Julian R. Vaca has been a creative writer for over a decade. He’s a staff writer on the PBS series Reconnecting Roots, a nationally broadcast show that drew in millions of viewers over its first two seasons. He’s also the co-writer of Pencil Test, a feature-length documentary that’s being executive produced by Disney animation legend Tom Bancroft (Earnest Films, 2023).
In this interview, Julian talks with about about his debut novel and the first book in his new series, The Memory Index.
FF: What inspired the story in your book?
I have long been fascinated by “childhood amnesia,” which is of course the phenomenon of forgetting everything before the age of 3 or 4. That was the spark. Beyond that, I think there are many interesting questions surrounding memories and identity. One character in the book poses the question, “Are we more than the sum of our memories?” This is a throughline in the book, and something I seek to answer through the characters’ journey.
FF: What can you tell us about the main characters in your book?
The book’s heroine Freya Izquierdo (my mother’s maiden name) is a seventeen-year-old Mexican American who’s been dealt a terrible hand in life. She’s an orphan living in the fractured foster system. However, she’s driven and very curious—specifically about the cause of her father’s death. Freya, I think, has the most compelling arc in the story, because even though she’s so comfortable in her own skin—even though she confronts the grief in her life head-on—she still has much to learn about opening herself up to others. Ultimately, Freya learns that it’s not just okay to ask for help—it’s often necessary and urgent.
FF: Which character surprised you the most?
I think Dean Mendelsohn for sure. He’s the one who’s been tasked with running Foxtail Academy. And, while his motives aren’t always clear in this book, Freya and her friends discover that he’s very much on his own “hero’s journey.” The dean definitely has a lot of depth to him.
FF: Why do you think storytelling is such a powerful way to share truth?
Storytelling, in a lot of ways, is the exercise in preserving our history and our heritage. Oral storytelling in particular is a lost art form. But I think we all inherently want to find the truth—we’re all seeking answers in our lives. And stories help to bridge that gap.
FF: What can readers expect from the rest of this series?
There is a lot of mystery, suspense, and action in this series! Definitely in the third act of The Memory Index, which sets up a lot for book 2. But I also took my time with character and world building . . . I think if you’re going to do something like this right, you need your characters to feel real.
FF: How do you get into the right frame of mind to write for your genre/audience?
I tell folks that writers are readers first. In order to get in the right frame of mind for this genre, I need to also be consuming similar works. This includes books and movies. As a cinephile, I can tell you I was rewatching some classics like Back to the Future and The Goonies.
FF: What do you want readers to take away after reading your book?
I definitely want readers to be entertained! Beyond that, though, I hope readers reflect on their own questions surrounding memory and identity. Consider this: What’s more unsettling, losing your memories, or confronting the difficult ones?
FF: What are the biggest challenges for you as an author writing in your specific genre?
Writing speculative (Sci-Fi) fiction for Young Adults is challenging because there are SO many things vying for their attention. Young people in particular have countless social media channels at their disposable, smartphones, dozens of streaming shows, etc. As a writer, I not only have to hook my readers immediately, but I have to hold their interest across hundreds of pages! I have to ensure the story is engaging from top to bottom, or else I’ll lose my audience.
FF: What authors or books have inspired you as an author?
I LOVE the works of Brandon Sanderson, John Green, Lev Grossman, David Arnold, and Jeff Zentner—to name a handful! If you’re looking for a space epic with killer action scenes, check out Skyward. Or if you’re in search of compelling characters and stories of resilience, I’d grab Mosquitoland or The Serpent King.
FF: How has your faith or world view impacted the way you tell stories?
I fancy myself a writer who happens to be a Christian, not necessarily a Christian writer. I’ve always felt I’m most effective as a storyteller if I focus on story and craft. Then, on the other side of a draft, I’ll see that subtle themes of my faith crept in organically. Does that make sense? I’m personally not interested in preaching to the choir; I feel a pull to write to general audiences with the hopes of “smuggling” in the messages of hope and forgiveness found in the Gospel.
The Memory Index
The Memory Index Series #1
Julian R. Vaca
Thomas Nelson
Genres: YA/Teen Dystopian, Sci-Fi
Release Date: August 9, 2022
ISBN-10: 0840700660
ISBN-13: 978-0840700667
Book Summary:
In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones—the recollectors—need the treatment only once a day.
Freya Izquierdo isn’t lucky. The high school senior is a “degen” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she’s desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.
She’s the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.
Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she’ll have to access to survive it.
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