Too Fast received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Erik E. Morales.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The book is called Too Fast and was published in 2023.
What’s the book’s first line?
I can pinpoint the exact moment I knew for certain something was different about-…wait! No, scratch that. I’m sinking back into the delusional muck of toxic positivity, the tantalizing snare of Pollyanna quicksand. There wasn’t just something different about Ricky. There was something wrong with my son.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
On paper, Raven Rios should lose. Orphaned at seven and raised by an abusive aunt in the urban underclass, she gets pregnant at fifteen, giving birth to a moderately developmentally disabled son, Ricky. However, committed to defying circumstances and stereotypes, she persists.
Blessed and cursed with excess courage, a quick wit, and precocious sensuality, Raven employs the grit and guile required to survive her past to carve out a future. But when the past crashes into the present, her greatly sanitized version of Ricky’s paternity begins to crumble, leaving Raven and Ricky to pick up the pieces.
Shifting between humor and heartache, simple joys and profound losses, major guilts and minor redemptions, the story weaves together the lives and perspectives of multiple characters, as well as complex realities surrounding intellectual diversity, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and social class in contemporary America.
Ultimately, it’s a story of resilience, of bending but not breaking, of how enduring trauma, shame, regret, and longing shapes who we are, whom we love, and how.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
It began as a short story. I wanted to explore a strong but imperfect mother/son bond as well as the changing nature of such relationships, with the son eventually switching roles with the mother, becoming more of a caregiver. I hadn’t really thought about it at the time, but the idea probably stemmed from my own relationship with my mother, especially as she gets older and relies more on me.
I also wanted to see the world through a simple character who, because he isn’t as tainted by cultural and social forces, has a view a little purer than most. However, I wanted to avoid the noble savage trope, didn’t want him to be a saint or live some kind of idyllic life. Like all the characters, he endures more than his share of pain and it hurts him.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Spending time with people who’ve been through the wringer and emerged relatively intact can be inspirational and cathartic in many ways. And while the characters are strong and motivating, they are far from perfect. They make mistakes and lie and hurt others, but they rarely do so intentionally or with malice.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The most distinctive thing about Raven is her ferocity. Whether it’s helping a friend in a dire financial bind, defending her son from bullies and bureaucrats, or manifesting her goals, she approaches each challenge with fierce intensity. There are several allusions to her as a superhero in the book, and while she is deeply flawed, she does have exceptional strength. She is not a typical mom, but she’s the mom she needs to be given her situation and challenges.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
My day job is in academia. Consequently, I have published many non-fiction research articles and books. Too Fast is my first novel. And while I enjoy non-fiction writing, I love the freedom and creativity of fiction.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Tom Wolfe is by far my favorite writer. The Bonfire of The Vanities is a modern masterpiece and A Man in Full might be better. Wolfe was fearless and I marvel at how he did what he did.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
It’s okay to want fame, notoriety, and recognition, just try not to need them.