Q&A: Alexis Castellanos, Author of ‘Lemons and Lies’
We chat with author Alexis Castellanos about Lemons and Lies, which is a new YA book release with fake dating, family drama, and foodie fun.
Hi, Alexis! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Alex, I’m an author-illustrator from Miami now living in my hometown’s doppelgänger, Los Angeles. In addition to being an author, I also work in publishing as my day job. I really love books that much. My other hobbies include baking, cooking, sewing, crafting, and video games. I have two cats that I will show you pictures of if we ever meet in person.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’m not sure I ever discovered it, it was always just there. I wrote stories on the shared family PC and changed the font to Wingdings so no one could read it when I was like five years old. I was always drawing pictures and making up stories as early as I can remember. I was severely dyslexic as a child, I had a lot of difficulty reading, and yet I still loved books. I would collect Dear America and Beverly Cleary books despite not being able to read them. Something in me just always loved stories.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Velveteen Rabbit
- The one that made you want to become an author: Can I answer Meg Cabot? Just, everything Meg Cabot. I wanted to be Meg Cabot.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Tuck Everlasting made me a life-long reader, I’ll never forget that.
Your latest novel, Lemons and Lies, is out September 16th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Fake dating, family drama, and food!
What can readers expect?
Although the plot of this book does not center around food, there are still enough descriptions of delicious sounding food to make you very hungry while reading. I feel like I have to open with that warning first. Beside that, it’s about Valeria, who is faced with the possibility of failing her senior year of high school with no one to turn to. She ends up ensnaring Gage, her brother’s academic rival, in a tutoring for fake dating exchange that benefits them both. But just as Valeria is getting her academic life back on track (with a surprise romantic bonus on the side) her personal life implodes. Her complicated family dynamics grow more complicated and she still needs to pass Algebra II.
Where did the inspiration for Lemons and Lies come from?
I sold Guava and Grudges as a two-book deal, and for a long time I thought the second book would be about Sofía, Ana Maria’s sister. But when I wrote the last few chapters of Guava and Grudges, Valeria jumped off the page at me. She seemed so cool and interesting and I knew by the end that the next book had to be about her. Sorry Sofía!!!!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
This book was fun because I already had the whole world developed. I was just playing in the sand box of Port Murphy with characters I already love, but this time I got to write them from the perspective of Valeria. What does this town and what do these people look like to her? It was fun exploring the different sides of characters I already knew so well.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Oh, yes. Time. There simply wasn’t enough of it. I have a day job, I started wedding planning, I had another project land on my plate, and there simply wasn’t enough time for it all. If I could go back, I would definitely do some things differently. But overcoming the stress of not having the time I wanted was just trusting that I knew the story I wanted to tell. Every time I write a book I’m convinced that I actually haven’t written a book at all, what I did was just string together words to create utter slop. That fear holds me back a lot, but I didn’t have the luxury of time to wallow in it for this book. I had to push through and trust that I was doing the right thing.
What’s next for you?
Next up I have something a little different from my previous books: a speculative mystery about a girl who travels to the past and has to unravel a family mystery in order to return home. It takes place in 1895 in Cuba, just as the final war of independence against Spain is about to kick off, in a house far from civilization where things are not quite right. It’s about legacy, families, and the terrible power of love. A Missing Frame of Time comes out in Spring 2027 from Bloomsbury!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
Sharon Shinn is releasing a new book in the Twelve Houses series this September and I’m so excited. That series is one of my top favorites of all time and I cannot wait to go back to that world. Along the same vein, Kristen Britain is releasing the next book in the Green Rider series this September, a series I have cried in a grocery store over. I also cried in my then-boyfriend, now husband’s apartment while he was working when I finished the fifth book in the series. It was the first time he saw me cry and he had no idea what to do because I was sobbing in his bed about a book. If you love being tormented, I can’t recommend this series enough.
Some of my favorite reads from this year include: The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor, The Floating World by Axie Oh, The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson, and When Devils Sing by Xan Kur.
ABOUT
ALEXIS CASTELLANOS was born and raised in Florida, where she enjoyed sunny days, dramatic thunderstorms, and delicious Cuban food. After graduating from college, she moved to New York City and worked as a scenic artist, bringing theatrical sets to life with a little bit of paint and a whole lot of ingenuity. She currently works as a graphic designer by day and spends her nights dreaming up stories. She is the author of the graphic novel Isla to Island and YA novel Guava and Grudges. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and two cats. Connect with her on Instagram and TikTokv @alexisc_art and on her website, alexiscastellanos.com.
