From Spooky Lovers to Amantes Espeluznantes: One Book, Two Languages
J. V. Gachs on the Process of Publishing in Multiple Languages
Girl meets girl on a dating app.
Girl finds out her crush is a ghost.
That was the seed for a simple short story about a spooky first date in a graveyard. I fell in love so deeply with the characters of Ernestina and Avra that I just kept on writing and writing about them, and a flash story ended up becoming my novella Spooky Lovers, to be published by Interstellar Flight Press and the subject of this article.
Although my first language is Spanish, I chose to write this story in English. I’m what’s called an ESL (English as a Second Language) writer. I live in Spain, even though I’m aware that some ESL writers live in English-speaking countries. I wonder if they get asked why they write in their second language as often as I do. My stories take place in Spain, my characters are Spanish, and the creature in my debut novel, a Xana, comes from my region’s mythology, so why do I complicate my life by not writing in Spanish? Well, the answer is as simple as the seed for Spooky Lovers: out of necessity.
I learned through experience that writing in my mother tongue offered limited possibilities for publication if I wanted to pursue a career in horror, while in English, by the time I started drafting Spooky Lovers, I had sold multiple short stories, and I had already signed a contract for my debut novel Epiphany to be published by Off Limits Press (December, 2023).
Right before COVID hit, I started out writing in my first language, focused as I was on learning the craft and with little to no worry at all about the publishing industry. It didn’t go unnoticed to me, even in those days, that most of the indie horror I was reading hadn’t even been translated into Spanish. There were only a handful of short story magazines in Spain and even fewer dedicated to speculative fiction. Also, when I felt I was ready to start submitting my work for publication, I found hardly any information about the process in the Spanish market, while the resources available if I were writing in English were abundant and very useful. So, being bilingual, it wasn’t a difficult decision to try my hand at translating my own stories. After a couple of tries, my first short story “Hubris’ Nest” was accepted for publication by Luna Station Quarterly in their Issue 45. It proved to me that it was doable, so I kept going.
When my cuentos in Spanish languished without markets to be sent to, while the same stories got picked up by, mostly, US anthologies, I stopped bothering to write in both languages. I found other horror writers online to share experiences and critiques with, and I abandoned the idea of publishing in my own language altogether.
I wrote, revised, and polished Spooky Lovers in English, and I was fortunate enough that Guest Editor Lee Murray picked it up as part of IFP’s horror novella series.
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And that would be the whole story, one not so interesting about writing in your second language, if it wasn’t for a Spanish press: Dimensiones Ocultas.
One thing I’ve learned in my writing journey is that a rejection is not a death sentence for a story, and it certainly isn’t a rejection of you as a writer (even if they do sting sometimes). It was a rejection that led me to send my novella to Dimensiones Ocultas.
When DO announced a call for their first anthology, I was also starting out on my horror journey. I submitted a story that didn’t get picked. Roberto Carrasco, Dimensiones Ocultas EiC, sent me a message afterward to tell me he had really enjoyed my story, though.
Two years passed, and he was scouting their 2024/25 publishing catalog. Roberto Carrasco texted me and asked if I had a novel or novella that could match their needs. Being familiar with their books, I was sure Spooky Lovers would be a good fit. The only problem was… I had written it in English.
I believe that when it comes to publishing, one should seize the opportunities when they present themselves, so instead of asking him to wait and rush a translation of Spooky Lovers, I explained to him what the situation was. Considering he’s also a translator, he was kind enough to read my original manuscript and sent me the kindest acceptance message I’ve ever received. The contract was signed and as I write this, I find myself translating my own words from my second language to my first.
To be completely honest, I thought it would be easier… Spooky Lovers is sprinkled with humor and double meanings and innuendos that worked well in English. Finding ways to make them work in Spanish, too, makes me realize how difficult the job of a translator really is.
I consider myself lucky to be able to bring my characters to a wider audience by using the language skills I’ve cultivated in two different languages, but, at times, the imposter syndrome hits hard. Most writers I know suffer from it, if not all the time, then fairly often, and I’ve come to realize mine is more about worrying over typos and grammar mistakes in emails to presses and editors, social media promotion or writing an article about being an ESL writer with a book coming in two different languages. When I started communicating with Dimensiones Ocultas, it was the first time I had the chance to talk about contracts and publishing in my first language. I wondered, “Is this how English as a First Language writers feel all the time? This is pan comido! I can be anxious about the actual writing now!”
Being an ESL writer is both hard and rewarding, most of the time it feels like trying to run a marathon with your hands tied at your back. And then, it gives you these sweet opportunities and makes the effort worth it. I’m so thrilled to be able to present Spooky Lovers and Amantes Espeluznantes to readers that I can’t wait for 2024’s Spooky Season when you all will meet Ernestina and Avra and (hopefully) love them as much as I do.
About the Author
J.V. Gachs is a Spanish classicist, and writer, currently working as a Latin teacher. Writing in English and Spanish her work has been featured in anthologies like Scott J. Moses’ What One Wouldn’t Do and Chelsea Pumpkins’ AHH! That’s What I Call Horror! Her first novel, Epiphany, will be released by Off Limits Press in December 2023. Obsessed with sudden death, ghosts, and female villains, she always writes with a cat (or two) in her lap.
Interstellar Flight Magazine publishes essays on what’s new in the world of speculative genres. In the words of Ursula K. Le Guin, we need “writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope.” Visit our Patreon to join our fan community on Discord. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
