And guess what, now, you have this degree, you don’t know what to do with it, and you’re loaded with that, you know, that’s a real tough situation to be in. Definitely.

R
And for you, you mentioned now that, you know, you went from your graduate program into, then you’ve got work as a teacher, you, you have your relationship, and then you also now have a kid, that kind of, it’s just adding on more things that kind of, they’re good, they’re positive things, but at the same time, that also means that there’s more and more time being carved away from your ability to write.

H
Yeah, yeah, you’re absolutely right now. It’s, and it’s fine. I’m not like, you know, and you may edit this out, you don’t have to leave it. I encourage you to but like, I know, we had some difficulty scheduling on my toll really my fault scheduling this interview, and some of it was yeah, it was that it’s just and and I’m not bitter about it. I’m, you know, I’m a dad now my, my kid is 19 months old. He’s my first child, I’m having a great time. watching him grow or just watching in his drive and his milestones. And yeah, I’ve had to put some stuff aside, which includes the writing, you know, and I even reading I haven’t been able to sit down and read a book the way I used to in a long time, and I’m not upset about it at all. Because in the end, what I’m giving it up for is, you know, is hey, you know, ultimately and it’s it’s fine, you know, I wouldn’t have it any other way to be honest with you. But I do think, like I told you, you know, especially one of my professors, many of them, but my mentor sort of in the program was like, you know, you sit in the chair every day, and they almost, they almost make you feel bad. If I had to train myself roster to be honest with you, to not sit down every day and write and be okay with it, because it’s this indoctrination, that almost makes you feel bad, or you’re not a true writer, you’re not sitting down every day. And the truth is, some people can do that, not without some sacrifices where look, that same mentor, I’m gonna give you a little anecdote, and I won’t give you this name. But I remember, just very recently, I met up with him. You know, I asked him, I said, How did you eat? He has one kid, but was kids way older. But I asked him, you know, how did you manage? When your kid was just born? How did you manage to write? And I remember, he said to me daycare. I just wasn’t he wasn’t being sarcastic? I just didn’t like that answer. That is not the answer. I’m not. I’m not willing to put my kid in daycare and Miss hours with him. Right? You know what I mean? That’s just not, that’s not a given take that I’m willing to participate? You know, and I feel like, you know, you hear the stories all the time, great artists, they tend to neglect other parts of their lives that are just as important.

R
Yeah, I think that kind of understanding your priority list, and going, I love my kid, I’m not going to prioritize my writing over my kid, and time with my child, is, I think that type of discussion probably doesn’t really happen very much in the in the graduate programs.

H
Right. And it’s, and you know, I’m, whatever I, I like to write, I think I’m okay at it. But I know, I’m not going to write the great American novel. So to me, sacrificing time with, you know, with my boy, with my wife, to sit and carve out an extra two hours of writing. That’s an ego for me, everyone else you can do whatever you want, I get it. I understand, you know, that that stereotype, we have the artists who just locked himself in a room for eight hours, those are seeing and, you know, doesn’t see natural light or whatever. But to me, for me, that would be Ego, that’s a little too much ego. Because I know, I’m not going to write the great American novel. I know, I’m not writing the next Oscar winning screenplay. If I do great, but I’m not going to necessarily sacrifice time with others to do it. And oh, and that’s whether that makes me less of an artist fine. But at this moment in my life, I’m so sorry to answer your question, Ross. I’m sorry. Because I tried to write and I just write whenever I can. Yeah, whenever it’s in the morning, it was at night, if it’s 30 minutes a day. Like the last time I wrote working on a piece of metal, I think it was maybe two days ago. And to be honest with you, I’ve been doing it for so long. Now. I guess that’s the thing to have been writing for. So long, though, that I can just pick it up. Right? where I left off, I don’t need to write everything on some people tell you like, oh, I don’t write every day I forget. No, I, I can pretty much you know, I can have a gap of two, three days, even a week. And I, if I reread the last paragraph, boom, I know exactly where to pick up the

R
That’s an important skill to have because life does just hate you. Sometimes even if you don’t have a kid, you don’t have a spouse or anything, you might just have something that happens, it takes up your time. And then if you can’t pick it back up, that can lead to you just kind of leaving it to the side for a longer period of time, mele to, you know, take a step back, come back to is useful. And then beyond that. You’ve there’s proof that you can still write even when you have all these other things that you’re giving your time to, as evidenced by the fact that Icarus Over Collins did get written. It is done.

