TopShelf April 2023

Q: YOU HAVE PUBISHED BOOKS OF POETRY SUCH AS “BLACK SHEEP RISING” AND HUMORUS FICTION WITH YOUR CHRISTMAS SERIES NOVELLAS, WHICH FEELS MOST COMFORTABLE TO YOU AND WHY?

They’re both comfortable in their own ways. I feel like poetry is my second skin because my emotions are always near the surface. I’m an introvert and tend to soak up the atmosphere around me, so poetry is a way to release that. Humor, on the other hand, is like my secret identity. I feel like people were surprised when I published my Christmas novellas because they revealed a side of me that I don’t share with many.

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR MUSE FOR WRITING “LITERALLY CHRISTMAS” AND “FINALLY CHRISTMAS”?

My mom had recently died when I wrote Literally Christmas, and I was in deep mourning. She never read my poetry and I honestly think she was embarrassed by it. She was from Peru and so culturally she just didn’t believe in talking about anything personal. I wanted to write something that she would actually read and enjoy, and my mind quickly went to Hallmark Christmas movies. These movies were sort of neutral territory for us, and we could watch them without ending up in an argument. So in reality, Hallmark was my muse haha… I wanted it to be light, have an easy resolution, and be seasonal.

Q: DO YOU PLAN ON WRITING MORE HUMORUS FICTION STORIES AND IF SO, DO YOU HAVE ONE IN MIND ALREADY?

I do plan on writing a third novella in my Christmas series. It will be called “Actually Christmas” and will be the final work in that trilogy. When will I have it done? I have no idea.

Q: MANY WRITE POETRY AS A STATEMENT ON POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES OR TO EXCISE THEIR FEELINGS, WHICH ARE YOU AND HAVE YOU CONSIDERED WRITING FOR THE OPPOSITE PURPOSE?

I first start writing on a blog in 2008 or 2009. I meant to be just a way for people to keep up with my family and our life, like many blogs of that era. However, as I wrote, I began to really process my trauma (I’m a rape and sexual assault survivor) and it was a relief to me. Then, I joined Twitter in 2009 and began posting what I wrote on there. I only had maybe 40 followers at the time, so it was low stakes and not threatening. I participated in a writing challenge at the time called Reverb (old-timers will remember!) where there were daily writing prompts that made me dig deeper into myself. Pretty soon, my poetry began to centralize on healing and recovering. I’ll always be grateful for it in that way.

Q: WHAT GENRE BOOKS DO YOU NOT WRITE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRY?

I would very much like to attempt historical fiction. Someone once told me I wasn’t smart enough for that genre, and it stung at the time. Now, I’d like to prove them wrong.

ABOUT CEE STREETLIGHTS MOTHER, POET, BADASS

As a child, C. Streetlights listened to birds pecking at her rooftop, but instead of fearing them, was convinced they would set her free and she’d someday see the stars.

Southern California sunshine never gave C. Streetlights the blonde hair or blue eyes she needed to fit in with her high school’s beach girls, her inability to smell like teen spirit kept her from the grunge movement, and she wasn’t peppy enough to cheer. She ebbed and flowed with the tide, not a misfit but not exactly fitting in, either.

C. Streetlights grew up, as people do, earned a few degrees and became a teacher. She spent her days discussing topics like essay writing, Romeo and Juliet, the difference between a paragraph and a sentence, and for God’s sake, please stop eating the glue sticks.

C. Streetlights now lives in the mountains with a husband, two miracle children, and a dog who eats Kleenex. She retired from teaching so she can raise her children to pick up their underwear from the bathroom floor, to write, and to slay windmills and dragons. She is happy to report that she can finally see the stars.

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