Interview with Victor Piñeiro, Author of The Island of Forgotten Gods
Welcome to Smack Dab in the Middle, Victor! Please tell us a bit about The Island of Forgotten Gods . Thanks for having me! Sure thing. The Island of Forgotten Gods is a coming-of-age adventure set in Puerto Rico, where thirteen-year-old Nico—a New Yorker who dreams of being the next Spielberg—plans to make a film so brilliant it’ll get him into LaGuardia, his dream high school. But when he’s sent to spend the summer with his Abuela and cousins in PR, his project takes a wild turn: he stumbles on the chupacabra, who begins hunting him down. Soon, he’s not just making a movie—he’s fighting for Puerto Rico’s survival against the ancient Taíno gods who created the island. The Island of Forgotten Gods blends contemporary coming-of-age with Puerto Rican mythology. What drew you to weave Taíno mythology and culture into a modern story about a young filmmaker? The book actually started its life as a memoir. I wrote the first draft during an especially dreary pandemic winter, reli...