H
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Right. Yeah, absolutely. And that was during, you know, it took some time but you had to absolutely be done and people do it every day. I mean, we hear you know, every artist you know Quentin Tarantino has a family. Granted, he’s in a different financial situation than I am you can call Well, but you know, all these artists have their time to do the thing that they do, and you can find them. It doesn’t have to be in this in this construct of, or, you know, you got to sit down for eight for hours at a time. And like you were saying before, I found that when I have a gap, when I come back to the writing, it’s actually that I’m more productive than if I’m forcing myself to try to sit down for hours at a time and do it, you know? Because it’s not natural.

R
Yeah, finding that flow for you is very important. And you’ve seems like to me that you’ve found a flow that’s comfortable for you.

H
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And part of it came with, you know, that’s, that’s one of the things that I also like about cinnabar. moth is the fact that it’s very much. I was looking for an independent publisher, for that very reason. Because I wanted, I wanted to go somewhere that would accept the writing for what it was, and not necessarily try to sort of carve it out for weave it into something that they want.

R
That definitely does. And I think I mentioned earlier that that’s our goal was to not do that. And to let it the author’s story still be the author’s story at the end. And hopefully, you feel like Icarus of Collins is still your story.

H
Yeah, absolutely. No, absolutely.

R
And so following up on that with you, you know, you’ve gone through this time you’ve built you’ve got your process that you’ve worked through, and you’ve put in the time and the energy to write and then rewrite and work to get Icarus over Collins released. How do you plan on celebrating that? Do you have a plan for celebration of the release of it grows over colons?

H
Well, that’s a good question. I was not expecting it. Um, no, not really, I’m just glad it’s, I’m glad it’s done. I mean, maybe I’ll, I don’t know, maybe I’ll go out to dinner or something with my family, but nothing, nothing too crazy. So it’s very weird with my writing, I’m very superstitious. So like, I’m going to be honest with you, my family. only a select few members of my family know that it’s even publishing until I have it in my hand, or until it’s out there. I don’t like to tell people, because I feel like it’ll somehow jinx it. It’s weird. I’m very superstitious when, when it comes to stuff like that.

R
I totally understand that. There’s that feeling of, if I talk about it, now, it might ruin it. It’s very fragile, kind of, in your mind, it’s this fragile thing that you’ve you’ve crafted and taking the time to make. But if you just do one wrong thing, it falls over into the glass shatters.

H
Exactly. But for in mind, it’s so bad. Like, even if I know the books are shipping to my house, let’s say I won’t say anything in case like, you know, the shipment gets lost. Like I tell someone to shipment or get lost or somehow the books will just disappear off the face of the earth. It’s weird.

R
Mass data wipe and then all the data where it was saved is gone.

H
Exactly.

R
I can understand that. That tension that can come with that. But you mentioned that you’ve meant you’ve told a few members of your family about Icarus over Collins publication. Are they excited about it?

H
Yeah, they are. They’re i They? They especially they’re very, because I haven’t mentioned anything. They’re sort of blindsided by it. Now, why didn’t you say anything? My wife, especially like my wife knows, but she’s very much She’s always telling me. You know, why don’t you tell more people? Why don’t you? And I don’t know, it’s just, you know, they’re excited. But they also know that I’m sort of low key about it, because they know that I’m a little weird about the way

R
You don’t want to celebrate before it’s actually done.

H
Exactly. That makes sense. It’s not the best time to be. That’d be a little bit of celebrate yourself a little I do understand that maybe, you know, we’re gonna work on that.

