Yaffa S. Santos: On the Magic of Intersectional Identity

Author Yaffa S. Santos discusses how the idea morphed throughout the writing process of her new novel, A Touch of Moonlight.

Yaffa S. Santos was born and raised in New Jersey. She is the author of the newly released A Touch of Moonlight, and A Taste of Sage, which won an International Latino Book Award and was named an Indie Next List Pick and an Amazon Editor’s Pick. She enjoys books, coffee, and the beach, and lives in Central Florida with her family. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Yaffa S. Santos

In this post, Yaffa discusses how the idea morphed throughout the writing process of her new novel, A Touch of Moonlight, what she changed about her process with this novel, and more!

Name: Yaffa S. Santos
Book title: A Touch of Moonlight
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release date: October 25, 2022
Genre/category: Women’s fiction/romance/magic realism
Previous titles: A Taste of Sage
Elevator pitch for the book: Larimar may have found the perfect partner in baker Ray. He just can’t find out that she works for the corporation that wants to close his bakery, and he can’t find out she’s a ciguapa (mythical creature from Dominican folklore).

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What prompted you to write this book?

It started with a childhood interest in the mythical figure of the ciguapa and developed into an admiration for a woman living on the fringes of society and not letting it get her down. As I continued to write, it sort of shifted and became a metaphor for living with an intersectional identity, which is the case for me as a person of Dominican and Jewish heritage.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I started writing A Touch of Moonlight in Fall 2020, and yes, it did change in the process. I started out with the idea of doing a You’ve Got Mail retelling and as I went along writing, it morphed away from that.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I wrote my main character, Larimar, as a woman who changes into a ciguapa at the full moon only, owing to her family magic having been weakened by immigrating to the U.S. In the process of planning her transformations against the timeline of the story, I learned more about the moon cycle than ever before.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

This was my first time creating an outline before I started my first draft, and I thought it would make things boring, but it actually made drafting less stressful because I knew where I was going.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope that they will end the book with an increased curiosity about the ciguapa, who I’ve thought is a mythical figure who deserves more attention. I hope that it will lead them to reflect on the themes of family, acceptance, belonging, and of course, I hope that they will enjoy the love story.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

I think what works for writers varies so much from one person to next that it makes it hard to give advice. I can tell you that what works for me is getting up at 5:00 a.m. to write (before my kids are up) and making a habit out of writing instead of waiting for inspiration.

You’re not sure how to describe women’s fiction, but when you read it, you know that’s the kind of novel you want to write. They’re the stories you relate to, that grab your heart and your imagination. They make you feel as if you know the characters, as if you’re sharing the journey. But how can you be sure that the story you write fits into the genre you love and captures and keeps your reader’s attention? By identifying the essential elements that make up women’s fiction, gaining the insight to see inside your main character, and honing the skills needed to bring women’s fiction to life on the page.

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