We continue emerging ourselves in the writing community. This time I had a suggested event from a Facebook friend that lead me to Eikon. A Halloween event for the new book, El Cuco Te Va A Comer. Long story short, the presentation was very good, and what caught my attention was the detailed research done for each and every story in this anthology. That dedication to go beyond the story felt superb in my book. So I wanted to show you guys someone detailed oriented in the horror genre.
Disclosure Team Eikon consists of Angel Isián, and Melvin Rodríguez who collaborate in the books, art, and everything that an editorial house should do. This duo is a powerhouse moving forward in the writing community with three books on their belt.
Q- Eikon tell us a bit about you. Where did you study? What major?
Angel Isián: I am from Santa Isabel PR. I studied Teaching English as a Second Language at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.
Melvin Rodríguez: I studied journalism and theater at the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan, and I am from the town of Salinas.
Q- What projects have you worked on?
Angel: We’ve been working on literary projects for a while now. I’ve been writing since I was eight years old but started taking writing more seriously while I was in college and I joined La Liga de Poetas del Sur. It was there that I had my first publishing experience with a poetry book titled “La casa de los espejos” which I published in 2013. After that I continued to collaborate in different poetry anthologies between 2013 and 2016, the most significant of which was Cuerpos en la pared, which was a project we worked on along with three other young poets from the island (PR). Melvin and I founded Eikon in 2015. He had been interested in directing a series of horror short films but lacked the budget or equipment to bring it to fruition. Later he realized that he could accomplish something similar through fiction and so he created Eikon and opened a call for submissions for horror stories by Puerto Rican authors. That was the beginning of No cierres los ojos, a very successful horror anthology published in 2016 that has earned its place in the Puerto Rican literary canon because it proved that people really had an interest in reading speculative fiction on the island, particularly horror. We followed up that project with No cierres los ojos 2 in 2019 and our latest publication has been El cuco te va a comer, a horror short story collection by yours truly. Between our writing, we have also given workshops, conferences, and collaborated with other writers and artists from the island.
Q- You seem fond of the horror genre. Do you see yourself only writing horror or are there other genres you wish to explore?
Melvin: Horror is one of our darlings, it gave us an outlet and helped us garner attention and we plan to continue writing horror for the foreseeable future. However, it’s not the only genre that we are interested in. In fact, Eikon was designed to be an independent publisher of Puerto Rican Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy, and we plan to publish books in those genres as well in the near future.
Q- I love the art chosen for the books. How did you come across on the process of getting what you envisioned into life with the artist?
Melvin: My process is, once I have analyzed the text and have spoken to the author, I begin seeking references, do test sketches of the art I’d like to create, and once I have those ingredients in my hand, I start playing around with the shapes and forms that I like, which is an important part of my process, and I build on top of that. Another important element, specifically for horror art are the details of the eyes and teeth because they add a layer of unsettling or foreboding. It’s also crucial that whoever sees the art can always find additional small details that can catch their eye in the final image.
Q- I heard about your research process. It is very rigorous. What is about that research and then using your creativity to build your stories that you enjoy the most?
Angel: For me, the research process is always very fun. I like to learn as much as I can about the concepts that I put into my books. I’m fascinated by history and the idea of “forgotten lore”. I like my stories to have small details that can be looked up and lead the reader down the same rabbit hole that I fall into when I research the ideas for my stories. There is just so much to learn in the world, whether it’s science, or the occult, there is always something new that we can learn. Generally, once I’ve decided on an element I’d like to include in my story, if it’s from the real world (meaning the concept exists outside of my book even if mythologically) I read as much as I can, learn the history, where it comes from and then think about how to best use that knowledge to fit the story I want to write, and what things I will change so that I make it simultaneously very unique to my writing.
Q- Do you have writing heroes or a favorite book or favorite character?
Angel: Edgar Allan Poe, Julia de Burgos, JRR Tolkien, and Michael Ende. Their writings have probably impacted me the most. I love Poe’s plotting and use of language; Julia has some of my favorite Spanish poetry ever and Tolkien’s world-building still holds up. Few can say that they can surpass his ability to craft such a wondrous world. Michael Ende is such an amazing children’s author. If you haven’t read The Never-Ending Story, please do so now.
Q- With these horror stories that you created, have some of them kept you up all night? If so which one?
Angel: I’ve seen and read so many horror movies/books that horror no longer has the same effect on me. I still love it, but rarely does it give me the same sense of fear/dread as before, especially in my own writings, mainly because when I write I’m seeing all the elements from a more technical and artistic perspective rather than from a reader’s perspective. I know my monsters, I know how the phenomenon works in my stories, and I know what will happen to the characters. In that regard, for me as a writer, I get no sense of suspense that my readers. That said, I know what can awaken fear, dread, disgust, and suspense in my readers even when I’m not necessarily getting that sensation as I craft these stories.
Q- With three books under your belt, how do you prepare for a project?
Angel: The truth is that we rarely work on one project at a time and we are always working on books and ideas that will probably be published in another year or two. We do prioritize projects according to the probability of completion and adequate timing for publication. But we work more on a continuous stream of projects and just like most artists we have times when we jump from one to another. Right now Both Melvin and I are developing multiple books at a time, both conceptually and concretely. Some are still in the research and planning stages; others are much further along the completion timeline. And that’s just our personal writing projects. Melvin is an artist, so he also has illustration and art projects that he has been working on. We also have more anthologies that we want to work on, collaboration with other authors, and even the publishing of books by other authors throughout Eikon indie press. We really just keep at it continually rather than focus just on one thing and move on, even though once completed we focus all our energy on our newest project.
