Chanel Cleeton's book, "The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes," is a love letter to books and the legacy they leave behind.
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
My new book, "The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes," is my love letter to books and the legacy they leave behind. I wanted to celebrate the powerful impact that books have on our lives as they inspire and move us.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
To me, Reading Rainbow means supporting and celebrating LGBTQ voices and stories. It’s honoring my friends and community and gaining another understanding of their experiences and perspectives, as books so often offer a chance for us to learn from and about each other by deepening connections in unexpected ways. It’s an opportunity for LGBTQ readers to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the books they read. Authentic representation is so vitally important, perhaps now more than ever, and I believe that books are at their most powerful and transformative when they allow readers to feel seen, recognized, valued, and respected.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
There is something so profoundly impactful about feeling seen in a book. Books have the power to connect and move us, and authentic representation is so important in the book world particularly when so many diverse voices have been historically excluded from the narrative. Books should — at their core — connect and inspire readers, and everyone should be able to see their lived experience reflected when they pick up a book.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
"The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes" is the story of three women — Eva, Pilar, and Margo — spread across several countries and time periods whose lives are connected by one mysterious book with an unforgettable legacy. Eva writes the novel, "A Time for Forgetting," during a pivotal moment in her life; Pilar is entrusted with the book’s safekeeping and discovers it when she needs it most; and Margo is hired to track down the novel over a century after it was first published, setting off a series of deadly events.
As a Cuban-American writer, I enjoy having the opportunity to learn about my heritage as I travel back in the past with my characters. "The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes" gave me the opportunity to learn more about Cuban history in 1900 as Cuba sought independence and in 1966 during the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution.
What can fans expect from your book?
Readers can expect history, suspense, romance, and lots of book love.
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
My next book will be out in the summer of 2026. It’s set in the 1960s and is a new adventure for me. I can’t wait to share more about it!