R
Yeah, but I think that everybody has their, their own way of celebration. And if yours is something low key like you go to dinner with your family afterwards, and you go, hey, the books out who you have. Maybe a couple drinks and you go home. That’s yeah, that’s a perfectly reasonable and valid celebration to me, I, I’ve interviewed off of other authors who have said, all I’m gonna do is have a day where I don’t write. That’s my celebration is just a day where I don’t write anything. And I take time away from that.

H
That’s actually a great way to celebrate. Because it is man writing is writing is very, it’s very taxing. Even if you sit there and you don’t, you don’t write, but just thinking about the stuff and thinking about, alright, what am I going to how am I going to complicate the plot? Or how am I going to it’s, you know, it’s heavy, it takes a toll, you know, and then you have to go out and do whatever you do in your normal life, you know? So, it’s writing, even, you know, even if you’re like a full time writer, right, so like a Stephen King, or let’s say you’re the Duffer Brothers reading Stranger Things, I would imagine that in its own way, or even like a Quentin Tarantino, right. And it’s only it’s probably a little bit harder. And because that’s all you’re doing all the time, eight hours, every day or whatever, 12 hours, I can’t imagine. For me, you know, I’ve carved all my time. And that’s exhausting. I can’t imagine sitting there every day, and just processing my own story over and over. And then that’s not that’s not even factoring in what the studio or the publisher is going to tell you. Because, you know, if you’re like a Stephen King type, you know, the, the publishing company is going to have some notes. If you’re a famous screenwriter, the, you know, the production company’s going to tell you something, most likely, you know, unless you’re one of these Oscar winning writers that have carte blanche, but even then, that’s going to be even harder. You know,

R
There’s even less direction in a way, right? And that can be, I think, for some people, they flourish in that environment where it’s like, Yes, I can do whatever I wish, within, within reason. And then other people are like, I prefer to have some direction for this, because then I can fill it out in the space I’ve been given. So that I think different people can play with it with different things that I’m guessing from hearing you talk, you don’t want writing to be a full time career for you.

H
I mean, look, really, and I’m going to be honest with you, I would love for that to happen. I would love for that to happen. That’s why, why I went to grad school, I spent so many years right into this thing. And this is going to sound and I apologize to all your listeners, because I’m going on right now probably, like a bummer. So I’m just being completely honest, I would love for that to happen. But the more time goes on the older I get, the more realistic it becomes my not happen. But I’ve kind of given up on that dream. If it happens, great. I would do it in a heartbeat. Don’t get me wrong. But right now in the context of what my life is, and that I have to have a full time job in order to write then, yeah, I you know, my priorities are just they shift the pie graph, you know, what I mean? feels differently. Obviously, I have to prioritize my work first. And then the writing gets gets done. I wish it could be the other way around, where it was just I’m writing and that’s what I get paid for. It’d be amazing. Right? But it’s not that way. It’s not really for a lot of people. You know, it’s it’s very, it’s very unrealistic, you know, especially now I feel like the market for it is just not there. You know, it’s like, you know, I had a student one time told me that and this was, I’ll never forget this, you know, we were just talking about like, people who say they want to be football, I’m talking about American football, but you could apply this to any professional sport. You know, he was saying yeah, because you know, people say they want to be football players. But think about, think about like the National Football League, the American National Football League. Think about how many players are in there. It’s not a lot of people think about professional sports, right? soccer, basketball, whatever it is. That’s not a lot of people in comparison to the rest of the world. Playing that sport. It’s a very small amount of people who actually make money doing that one thing just like writing, right so I would love to be a full time writer but right now it’s not happening. Where my place in the world of writing

R
So for you, it’s, it’s more, it’s not that you don’t want it to become your career just like yeah, it is, I’m not going to aim for that, if it happens, if it comes, I’ll accept it. But from, that’s not what I’m going to be shooting for.

