Ana Reyes: On Working The Writing Muscles

Ana Reyes has an MFA from Louisiana State University. Her work has appeared in Bodega, Pear Noir!, New Delta Review, and elsewhere. She lives in Los Angeles where she teaches creative writing to older adults at Santa Monica College. The House in the Pines is her first novel. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In this post, Ana discusses the surprisingly collaborate effort that went into publishing her debut thriller, The House in the Pines, her hope for readers, and more!

Name: Ana Reyes
Literary agent: Jenni Ferrari-Adler
Book title: The House in the Pines
Publisher: Dutton
Release date: January 3, 2023
Genre/category: Thriller
Elevator pitch for the book: The House in the Pines is a mesmerizing debut thriller from Latina author Ana Reyes about a woman, Maya, who returns home on an all-consuming quest to uncover the truth behind her best friend’s shocking and mysterious death years earlier. Though Maya’s memories are inexplicably hazy, she knows that one man, Frank, is at the heart of the mystery and in order to track him down, Maya must piece together fragments of her own past while conquering looming fears in her present. The House in the Pines oozes with haunting nostalgia that begs the question: Could what you can’t remember destroy you?

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The house of the book’s title came to me at the age of 11, appearing in the first story I ever wrote. I’d never been there or seen it in person, but the place meant something to me even then, something I didn’t begin to understand until I wrote about it. This book is my exploration of that house.

I wrote the first draft in 2015 while getting my MFA at Louisiana State University. The book will be published in January 2023—so it’s been an eight-year journey!

A lot has changed in that time. The plot’s been rearranged, characters have been cut and new ones added, yet certain things remain. The ancient hymn referenced in the book has always been there, in one way or another, and the house itself, along with its secret, has never changed.

Writing a novel can be a lonely process. One thing that’s surprised me about the publishing process is how collaborative it is. From agent to editor to cover designer, marketing and publicity, I’ve learned it takes a village to bring a book into the world.

Everyone involved brings their own perspective on its themes and the story’s relevance to readers—all of which has been incredibly valuable to me as a writer. I may have written the book by myself but it was other people who helped it find a place in the world.

The House in the Pines began with little more than an image—a house with a secret, deep in the woods—around which I built the rest of the novel. The main themes came soon after, inspired by my life at the time. Pretty much everything that followed was a surprise!

I hope readers will lose themselves in the story. The House in the Pines tackles a few big themes—the meaning of home, the importance of connecting with our roots, and the dark side of nostalgia—but it’s also a thriller designed to keep readers guessing. I love a novel that whisks me into another world and I hope this book can do that for others.

Join a writer’s group. It always helps to receive feedback on your work, and providing it for others is just as beneficial. Storytelling and writing are like muscles that get stronger the more we use them, whether by developing our own work or helping someone else develop theirs.

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