Cynthia Pelayo is the author of the new novel Vanishing Daughters. Her other books include Forgotten Sisters. She lives in Chicago.
Q: What inspired you to write Vanishing Daughters, and how did you create your character Bri?
A: I have been fascinated with the urban legend of Resurrection Mary, the Chicagoland area’s vanishing hitchhiker legend, since I’d heard it for the first time as a child. So that story has always been there and it’s always been something I wanted to explore.
Recently, I had been closely following a series of unsolved murders of women throughout the South Side of Chicago.
Then, I myself grieved a loved one two years ago and started on my own path with grief and was overwhelmed by how it manifests. Throughout that, I started thinking about the degrees of grief, and its varying intensities.
Then my thoughts took me on a spiral of sorts and I began connecting, in my mind all of these things, sleep, sleeplessness, what it means to die and not have any resolution and the story was born and with it, Bri.
I wanted Bri to really showcase how grief can manifest itself and how it can completely lock someone from moving on, and what must someone do in order to move forward in life.
Q: Without giving anything away, did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: The ending was difficult, and I changed it a few times. I finally decided to go with something that can be interpreted a number of ways. It’s a fantastical, but sweet ending.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title was developed by the team, but I got some input. Ultimately, I interpret it as honoring the unsolved cases of murdered women covered in the novel, as well as the famous urban legend covered.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: I hope that especially for everyone who has experienced grief, they know that they are not alone. There are people who understand what they experienced. For many who have yet to experience the grip of grief, I hope that they know that there is light at the end of the darkness.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on two novels right now. They’re totally different from each other. One is a historical horror novel. The other one is set in the modern day. Each are fairy tales.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: My novels Children of Chicago, The Shoemaker’s Magician, and short story collection Lotería are being re-released this year by Union Square & Co./Hachette. So they will be available in all Barnes & Noble stores and independent bookstores soon.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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