Q&A With Rosalia Rodrigo 

I am so delighted to be doing this Q&A with Rosalia Rodrigo, whose debut historical fantasy novel Beasts Of Carnaval will be available summer of 2025! Historical Fantasy is my cup of tea! 

Q: Rosalia, would you please give a brief description of Beasts Of Carnaval & talk about where the idea for the novel came from?

A: Beasts of Carnaval is about a secretive island where the wealthy elite travel to enjoy legendary performances, sumptuous feasts, and endless revelry. 

Sofía, a mestiza freedwoman from a nearby colonized island, enters el Carnaval de Bestias in search of her missing twin brother. As the nights pass, her mind begins unraveling, drowning in the unnatural, almost sentient thrall of Carnaval. 

To find her brother and break free, Sofía must peel back the glamorous curtain and face those behind Carnaval, before she too loses herself to the island.

–

Beasts of Carnaval is a mash-up of thoughts and ideas that have been percolating somewhere in the back of my mind for years. It started congealing into a story shaped thing around the start of 2021, beginning with the setting’s concept: 

An island paradise where the revelry never stops, and the guests never leave. 

Once I had the setting, a lot of the other elements emerged organically from research or real-world references. Isla Bestia, for example, is inspired by the Puerto Rican Island of Caja de Muertos, which resembles a sea monster from a bird’s-eye view. 

Q: How long did it take you to write Beasts Of Carnaval & what made you choose to have your first novel be a historical fantasy novel? 

A:  Because I revise my work as I go, the first full draft took me a little over a year to write, and this was with a daily writing practice—clocking somewhere between 25-30 hours a week of research, brainstorming and actual writing. Afterwards, I spent another two months revising and polishing before entering the query trenches in search of an agent.

The book has since undergone many (many!) more rounds of revisions with both my agent and editor. 

As for why I chose historical fantasy, it’s what I normally gravitate towards the most as both a reader and writer. The specific historical setting was a way of feeling connected with my roots despite no longer living in Puerto Rico, as well as an opportunity to dive deeper into my homeland’s history, i.e., its actual history, as much of what I was taught growing up was a very sanitized, Eurocentric version of the events.

Exploring these often-painful realities within the safety of fantasy helped me personally process a lot of what I was learning about my own history and heritage.

Q: What lessons & emotions do you hope readers learn and feel after reading Beasts Of Carnaval? 

A: With fantasy being known for its epic battles and swordfights, going into this story I wanted to delve into forms of resistance and resilience that are less commonly represented in the genre. Exploring other ways of fighting was something I personally needed when I wrote Beasts of Carnaval, and I hope there are others out there who resonate with this theme.

I also hope that readers who are newer to Caribbean and Latine speculative fiction are inspired to check out more works featuring our varied histories, folklore, and cultures. I am incredibly honored to be part of an emerging cohort of Caribbean and Latino authors showing the rich diversity of what we have to offer the fantasy genre!

Q: What would the characters from Beasts Of Carnaval be doing right now if there were to be a sequel? 

A: Oh, this is a hard one… I have always intended for this book to be a standalone, so what happens after the end is honestly as much of a mystery to me as it is for the readers. Sometimes I get vague flashes of the characters’ future selves, but in the way you may think of an old friend–” I wonder how they’re doing” and “I hope they’re well,” that sort of thing.

Q: Can you reveal the details of your next novel if it is indeed a sequel to Beasts Of Carnaval or a standalone novel?

A: With Beasts of Carnaval being a standalone, I am diving into a new story, which is intended as an Adult Science-Fantasy duology.  While I can’t say much more now, this new story will also feature a spectacular setting that I think would appeal to fans of Beasts of Carnaval. I look forward to sharing more in the future!

Q: If/When Hollywood gets the rights to Beasts Of Carnaval, who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created for the story? 

A: Ahhh, I have such a hard time imagining an adaptation of any of my stories. To even vaguely visualize it, I have to think about it in a radically different format—like, perhaps Lin Manuel Miranda turns Beasts of Carnaval into a musical? 

(only somewhat joking) Overall, it would be wonderful to see a cast of emerging Boricua actors playing the roles!