Few writers embody Miami’s literary evolution as fully as Ana Veciana-Suarez. A former
Miami Herald columnist, longtime journalist and acclaimed author, she joined me on the latest
episode of The Miami Book Hub to discuss the winding path from newsroom deadlines to
historical fiction—and the persistence required to build a life around words.
Ana began writing early, despite growing up in a family that, like many immigrant families,
favored more practical professions. An English teacher encouraged her to join the newspaper at
Immaculata-La Salle High School, setting her on a path that led from the Miami News to the
Miami Herald, where she worked as a reporter, feature writer and columnist.
Journalism, she explained, offered an immediacy that fiction does not. “You have the immediate
rush,” she said. “In journalism, it’s pretty instantaneous.” Today, she continues working as a
freelance medical writer for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, a role that has
immersed her in scientific and medical research.
Her love of fiction, however, never disappeared. Her first novel, The Chin Kiss King, drew
inspiration from her family and the Miami neighborhood where she grew up. Her latest novel,
Dulcinea, travels much farther—to 16th- and 17th-century Spain.
Dulcinea imagines the life of the fictional muse who inspired Miguel de Cervantes to write Don
Quixote. Told through a dual timeline, the novel follows her dangerous journey from Barcelona
to Madrid after receiving a deathbed request from Cervantes, while also tracing their earlier
relationship.
Ana first encountered Don Quixote in its original Spanish in high school and spent decades
carrying the idea of its largely unseen woman with her. “I always thought, I want to write about
this woman,” she recalled. “Of course, it took me about 50 years to get to it.”
The eventual novel required extraordinary research: Cervantes biographies, out-of-print books,
personal diaries, travel journals, municipal records and even historical weather reports. That fact-
checking instinct, she acknowledged, comes from journalism. As a fellow writer with historical
elements in my own forthcoming novel, I could relate. “I’m a big fan of history, and I want to get
it right,” I told her.
Although Dulcinea transported Ana across centuries and continents, Miami remains central to
her identity and work. She described our community as a “city of neighborhoods,” held together
by connections that often feel closer to two degrees of separation than six.
“Miami will always be my home,” she said. “It’s the place that made me who I am in so many
ways.”
We closed with advice for writers. Talent matters, Ana said, but talent without discipline and
persistence is not enough. “If you don’t have the self-discipline and persistence to put your butt
in the chair, you’re not going to get anywhere.”
Her second essential instruction was equally direct: read widely. Writers learn by studying how
other writers build stories, create pace and work across genres. “Life is more interesting when
you mix,” she said.
Ana also reminded readers to reach out to authors whose work moves them because writing can
be a lonely profession. I added that it does not have to remain one: “Writers need community.”
Through organizations, workshops and conversations like those fostered by The Miami Book
Hub, writers can find companionship, instruction and encouragement.
Learn more about Ana Veciana-Suarez and her books at www.AnaVecianaSuarez.com.
Watch this episode and explore the wider world of The Miami Book Hub (Podcast + Newsletter
+ Column)—Miami’s Home for Readers, Writers & Resources—at
www.ThreeTreasuresPress.com
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