90 – Isabel Cañas and Running Barefoot Through Books

It’s a week of deep-dives, haunted-houses and academic horror-stories this week on Talking Scared.

Our guest is Isabel Cañas. And she’s having the busiest week known to (wo)mankind. Not only is she defending her doctoral thesis on Medieval Turkish Poetry, she also has the small matter of her debut novel – a sweetly sinister piece of Latin Gothic called The Hacienda 

We talk about everything that could possibly have influenced the novel. From the creepy house she once lived in, to her worldwide travels and her academic studies. It also plays a part – but nothing more so than a childhood spent reading. 

As well as diving deep into what made Isabel who she is, we also talk about Latinx horror generally, about mixing Catholicism with something even stranger, how she will never be frightened by the same things as Stephen King, and why it’s so important to keep the literary door ajar once you’ve kicked it open. 

It was a pleasure to speak to Isabel. I can’t believe she found the time. 

Enjoy 

The Hacienda is published on May 3rd by Berkley 

Other books mentioned in this episode include:

• Mexican Gothic (2020), by Silvia Moreno Garcia (episode 3)
• This Strange Way of Dying (2013), by Silvia Moreno Garcia
• The House of Hunger (2022), by Alexis Henderson 

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