Sandra Proudman is a proud Mexican-American author and literary agent at the Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency. She graciously took the time to answer my questions in her first interview for her debut novel, Salvación. Enjoy!

1. To start from the beginning, who are some of your literary inspirations?

It’d be too hard to just name a few folks, but truly, I feel like I learn from everyone and everything. That’s really what inspires my work, from how a flock of birds look flying overhead to my toddler’s favorite movies like The Croods to authors that I’ve admired and loved for a long time to those I discover for the first time.

2. How did you get your start as an agent?  

I knew I wanted to become a literary agent after years of mentoring. I loved Pitch Wars, AMM, DVMentor, and getting the chance to work with authors, especially marginalized authors, to further their career goals was always so fulfilling.

I started at GZLA as an intern during the midst of the start of the COVID pandemic, and am now working full-time for the agency and am getting the chance to hold my absolute dream job.

3. You’re also a committee member to #LatinxPitch, please share what that is? 

#LatinxPitch is a yearly pitch that gives Latinx kidlit creatives a chance to have a pitch event that is just for them, and I’m so happy to be a part of it. We’ve had many success stories of authors and illustrators finding agents or editors for their projects form the event, and there’s nothing that makes me happier than knowing that Latinx kids will have more books available to them because of this event.

4. What made you choose The Old Man and the Sea for your Relit Remix? 

Funnily enough, I chose it because it’s my husband’s favorite Classic, and after I read it, I couldn’t help feeling like it shouldn’t be something that kids should need to read in school when it was a grown man’s favorite. I wanted to create a version that was for teens and that teens could see themselves in.

5. Was the process writing for your debut different from working on the anthology? 

On one side, it is less stress because it’s just mine and I don’t have the added concern of my contributors. On the other side, it’s completely different because everything we did for the anthology, I’m doing on a much larger scale like revisions and line-editing. The marketing and publicity for this book will also be on a much larger scale, which is exciting but nerve wrecking, too!

6. What is it about the Zorro myth is that continues to draw people?

Zorro is a hero through-and-through and is a completely virtuous character who would always be on the right side of history. I think knowing that he is really one of the good guys is what draws people to the myth. You’re not getting a morally gray superhero, you’re getting someone who you can fully love for being good.

Likewise, Loli is a character who you can always fully love because she is someone who might make mistakes, but she is always on the right side of things, and I hope she inspired teens who read her story to always feel like they can stand up for and fight for a better and more just world for everyone.

7. We’re there certain real historical figures or favorite Mexican folklore that inspired Salvación’s setting and characters? 

Salvación is primarily inspired by Zorro, both the original book by Johnston McCulley and the films. The setting is a historical setting inspired by an actual settlement in Coloma, California, where the gold rush essentially began.

Loli and Alejandro were in large inspired by scenes more than anything else. For example, the horse racing scene in Bridgerton season 2 and the scene in The 100 where Bellamy gently takes a nail from Clarke’s hand. These little moments of intimacy between characters that I’ve loved so much.

The relationship between Loli, Alejandro, and Víctor, Loli’s brother was inspired by the fun dynamic in The Mummy.

8. Was the concept fully formed or did it go through several iterations before you reached Salvación? 

I sold Salvación on proposal, and was lucky enough that this is one of those stories that came naturally and was easy to pen, which isn’t always the case. But this is a story that I think I was just meant to write, that the universe gave me, and that ultimately has stayed very close to where it was originally.

9. To minimize spoilers, how would you describe Lola in three words? Her dynamic with Alejandro? 

In three words: Hero. Justicia. Rebel.

Her dynamic with Alejandro: Swoony. Slowburn. Smirk.

10. With the push for diversity and publishing stats showing that Latinos only make up 6% in the industry overall-How do you feel about contributing to its representation and what are your hopes fo the industry’s future? 

I’m an author because of this statistic; I’m an agent because of this statistic. I feel incredibly proud to help strengthen the representation of Latines in publishing and every day I work really hard to create change as both an author and an agent.

But this year more than ever before, I’ve also realized that the way we move forward whether we’re Latinx, Black, Asian, Arab, Indigenous, or any other marginalized identity, is by supporting each other.

My hopes for the industry’s future is that we don’t have to worry about book bans, we don’t have to worry about author bans, that we can have books available for all children and equal representation among everyone in order to make this happen. It’s a far dream, might seem like a laughable one to some, but I truly believe we can get there.

11. Any upcoming news you’d like to share?

No news I can share at the moment! But I will say, so much for upcoming news depends on the success of Salvación and Relit, so to all those who can support by requesting these from their library I would be incredibly grateful!

You can learn more about Sandra Proudman and her work on her website, her manuscript wishlist, and social media.