Ruben Reyes Jr.: Writing the Book Was an Exercise in Self-Discovery

Ruben Reyes Jr. is the son of two Salvadoran immigrants and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Harvard College. His writing has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Lightspeed Magazine, and other publications. Originally from Southern California, he now lives in Brooklyn. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Ruben Reyes, Jr.

Photo by Trevor Bishai

In this interview, Ruben discusses the unique beauty of short stories with his debut collection, There is a Rio Grande in Heaven, his hope for readers, and more!

Name: Ruben Reyes, Jr.
Literary agent: Aemilia Phillips
Book title: There is a Rio Grande in Heaven
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release date: August 6, 2024
Genre/category: Fiction, Stories
Elevator pitch: An electrifying debut story collection about Central American identity that spans past, present, and future worlds to reveal what happens when your life is no longer your own.

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What prompted you to write this book?

Before I conceptualized an entire collection, I was just trying to teach myself how to write a short story. The bulk of the stories were drafted after the summer of 2018, a brutal couple of months for Central American migrants under the Trump administration. Eventually, I realized all my stories were circling one central question: How can fiction help us make sense of the real-life dystopia Central American immigrants face every day? There is a Rio Grande in Heaven is my way of working through that question.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

The earliest story, about a Salvadoran colony on Mars, was drafted in the summer of 2016, which means the book took about eight years to complete. Writing my first book also involved figuring out what kind of writer I wanted to be, so I experimented a lot. Some of these experiments made it to the final manuscript, other were cut.

I always knew I wanted to write weird, speculative stories about Salvadoran immigrants, so that remained consistent, but I think the stories range so widely—in both genre and form—because writing the book was an exercise in self-discovery. That’s the beauty of a short story collection: Each piece is an opportunity to capture or explore a different obsession or question.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

So many! I’ve been most surprised and moved by the reaction from early readers and their kind words about the book. Logically, I knew strangers would eventually read the book, but it felt super abstract until advanced reader copies were sent out. Reading is such an intimate and precious past time of mine, and it baffles me that people are choosing to spend time with something I wrote! I hope I never stop feeling this mix of surprise and gratitude for readers.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

When I first started writing, I didn’t realize how time-consuming editing would be. I imagined that editing meant cleaning up sentences or fixing grammatical errors, which is definitely part of my process, but not until late in the life of a story. Some of these stories involved complete rewrites. Thankfully, I really enjoy editing now, and find a lot of pleasure in seeing the stories get better and better with each pass.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

El Salvador is such a misunderstood country, if it’s even thought of at all. Often, it’s only discussed in the context of immigration or civil war. Even when I was writing speculative or absurdist stories, I wanted to illustrate how complex the Salvadoran diaspora really is. We’ve experienced a lot of violence and trauma, but we’re also witty and poetic and resilient.

If a reader can leave with a better sense of the country that shaped me—its history, its people, its relationship to the U.S.—that’ll be a win.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Don’t go into debt for an MFA!

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