Interview with Rey Terciero, Author of Dan in Green Gables
Welcome to YAOTL, Rey! Tell us about Dan in Green Gables.
Dan in Green Gables is the story of a teenager who has lived on the road with his unstable mom, who one days drops him off with his paternal grandparents, who he's never met. It's very much a love letter, not just to L.M. Montgomery, but to Tennessee and my family who lives there... a family that I wish had accepted my queerness when I was a youth rather than call me a sinner.
What brought you to Anne of Green Gables, specifically?
When I was in 4th grade, we moved 4 times, from San Marcos, Texas to Boulder, Colorado, then to Paris, Texas, and finally to Grapevine, Texas. The move was sudden--so sudden that my mom picked me up at school in the middle of the school day and had me called out of class. What I found was her waiting outside with the truck, packed with all of our possessions, and not a moment to say good-bye to any of my friends. That also meant I couldn't return my copy of Anne of Green Gables to the library. So that book traveled with me from town to town and state to state, even through a Christmas blizzard in Colorado during which I huddled in the back of the truck (under a camper shell) in a sleeping bag, seeing my breath and trying to stay warm while reading Anne by flashlight. So yeah, you could say Anne was a good friend during a hard time. So this is my thank you.
How did you approach adapting the original story to reflect contemporary issues and identities? What specific elements of the original novel did you feel were important to reinterpret?
They say "write what you know." So being half Mexican, queer, and having a mentally unstable mom, I knew these were all necessary components to this re-imagining. I drew from my own experiences to merge Anne's journey with Dan's. I think being queer is lonely enough, but to have your mom abandon you with relatives you've never met is akin to Anne's journey. Both Anne and Dan are searching for a home--and doing so with a lot of vigor and emotional high's and low's. Anne's strong personality traits had to come through in Dan, who is also a powderkeg, both of joy and sadness.
Dan’s story features a found family dynamic with rural grandparents in Tennessee—something I understand mirrors part of your own upbringing. How did your personal experience shape the emotional core of Dan in Green Gables?
My parents divorced when I was 5, so I rarely saw my dad's side of the family. But on the few occasions I did, I felt like such an outsider, especially with my paternal grandfather who looked at me with disdain in his eyes. He referred to me as a "soft boy", never to me, but to my dad, in front of me. As If I weren't there. Over the years, it became obvious that not only was I a "fairy" but I also read too many books when I should have been playing sports, when I should have been working harder to be a man. Because in his eyes, a gay man wasn't a real man. He was something less. This hurt as a kid. I rarely got love from anyone in my family--except for both of my grandmothers. My material abuela I've written about in many of my books. But my paternal grandmother deserves some love too, which is why I dedicated the book to her. Because while the rest of my family looked at me with cautious eyes, she embraced me, kissed me, and whispered in my ears how much she loved with me. She was a wonderful woman and I didn't have enough time with her before she passed so I'm glad I can show her love in this book.
Dan is portrayed as a queer half-Mexican teenager in rural Tennessee. What challenges did you face in depicting Dan's experiences within a conservative community?
There are three clear antagonists in teen bullies, the church's belief system, and of course, Dan's grandfather's intolerance, which is the most devastating for Dan, mainly because he wants everyone around to be happy. I don't feel like there were any challenges in writing this narrative, it was almost too easy to replicate the situations and feelings I had growing up. But what I did offer in order to push myself was to make the "villains" of the stories into real people. When I look at people in the real world who are filled with vitriol and hate, I don't take it personally. The people I grew up around weren't bad people. They were good people, who did cruel things to others because they thought they were doing good by following the teachings without true compassion and kindness for those in their community who were different.
I’m always fascinated by retellings. In what ways do you think queer retellings of classic stories like this can help challenge traditional narratives, especially for younger audiences?
There are soooooooooo many stories that exist that have been created by the privileged, and I believe it's time for those without representation to take center stage and show the world something new. There's not always a handsome prince waiting for you and there's not always a happily ever after. We all have different experiences and I love to see others take a familiar narrative and put their own spin on it. And for those who think we're stealing... well, it's more like borrowing. Stories have been passed down for centuries, each time it changed hands, the story changed to adapt to it's holders, whether it was a new faith, a new location, or a new people, stories change. Look at Disney. All of their stories are centuries old, and they made them what they wanted... instead of the Little Mermaid turning into sea foam at the end of her origin story because she lost the prince, Disney gave her a happy ending. So now, it's wonderful to have creators out there giving the Little Mermaid a new queer angle. That's one of the reasons I took my favorite Jane Austen novel--Northanger Abbey--and reimagined it as a queer love story between two teen cowboys in Northranger. I'm doing the same with Dan.
Can you tell us a bit about your collaboration with illustrator Claudia Aguirre and how her artwork contributes to the narrative?
This story wouldn't exist about Claudia. I can't sing enough praises of her art and how she so perfectly captured the story that only existed in my head before. Before she came on board I worried we wouldn't find an artists who could capture the beauty of nature in Tennessee's Smokey Mountains. But she did, and she did it incredibly. I wrote the scripts, she made the art, and it's a collaboration that I will always cherish--and hopefully not the last! :) I've always loved comic books (especially the X-Men), and so to create graphic novels with such a talent is a dream come true.
What do you hope readers, especially LGBTQ+ youth, take away from Dan's story?
I think it's best if I just quote Dan: "Happiness is a revolution, one that everyone has the right to enjoy."
Where can we find you?
What’s next?
Quite a few things actually...but I think the only one I can actually talk about is The Count of Monte Cristo High. Where as Meg, Jo, Beth, & Amy is a sweet and gentle love letter to NYC and Louisa May Alcott, and Northranger is a rough and tumble love letter to Texas and Jane Austen, (and of course Dan is a quiet and tender love letter to Tennessee and Lucy Maud), Count of Monte Cristo is a more aggressive and dark love letter to Los Angeles (where I live now) and Alexandre Dumas. It's a gay revenge story and it's pure fun. :)
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Dan in Green Gables has been well-received, earning a well-deserved starred PW review.
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