Q & A with San Antonio author about her first novel

Posted by Elena del Valle on September 11, 2024

We have not used AI-assisted technologies in creating this article.

Like Happiness

Photos: Celadon Books, Levi Travieso

For readers hungering for something a bit out of the ordinary Ursula Villarreal-Moura wrote Like Happiness (Celadon Books, $28), her first novel. The book explores the complexities of gender and power by examining a young woman’s destructive relationship with a well known writer. Set in 2015 in Chile, where Tatum Vega and her partner Vera lived, the story is narrated in the present and a past 10 years earlier, which Vega would rather forget. Accusations against the author with whom she had a relationship in the past force her to examine her history with the author and its lingering impact on her life.

The author answered questions by email via her publisher Celadon Books.

HMPR: What would you say is the primary target audience for the book?

UVM: I don’t know if there is one set target audience. The people who have reacted most positively describe themselves as 1) fans of thrillers, 2) readers of sad girl books, or 3) people fascinated with intersectionality and power dynamics.

HMPR: What did you mean by the title?

UVM: The protagonist of Like Happiness is infatuated with a book titled Happiness, so it’s a riff off that as well as an ode to her involvement with the book’s author.

HMPR: What made you choose the topic?

UVM: I was absolutely obsessed with the literary world and with power dynamics. I married those themes in Like Happiness and soon got sucked into that world.

HMPR: What do you think distinguishes your book from other titles?

UVM: I’ve been told it’s the nuance that makes it a different read. The main relationship lives in morally grey territory for quite some time. It’s also a Latinx book that doesn’t deal at all with immigration, or anything stereotypically considered “Mexican” or Latino. The main characters do ordinary things and just so happen to be Chicana and Puerto Rican.

HMPR: How will you measure success?

UVM: I’ve seen the book in multiple libraries, which means it’s available to people who might not be able to afford a hardcover. Like Happiness also has served as a bridge linking me with readers and other writers all over the globe. I consider those metrics of success.

HMPR: What is your next book project?

UVM: I’m working on another novel, a memoir, and possibly an essay collection. I never know which project I’ll complete next. It’s always a surprise. If readers enjoy Like Happiness, I also have a collection out titled Math for the Self-Crippling to hold them off until the next book.

Ursula Villarreal-Moura, author, Like Happiness