I had a lot of irons in the fire that all eventuated as opportunities at the same time. I went from having a lot of inertia with this big, cumbersome book that I’d been working on for way too long, to suddenly having an editor saying, ‘I’m going to take you to acquisitions. You’d better find representation.’” La Sala did just that, contacting agents and saying “‘Hey, I don’t know how to handle a contract. Would you consider representing me in this book deal that’s going to happen in the next week?’ It was nice to have people I could talk to through this, that I had made friends with during the actual DVPit events,” he said, “because I could run to [them] as this stuff was happening. Those small communities, they’re like little batteries of resilience, and I rely on them all the time.” As a mentor for DVPit, La Sala embraces the chance to contribute. “While I don’t think of myself as a perfect role model, there are things in my journey that I wouldn’t want someone to have to learn on their own. When it comes to queer creators and marginalized creators, there’s a ton to figure out, besides how to put together a game plan for the revision.” La Sala’s good at dishing out suggestions to fellow writers, but he also has some book recommendations for readers, once they’ve emerged from his novel. “If you’re
26 K CURIOSITALES
reading Reverie for the bizarro fantasy side of it and you’re ready for something that has a similar vibe, The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins is a really weird book and I loved reading it, If you’re reading Reverie because of the glitz and the magic, the stimulation and the overload, I would actually say [the video game] Kingdom Hearts is the next best step for you. If you’re into super gay stuff, The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta is a beautifully-written high fantasy, set in a version of Italy. It focuses on witches and, instead of it being your typical dystopian tale, it’s all about the mob in Italy. It’s so good.” As for La Sala, he’s already immersed in a new novel. “My next book is about cosplay, so I’ve been poring over competitions and craft tutorials. I love talking to people about what they’ve made and how they’ve made it. Ironically, I haven’t had time to put [one] together, because I’m too busy writing about cosplay!” Thankfully, La Sala still makes time to rock a leopard print shirt and select all-white ensembles dazzling enough to make the soccer moms of Connecticut lunge for their Tide laundry pens. Follow the shenanigans of @Ryality for yourself on Twitter. Reverie was released on 12/03/19.
www.ryanlasala.com