H
Exactly. And I’m especially not going to shoot for it. And it means that I have to sacrifice right now the things that I prioritize. At the end of the day, if I wanted to be a full time writer, I’d have to put it first above everything. And I’m not willing to do that right now. I know that sounds terrible. And people out there, maybe are listening, and they’re gonna pick up a hat, that shitty ride or whatever. That’s, you know, that’s part of that indoctrination, right? Our image of the of the artist is someone who sits there just all day and doesn’t eat and ignores their wife or whatever, but I can’t do that. I can’t do that, in my nature. And honestly, I think if I did it, my work would stop.

R
I think too, that that image is an unhealthy image to create, and kind of an unhealthy thing for people to expect themselves to be because then your, your life is sort of empty, if that’s all you’re doing. Right? Mind you, some people might be happy with that. And that might be all they need. But I think a lot of people would have a would prefer a fuller life, you know, having a wife that they actually spend time with having a kid or kids that they spend time with, you know, having a partner, even if it’s not a wife, a partner, somebody or other people and connections that they can spend time with and enjoy. And I think that people who only spend time writing, and think that’s what they have to do, rather than what they want to do in order to move forward, those people will likely be a little bit less happy, just because they’re, they’re sacrificing so much for this potential thing.

H
Yeah, or you’re less happy, or you’re just oblivious, right, you get that, that stereotype of sort of that, that artists that can’t, you know, or whatever the image of Einstein who couldn’t find a way home, at the end of the day, like, I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to be someone who’s so in, in golf, and whatever they’re doing that they’re kind of missing everything else, that I guess maybe that’s the best way to put it. I don’t want to miss out on other things in my life right now. Just because I feel like this story needs to get written right now. It doesn’t, are there things I want to write? Absolutely. But I know I will get to them, eventually, I’m very blue collar about, maybe that’s maybe that’s the best way to put it. I’m very blue collar about my writing, like, I know that I will get to it. And when I get to it, it’ll get done.

R
You know, I think that’s a perfectly fine way of doing it. And I think that having that representation out there as someone who finds time around the rest of their life to do it. And it’s something they do on the side. And they enjoy it, as it is, is also important for people to see and for people to understand is an option and is realistic, right? Because I don’t I personally don’t agree with the image that everybody who wants to become a writer has to sacrifice everything else their life to do it. Because I don’t think that’s true. I think that some people can, who do that will make it some people who do that won’t. And also people who don’t do that can make it and people who don’t do that also might not make it as writers. And it’s really not that straightforward.

H
Yeah, exactly. And then, and then, you know, the worst thing that could have happened to me, and and maybe that’s part of it, what I wouldn’t want, you know, I would love to become a full time writer, but what I don’t ever want to happen is for writing to stop being fun. And if writing became a job, then I wouldn’t want to do it. And that that to me would be the the ultimate failure because I genuinely love to sit and write. I love the process of it. But if it was ever sort of like I felt like I was punching a time clock. Oh, you know, like, I know, I think that’s what Kurt Cobain said, mentioning Freddie Mercury with Freddie Mercury, that he felt like he was punching a time clock towards the end of this. I would never never want to feel that with right. Because then I feel like I failed. That somebody would be the ultimate failure in my heart is if I felt like it was just work, you know?

R
Yeah. Like I can definitely understand that. And I’m with the process currently, you know, you’re enjoying writing and you’ve got Icarus Over Collins coming out now. And it’s happening this upcoming Tuesday. And I imagine that’s exciting. But something else that I think might also be exciting is the knowledge that Icarus Over Collins is going to be listed in the US Library of Congress.

H
Is that exciting? Yeah. Yeah. I, I had heard that. And I will tell you, it’s shocking, actually. And when I say that, it’s, it’s, uh, I mean, in the best possible way, because that, to me is just ridiculously ridiculously talking. But yes, it’s very exciting for me, because it’s just there. You know what I mean? It’s like an imprint. And that’s just amazing. I mean, what more, that’s the reason you like, that’s the reason you do any kind of art is to just exist, even if you’re just a little blip for just a small moment. And that, to me, is something that is just amazing. You know, I’m, you know, I was just flabbergasted to hear you say that. So, yes, very excited.

