Remix: How Author Alexis Daria is Complicating Our Notions of Romance

Latina to Latina

LWC Studios

Latinas, Lantiguawilliams, 519788, Aliciamenendez, Society & Culture, Latinos, Entrepreneurship, News, Hispanics, Entertainment News, Business

4.7 • 624 Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Bronx-native was juggling multiple jobs when she decided, at 30, that it was time to stop playing small. It paid off: her first romance novel was recognized with a prestigious RITA Award, and her newest solo project, A Lot Like Adios, is continuing to ask powerful questions about who gets to fall in love and what love really looks like. Follow Alexis on Instagram @alexisdaria. If you loved this episode, listen to Book Editor Michelle Herrera on Finding Your Voice By Not Fitting In and Author Carmen Maria Machado on the Myth of a Queer Love Utopia. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Our top 25 countdown continues, coming in at number 13, author Alexis Darya.
0:05.9	I love that this episode ended up in the top 25 because it was one of our listeners who recommended we interview Alexis.
0:12.2	The part of this conversation that has stayed with me is the story of Alexis balancing multiple jobs when she finally decided it was time to stop playing small and go all in.
0:25.2	Thank you so much for doing this. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. My favorite
0:29.8	episodes are episodes where our audience has specifically requested a guest and you are one such
0:36.8	where your name has been circulated a number of
0:39.7	times. And yet you are like a sphinx. I have Googled you to the heavens. I have listened to
0:48.2	multiple interviews you have done. I know almost nothing about you. So fill in the gaps for me. You're born and raised in the Bronx. Yes. Your family is Puerto Rican. Yes, my mom's side of the family. So as I understood it, you didn't get a degree in English. Oh, no. A degree in computer. I have a BFA in computer arts, but I went through a number of majors before I got to that point.
1:12.6	What did you think you wanted to do?
1:14.0	Well, I always wanted to be an artist.
1:15.7	And for people in New York, I went to the fame school, LaGuardia, for visual arts.
1:20.8	But I didn't think that was a viable career path.
1:24.4	It's not that it was discouraged, but I couldn't see the way forward with that.
1:29.2	So I went into finance first when I went to school, and that was a total mistake. From there,
1:35.2	I worked at a bookstore for six years because I've always loved books and I loved writing,
1:39.6	took me a roundabout path to finishing school. I did eventually get a BFA and I worked freelance for a long
1:45.8	time. I worked for a magazine for a little bit. And then when I was 30, I was like, well, I've given
1:50.7	art kind of a fair shot and I either need to go all in with it or go all in with writing, which I
1:55.3	have not given a fair shot. So that's what I did. Was there something that happened at 30 that kind of pulled to do into that choice?
2:04.1	Yeah, I was doing a lot of work.
2:06.6	Finally graduated and I didn't want a full-time day job because I wanted to be able to work
2:10.9	on creative projects.
	...

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