Q- How do you see yourself in a future? Any goals?
Melvin: We are looking to continue expanding our offering. We haven’t had the time to tap into the fantasy and sci-fi market, but we have that within our plans. We also want to enter the English-speaking market soon and, at some point, dedicate ourselves entirely to the book and publishing industry and maybe even venture into other related media, like film and gaming.
Q- You are living in Philadelphia at the moment. Is there something that you miss from your hometown? Is there any local food you wish you could eat right now?
Melvin: We absolutely miss our hometown. We actually plan on returning to Puerto Rico and establish it once more as our base of operations. Philadelphia is great, it has been a wonderful second home, but we’re ready to return. Honestly, nothing beats mom’s cooking, Puerto Rican bakery’s, and just Boricua food in general. We miss it all.
Q- Of your three books, is there a story or book that you love the most? Explain what you enjoy about it the most.
Angel: There are so many great stories in both anthologies and in my own books (all modesty aside!). Some of my favorites, because it’s so hard to choose just one, are Debajo de la cama by Esther Andrade, Cuatro Casas by Yuliana Cruz, Mala Ralea by Sandra Santana, Bebé by Melvin Rodríguez, and La pornógrafa by Ana María Fuster Lavin. Please check these stories out, they are genuinely good horror. If I was to choose a favorite story of mine, I would probably choose Como guayaba para un opía, because it’s funny, sexy, poetic, and dreadful all at the same time.
Melvin: Some of the ones that Ángel mentioned are also among my favorites but I also enjoy Mala Espina by Evelyn Velázquez, El grimorio de Úrsula by Ángel Isián, and Jueves en la tarde by Pabsi Livmar.
Q- What is the next writing project for Eikon? Is there something you can talk about?
Melvin: Like we mentioned before we are working on multiple projects at once. But our readers can expect a sequel to his most recent book El cuco te va a comer that will explore some of the recurring characters of that book in novel form. I have a forthcoming book of horror stories. We are currently collaborating on some anthologies outside of Eikon but that will help readers outside of Puerto Rico become familiar with Puerto Rican horror and our authors. Also, have some of our books in the process of being translated into English. We have much more but that we won’t share until we feel those projects are ready to be revealed.
Q- How do you see yourself in the writing community? Is there a suggestion you can share with them?
Melvin: We see ourselves as active members of this community, trying to be examples of what can be done in the world of independent publishing proving that indie publishing is not synonymous with bad quality writing or publishing. We also like to think of ourselves as people that help others to find a space to share their love of the horrific and macabre, the whimsical, the futuristic, and everything in between. For those in the writing community, I can only say: Keep at it! Don’t give up, strive for the best quality, and help build up the community. Look always for opportunities for growth and helping others reach that level. Competition can help drive innovation sometimes, but honest cooperation and equity in collaboration can strengthen the publishing market, especially in a place like Puerto Rico where there are hardly any opportunities for publishing and the market is very fragile and small. We need better quality writing and publishing, but also more opportunities for editors, writers, illustrators, and book distributors to attain that level with wholesome experiences that can create the conditions for such a quality.
Q- These days there is a lot of noise on the internet and it is harder to get yourself noticed. How are you handling your day-to-day, author platform, and your writing time?
Angel: To be honest it’s not easy and it can become exhausting, but like one of my fellow writers that I admire for his strong work ethic, Gabino Iglesias, says: “It’s all about that hustle”. Independent writers and publishers have no other choice. We have no multi-million-dollar company pushing big bucks to promote our books. We have to keep at it on a daily basis. It becomes even more difficult when you are not only promoting yourself as a writer but also promoting your publishing brand (Eikon) and also constantly collaborating with other authors and independent publishers. But again, it must be done. The tricky part is balancing that with work, our personal lives, rest, leisure, and our publishing endeavors.
Q- Wanted to know if your pen name has any meaning. Besides that, is there anything you want to add?
Angel: My pen name is a mixture of my first name and the name of a character I made up when I was twelve and with whom I connected. Most writers at some point write a character that is an avatar of themselves. Isián was that character for me. Though I have never published any of the stories I have written for him, and at this point, I probably never will, I kept him alive through my pen name. When I decided I wanted to publish some of my work as early as 2010. I knew that I would need a unique name since my name and last names are extremely common (Ángel Rivera), so I went on to use the name I had used as my online persona way back since I had my first online accounts in 2001, Ángel Isián. Interestingly enough, now most of the people I have met since then know me better by my pen name than by my real name. I don’t think we really have much to add, other than to invite people to please give our books a try. We promise you won’t regret it. Thank you so much for this opportunity to share our story and experiences!
We always wish our fellow writers luck and success. We thank both of you in Eikon for the interview. It is always a pleasure to meet fellow writers. Get to know them, and keep in touch. There is a bright future for these guys so I advice you to check out there work.
If you want to learn more about Ángel Isián, and Melvin Rodríguez visit them to the links listed below.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/libroseikon
Webpage: https://libroseikon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libroseikon/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/libros_eikon
Books:
https://libroseikon.com/tienda
Libros787:
El cuco te va a comer: https://libros787.com/search?type=article%2Cpage%2Cproduct&q=eikon*
No cierres los ojos (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/No-cierres-los-ojos-Antolog%C3%ADa-ebook/dp/B01LXPBCXJ/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=no+cierres+los+ojos&qid=1605706590&sr=8-1
No cierres los ojos 2 (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/No-cierres-los-ojos-Antolog%C3%ADa-ebook/dp/B07Y6QD3FQ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=no+cierres+los+ojos&qid=1605706614&sr=8-2