R
And with that, there’s, you know, that knowledge that your, your book is kind of immortalized in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be right, because it’s in libraries?

H
Yeah, absolutely. It’s, like I said, it’s just, my name is and again, not to sound too. Grandiose or anything, but just the fact that that’s going to be there. In like I said, in primitive forever, is pretty amazing.

R
That’s it sounds like a, you know, one of multiple steps for a book, you know, after publication, everything, it goes out into the world, it finds places to be right. And some books, find more places, some books, find less. But if it goes over Collins, where to find its place, for example, amongst the best sellers and the best seller, what would you do with that? Well, how would that feel?

H
I think it’d be I’m gonna be honest with you, or I’m just speaking plainly to them. I’m not trying to sell them any more than one. I’d be very surprised, shocked. I think I’d have a hard time believing. But if it did pay, if it did, then that’d be great. Because, you know, it means that the no, we’re not. The people are ready to read. And they’re ready to read something challenging. And again, it’s not I’m not trying to make my book sound like, you know, Ulysses or other James Joyce types. It’s not, it’s a very simple read. It’s a very simple story that I set out to write. It is very, like I said before, very experimental. But just the fact that it’s something that switching languages. I’m very proud of the fact that I wrote that I like, a language that I use, which is not like straight sort of, like, I would hope that some people, I’m sure they will, but when they read it, especially people from Miami, I hope they’ll read and be like, oh, yeah, I can hear that. Like right now. That’s what I say. So if that’s, you know, I didn’t necessarily want to capture the glamour of South Beach, or the cars that’s already been done, it’s been done to death, what I wanted to capture more than anything, was the language of my which I feel is not just English, it’s not just Spanish. Right? But it’s, it’s a it’s a hybrid of all of those things, and many other languages are spoken here. And just the real day to day things that occur and the grittiness of it to Miami is a very, you know, I think internationally, it’s the problem is that with Miami, a lot of people immediately go to South Beach and South beaches are very, very small, tiny sliver of an island doesn’t even really belong to Miami. But what the city of Miami is and its suburbs is a lot more than that. And it’s a lot of it can be gritty it really can be and I think that doesn’t get that doesn’t get captured as much in the moonlight that by any chance. Was that? Did you see the film moonlight? I wonder why. You’re not. That is a very good if you get the chance moonlight it’s called it’s very, I think one of the Oscars or ago, but that it’s you know, it’s set in Miami, filmed in Miami, and that will be very much captured like sort of the inner city. What it’s like growing up here, and not necessarily the glamour that that people think of when they think of mine, because it’s that’s a very small part of it.

R
Okay, so so for you that moonlight captures that aspect my Miami and you’re hoping the Icarus Over Collins or you feel that Icarus Over Collins captures something similar where it it’s like a more overarching experience of Miami rather than the specific locations part of Miami.

H
Yeah, I’m not gonna say I feel as though I’m gonna say I hope it does. Because yes, that was the mind. Absolutely. I was trying to capture more the aesthetic of what I feel.

R
And so with the kind of idea of you know, it connects with a lot of people, a lot of people enjoy it and it becomes a best seller. And we expand that even further. Let’s say it goes to a movie or TV series. Lane, you get a deal for one of those. Do you have a preference? If you imagined a crossover cons getting that offer? If between movie or TV?

H
Yeah, well, if it did, that would be awesome. But I think definitely just because of the type of story is it would work better the movie than a TV series? Because it’s not. I mean, unless somebody somebody was able, I think a movie would cat would be enough to capture the entire story.

R
That makes sense to me. It’s it’s also kind of on the shorter side for a TV show experience. Right?

H
Yeah. Unless you did like a limited series, but even then it’s too. Yeah, I think a movie.

R
Yeah. So if we imagined the word to become a movie, do you think that you’d want to have a lot of creative control over the movie adaptation of aggress over Collins?

