Interview with E. R. Sanchez, Author of Tell Them Goodbye

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Tell Them Goodbye?

My novel was originally inspired by Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”. I was just a 19-year-old student who had never been a reader, but this book made me a reader and inspired me to write this story about two teens on an epic road trip in Mexico. Then, after interviewing my relatives to flesh out the story, I realized I had much more. It’s like I put the inspiration from “On the Road” and my family members’ true stories into a blender, and the blend came out as “Tell Them Goodbye.”

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Tell Them Goodbye, what would they be?

The theme songs for the main characters would be Lola Beltrán’s “Cielito Lindo” and “Las Mañanitas.”

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

My favorite genres to read are thrillers and literary fiction. I write thrillers, and dream for people to say they’re good enough to be literary fiction.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

On my TBR pile, there’s a memoir called “Solito” by Javier Zamora, a thriller called “Run: Outmatch, Outsmart, Outlive” by Christy Cooper-Burnett, and a poetry book called “Serious Longing” by Jessica M. Wilson Cardenas.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

My favorite scene to write was the second inciting incident, when the main characters’ plan goes off the rails, and they have to decide to keep going or return home and face the consequences. It helped me realize I’m on the right track to writing a thriller.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I like to write in silence and in total privacy.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

The motto that I live by is one I heard as a boy when I saw “Rocky 5”. In the flashback, Rocky hears his old trainer say, “Get up you son of a bitch! ‘Cause Mickey loves you.” The quote combined with the day my trainer made me box everybody in the gym because I bragged that I didn’t need to spar since I wasn’t in the mood to fight and had done well in my last boxing match. I will never forget my trainer forcing me to get in the ring and spar someone different every round because I had to learn how to fight even when I didn’t want to. The combination resulted in the philosophy I live by, which is to push myself no matter what is in my way.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

I’d like readers to remember that it’s not simply a book about two immigrants; it’s about the will we all share to accomplish what we feel is impossible to achieve, while also impossible not to go for. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to get to another country for a better life or trying to build the most successful company ever from scratch; it’s all the same because it’s your soul that wants the outcome, and it’s willing to risk everything to get there.

E. R. Sanchez is the author of the new book Tell Them Goodbye

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