Azores, fantasy and resilience in Sarah J. Mendonça's literary debut

'An Encantadora's Guide to Monsters and Magic', just released by Quill Tree Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, is a fantasy and adventure story starring Rosa Coelho, a 12-year-old monster hunter.

Rosa lives in a poor neighborhood called Os Pés and follows the Coelho family and her grandmother Leonor's tradition of capturing all manner of monsters and creatures. One day, the Ministry of Monsters threatens to revoke her grandmother's work permit due to financial debts.

"The book is about a character who fights for her dreams, who wants to stop being poor, to escape that situation, and plans an attack against the government that oppresses her. [...] My protagonist has a lot of love and compassion for those who go through such situations" of poverty, the writer said in an interview with the Lusa news agency from the United States.

The narrative, set in the fantasy world, is aimed at readers aged 9 to 12 and is filled with Portuguese words (whose meaning is revealed throughout the story) and environments that evoke, in particular, the landscape and traditions of the Azores culture.

Sarah J. Mendonça is 35 years old and lives and works in the state of Wisconsin, near Canada. Her mother is American and her father is Portuguese, originally from São Miguel, Azores. He emigrated with his family to Canada as a child and to the United States as an adult.

The writer speaks little Portuguese, but has maintained ties with her father's family and some contact with Azorean culture. She has never been to mainland Portugal, but she regularly visits the island of São Miguel.

"My father always wanted to show me everything on the island. We spent a lot of time driving, going to the beach, I remember the black sand. My favorite place is Furnas. It was a huge inspiration for the book. We love it when it's foggy like this; it's very mystical," he described.

In addition to the references to Portugal, the story of Rosa and her grandmother Leonor is also inspired by the resilience of parents and all those who face hardship or have few resources: "People often blame poor people, but I think it's a matter of luck. It's not the fault of the person struggling with it if the system doesn't allow them to escape this trap."

'An Encantadora's Guide to Monsters and Magic' is the literary debut of Sara J. Mendonça, who almost gave up on publishing after receiving numerous rejections from publishers.

"I decided I was going to invest everything in this story, put everything I love and my dedication into it. I sent the book to 59 people, and I was at a point where I had already received more than thirty rejections. I felt it was very difficult. I went through a lot, sacrificed so much, had temporary, low-paying jobs, just to have time to write" for more than 15 years, he said.

He ended up getting a positive response from a literary agent, signed a contract with one of the largest publishing groups in the United States, and is now writing the second volume of 'An Encantadora's Guide to Monsters and Magic'.

Sarah J. Mendonça says that as a child she didn't know it was possible to be a writer, but "she was a great reader, during class, on the way home. She was always reading."

"My father wasn't a reader, but he always encouraged me, took me to bookstores, to bargains, always bought me books. Every night he told me stories. My mother was the same, she loved going to the library with me," he recalled.

As a reader, books have always helped her feel visible.

"People forget how difficult it is to be a kid, the first fights with your best friend, changing schools, having to deal with so many emotions, and you need stories to help you get through these stages. Books exist to deal with big emotions. The good part is the opportunity to be someone's favorite author," he said.

His target audience is between childhood and pre-adolescence, in a competitive and difficult literary market, because readers become more independent and disperse their attention and because the remuneration of writers in this segment is lower, he explained.

"Almost all authors have jobs outside of writing, so I don't feel bad about that," acknowledged the writer, who has a full-time job in administration.

After the summer, Sarah J. Mendonça is preparing to work on winning over readers of 'An Encantadora's Guide to Monsters and Magic' by visiting schools and libraries: "In books for adults, you have to be big in the first few days of sales. In this age group [9-12 years old] it's a more long-term thing."

"I'm now at a point where I can say I won't stop writing. I understand that publishing is out of my control, and I understand that whether or not I'm successful is also out of my control. But I also know that I'll continue telling stories," he said.

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