H
Oh, man. Absolutely. I mean, one of the things one of the things that I that I dream of doing is writing screenplays like I kind of flirt I have a couple of screenplays on I’m working on sort of now. They got shelved because I just had one workshop and it was ripped to shit, but that’s fine. But yeah, I would love to adapt. I would love to that into a movie and someone willing to do it or just to write a screenplay eventually. That is definitely one of my ultimate goals.

R
So let’s imagine you’ve gone through that process, right? got picked up for the movie deal you went in, you participate in the screen play creation, and now it’s, it’s set to premiere? It. If that happened, would you want to go to the premiere? And who would you take with you?

H
Oh, my God. So easy. Absolutely. 100% go to the premiere, and my wife and kids will be right there right next to me.

R
I think that’s wonderful. It’s a wonderful image to have as well. Right? And with with all this, this movie, TV show, talk and best seller talk and everything that naturally comes with his own form of fame. Right? Your name getting out there people knowing who you are. How, what is your relationship with fame? Would you want to be as famous as someone like Stephen King, where you lost your anonymity?

No, I’m so Stephen King. Wow. I would. So let me see if I can answer this correctly. I wouldn’t want the type of fame where I lose my anonymity. But I would like the type of fame where I could just etch out, which we talked about. If I could just make my living off writing, that’d be the truth. Right? And, and where my writing was consistently picked up. So for example, even if my name wasn’t just like, I was a screenwriter, and studios, you know, filmed my script, that would be off. You could keep all the awards and keep all the infamy or the pain. As long as I could just write and tell the stories I want to tell and they were published or filmed or whatever archived, let’s say, that would be great. And I can make a living off. But as far as losing my anonymity? No, because I’m very uncomfortable with that. I’m not. I mean, listen, let’s be honest, Ross did that and I, again, this may be a controversial statement, but I really believe that all artists in and, you know, people can tell you the opposite. But I really believe even 5% of every artist, you want to be known. That’s why you do what you do. Right? I think some part of you wants to be recognized or immortalized in some way so there’s a little bit of ego in it, but It, you know, so of course, do I want to be recognized for good work? Yes. Do I want to lose my anonymity? Or have everything I say be scrutinized? No, I’m very uncomfortable with that. Because then what happens is, it’s a vortex and other people get sucked in because now I live a life where it’s not just me, right? I have a wife have a kid. So there’s a huge responsibility that comes with that. And I wouldn’t want them to, to be sucked into that vortex, you know, the years

R
You’d want to have that balance of your known enough that people go, Ah, I know, I know. Hector’s work. It’s great. Of course, I’m interested in seeing more of it, but they’re not going. Hmm. I wonder what he’s what he did last Saturday at 2pm? Did somebody can check him in on him? Let’s see, what’s he’s been doing? What’s his family doing?

H
Absolutely. You’re absolutely right. That’s exactly. So yeah, it would be like, I would want to be known by like, maybe like, let’s that was screenwriter, but like a film aficionado, writing? Oh, have you watched? Is it kind of like, you know, maybe every once in a while, and education would be great. But not that you know me so well that like, you close your eyes? And you could see an image of you know what I mean? Not that type of brain? No. Yeah. Because that comes with its own set of responsibilities that I think I’m I don’t want to handle

R
That totally makes sense. To me, I definitely have kind of the same feeling about it, where I wouldn’t want to become super famous, just because I enjoy my privacy, and I enjoy the kind of the, the ease the mental ease the psychological ease of not worrying about how much I’m being looked at.

Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. And it comes to listen, people, people are meaning to, you’re going to be looked at and be looked after different things are. And then like I said before, then somehow they get a, you know, they get a picture of your wife or your kid and then they become potentially targets for being and that I wouldn’t be like me, you can say whatever you want about me, and I could care less, but, or couldn’t care less, whatever the term is. I know. So we’re gonna pick that apart. But you know, you say something about my wife, or child, and I know I’m gonna say something inappropriate. And then of course, being famous, you’re going to get now I’m going to have an even bigger spotlight. You know, and that, to me is physical. You know, I have a very thick skin when it comes to me. When it comes to my family, that’s, I don’t know if I’d be able to stay quiet.

