Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Braintown’s Laura Elizabeth Hernandez

Laura Elizabeth Hernandez is writing a new chapter in her career as a debut author. Earlier this year, her dystopian sci-fi novel, Braintown, hit the shelves to wide acclaim, catching the eye of publications such as Be Latina and People en Español. The story, years in the making, is one Laura has always wanted to write. Pop Culturalist caught up with Laura to learn more about her journey with Braintown, the lessons she’s learned as a first-time novelist, and whether a sequel is in the works.

PC: How did you discover your passion for writing?
Laura: I feel like every writer says this, but I always knew I wanted to do this. I would write little fiction pieces or I’d write essays in grammar school and I would always win all the awards. I would stay in my room and I would write creative stories that were mostly scary. I was always wired to write stories. For a long time, I didn’t write anything. I liked math more than writing or even reading class. Then the idea of Braintown came to me and I felt the urge to write it as an adult.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Laura: It’s hard to say because I went in so many directions and I came to writing later on in life. People are like, “Wow, you worked everywhere.” I’ve worked in nonprofit organizations; I’ve worked for advertising companies; I’ve worked for magazines; I worked as a teacher. I had so many different jobs, and part of it was putting off what I wanted to really do, which was write, which I thought was such a long shot. I met so many people throughout my career that I learned so many different things. But when it comes to specifically writing, I would say that I found one person that understood what I was trying to say and helped guide me. The biggest lesson for me is to find that one person that can help you along and guide you and help tell your story.

PC: Speaking of stories, can you tell us about Braintown?
Laura: Braintown is a story that was always in the back of my mind—a story that I always wanted to write. It’s set in the future. It’s set in the year 2060. It’s dystopian. It’s a world you definitely don’t want to live in. Women have no rights. They can’t talk. You can’t even say a peep. You’re controlled by all these machines that tell you what to think. For example, there’s a romantic boost that brainwashes you with different songs so that you remain in a daze where you’re only thinking about guys. But really, what it really is about is the things that bothered me about being a woman. Feeling sometimes like I couldn’t have an opinion. I took all the things that bothered me about being a woman and put them in Braintown. It’s a world controlled by machines where women can’t say anything.

PC: How early on did you realize you wanted to set this in a futuristic dystopian world?
Laura: I started writing this book as an adult. It came to me in the moment that it needed to be set in the future because I was talking to another sci-fi writer that I met in a sci-fi club and he was like, “It sounds like you’re writing sci-fi.” He was like, “If you’re going to write science fiction, you have to create some picture of what you believe the future to be.” I said, “I think it’s going to be worse.” He said, “So write that.” And I did.

PC: Like you were saying, this book has been years in the making. What was the biggest lesson you learned about yourself while working on this project?
Laura: That a lot of people are going to tell you what they think the book should be. You’re going to have a lot of people that give you a lot of opinions, but at the end of the day you have to be a strong person. You have to be a brave person and say, “No, that doesn’t work for this book,” or “Yes, I know that that’s common wisdom, but I’m going to say no and I’m going to go in this direction.” You have to have a very strong sense of self and a very strong voice and say it doesn’t matter what everybody’s saying is popular or this or that. You’re like, “I’m going to go in this direction” and just be brave and just go in that direction.

PC: When you look back at the last seven years, what’s one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started writing your debut novel?
Laura: How hard it would be. It really is a lot of work. People are like, “What advice do you have?” I’m like, “Unless you really want to do it, you really love it.” I know people are like, “That’s discouraging. Don’t say that.” But it was really hard work. You have to go back to the drawing board and be like, “This is not good.” You have to write chapters and rewrite chapters. It’s like learning how to play the piano or anything that you have to have a skill at. You have to take the criticism and keep going. I didn’t know it would be that hard. I even told a friend I don’t think I’ll ever write a book again. She said, “Once you forget the pain, you’ll do it.” So I still haven’t forgotten the pain, so I haven’t sat down to write another book.

PC: During those challenging moments, how were you able to push forward?
Laura: I really want to tell this story. I felt it was an important story to tell. I thought it would resonate with other women because I’ve heard them voice the same concerns. Even though it was difficult and there were times I wanted to quit at chapter 10, I was like, “No, this is very important. This is a very important story to tell. I really believe that. I have to get it out somehow.” Even when I didn’t want to write anymore and wanted to give up, I was like, “No, I have to finish this.”

PC: With this being a seven-year process, how satisfying is it to have it out in the world? What do you hope audiences take away?
Laura: It feels good to finish it. I hope audiences learn from Alice Garcia. She’s going against incredible odds. She has no voice whatsoever—no freedom of speech. All the machines are against her. The king is against her. The men in the town are against her. The women are against her. All she has is her brain. She does something incredible in the book. She’s brave and fights for what she believes in even though she has these odds against her. She’s able to accomplish amazing things. I hope people go “Wait a minute. I can be as brave as Alice, even if the odds are against me.”

PC: I know that you said you wouldn’t write another book, but when you do forget the pain, do you have another story you want to bring into this world?
Laura: People have asked me if I wanted to do a part two. I thought about it long and hard and I said, “No.” I feel like I said everything I wanted to say with Braintown. There’s nothing else to say. I could exaggerate and do a part two and take the machines to a different level. But I don’t feel it’s necessary. As far as another story, the way Braintown started was with a title. I was walking around and I thought of it. I had a similar experience a while back where a title came to my head and it was “Creatures.” I thought fantasy, so we’ll see how that goes.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Laura: The Crown.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Laura: Clueless.

PC: Favorite book?
Laura: Pride and Prejudice.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Laura: Hamilton.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Laura: Guns N’ Roses.

To keep up with Laura, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.