Interview Roulette: Ada Maria Soto

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Welcome to Ada Maria Soto!

  1. What is your least favorite thing about California? The smog in the Central Valley. When I was a kid we’d go there for ‘clean country air’. My dad swore that when he was a kid, on a clear day, you could stand on the eastern side of Altamont Pass and see the Sierra Nevada mountains. Now the air in the valley is some of the worst in the world.
  2. You get to spend a day with a character from any book—but not one of your own. Who do you choose? Nanny Ogg. She’s a witch but also knows that life should be fun.
  3. What is your theme song? Thunder Road (this week)
  4. When it comes to travel, do you prefer to plan everything or play it by ear? I like to plan out the big things but I also like to schedule in a lot of flex time just to relax or find something new.
  5. Describe one of your characters’ deepest regrets. My poor Arthur left far too much unsaid when it came to his father, not knowing how to say it or thinking he had more time.
  6. If you could spend a week in one historical place, where and when would you choose? Paris in the 1920’s. It seems like that place was going off with interesting artists and people in general. And a week is about four days more drinking and socializing than I can handle.
  7. Due to a magical curse, for the rest of your life you can read only one genre of books. Which genre will it be? Science Fiction.
  8. One of the characters in your latest book buys a birthday present for another. What is it? Arthur would get Martin a very fancy cookbook, then realize that he also has to buy bookshelves because Martin has no furniture and gets all his book from the library.
  9. If you could instantly learn another language, which would you choose and why?Spanish. Because it’s embarrassing to be half Mexican and speak less Spanish than my four-year-old who learned all her Spanish from watching Dora and Friends.
  10. What is your favorite footwear? I love sports sandals but I can’t wear them anymore because I have flat feet.

Book blurb: His Quiet Agent

Arthur Drams works for a secret government security agency, but all he really does is spend his days in a cubical writing reports no one reads. After getting another “lateral promotion” by a supervisor who barely remembers his name, it’s suggested that Arthur try to ‘make friends’ and ‘get noticed’ in order to move up the ladder. It’s like high school all over again: his attempts to be friendly come across as awkward and creepy, and no one wants to sit at the same table with him at lunch.

In a last-ditch attempt to be seen as friendly and outgoing, he decides to make friends with The Alien, aka Agent Martin Grove, known for his strange eating habits, unusual reading choices, and the fact that no one has spoken to him in three years.

Starting with a short, surprisingly interesting conversation on sociology books, Arthur slowly begins to chip away at The Alien’s walls using home-cooked meals to lure the secretive agent out of his abrasive shell. Except Martin just might be something closer to an actual secret agent than paper-pusher Arthur is, and it might be more than hearts at risk when something more than friendship begins to develop.

 

Book buy links:

Amazon and KU: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072PWDT89

Author bio:

Ada Maria Soto is a born and raised Californian, Mexican-American/WASP, currently living as an expat in the South Pacific. Writing is her day job for the two days a week her child is in preschool. The other five days a week her child is her day job.

A psychologist once told her she has a fantasy prone personality, but since she’s a writer that’s not a bad thing. She has dysgraphia and phonological dyslexia but doesn’t let exciting spelling slow her down.

She is a sports fan dedicated to the Oakland A’s, San Jose Sharks, Auckland Blues, USA Eagles, New Zealand All Blacks, and New Zealand Black Caps.

 

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