R
You know, I totally understand you’re protective of the people you care about. Absolutely. I do think that becoming famous can make it difficult to give them the same level of protection just because you’re exposed to more people and more people have this kind of, it’s not true insight into your life, but they do look at you a lot. And people judge when they look, it’s a natural thing that happens. But when you’re famous, it’s a lot more people looking a lot more people judging and a lot more people talking about it.

H
Yeah, yeah. And feeling Yeah. And taking ownership, like feeling that they know you are alright to you know, especially now in 2022. Famous not, you know, fame is not what it what it used to be. I don’t even know if it ever was what we thought it was. But that sort of old Hollywood kind of glamorous type of a lifestyle. I don’t think it’s, you know, I was reading an article where Quentin Tarantino said that all these Marvel movies, that what it’s doing is, so his argument was that there’s no more movie stars, that it’s the characters who are the famous people. So like, Chris Evans, for example, plays Captain America. People don’t love Chris Evans. They love Captain America, right? So this idea of, like, we’re not necessarily in love with the actors, we’re more in love with who They’re the heroes, that they’re playing the comic book characters that they’re playing, and I definitely think that now in 2022 That’s, that’s what we’re, you know, focused on. I don’t think we like actors and actresses. I think it’s just the characters that they you know, there’s a difference.

R
Yeah. I agree. It’s there’s definitely been a shift more I think, towards selling the characters and selling the universe that is sudden, but I do think still, some people still connect very closely to those actors, you know, Like, when you imagine Captain America you imagine Chris Evans. Right? Right. Yeah. When you when you imagine, you know, Tony Stark Iron Man, who do you think of?

H
Yeah, Robert Downey Jr.

R
I think it kind of has a combination of the two were, in a sense, they become synonymous.

H
Yeah. I wonder if the actor wants that. You know?

R
Yeah, I don’t actually know that. I think some of them might enjoy them. Some of them don’t. I think that’s probably down to the person. But I hadn’t really, it’s something that I’m aware of kind of as a side thing that’s so distant from me, you know?

H
Yeah. Yeah. I’m sure the I’m sure the check helps a lot.

R
You might, you might care a little bit less as Ironman selling tickets when you’re, you know, you can afford a very luxurious and comfortable lifestyle from it.

H
Yeah, exactly. I mean, the last last Avengers movie didn’t I think it hit a billion it? I don’t know what the exact figures but it went to a billion. That to me is that to me is ridiculous.

R
That’s, that’s insane. And so, Hector, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to talk with me today and for being on the Writer’s Triangle. It’s been a pleasure having you on.

H
Thank you, Rasta, man, I had a great time. I realize I just said Rastaman, you probably get that. But yes, I had a great time. I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time. You know, to ask me these questions to have these conversations. And no, thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. And thanks, cinnabar moth to them. It’s, it’s, it’s been a lot of fun.

R
It’s been a pleasure working with you and talking with you and to all of our cinnabar our beautiful cinnabar moss thing or whatever moth you’d like to be. Thank you for listening. Be sure to check out and to buy Icarus Over Collins coming up this upcoming Tuesday. And actor really quick. Can you tell everybody listening where we can find you for social media and such?

H
I actually to be honest with you. I just got off of Twitter. The whole Elon Musk thing? Yeah. For now. Really? Anywhere soccer. I know that. It’s not great. For a sale or anything but yeah, I’m, I’m trying to get on Mastodon so we’ll see. I’ll let you know soon. If I can. If I join it, they approve me. But for right now, I’m not really on anything. Sorry.

R
Okay. Yeah. So for everybody listening, be sure to visit cinnabar moth.com, where you can check out the transcripts, and we’ll have updated links for Hector’s social media. Whenever that gets sorted out. For now, though. Thank you all for listening. And thank you again, Hector, for coming on. Talk with me.

H
No, thank you, Rasta. I appreciate it.

R
And everybody listening bye bye.