Mauricio is a slave. Like any man born on Ginecea, he is but a number
for the pure breed women who rule over him with cruel hands. Imprisoned
inside the Temple since birth, Mauricio has never been outside, never
felt the warmth of the sun on his skin. He lives a life devoid of hopes
and desires. Then one day, he hears Rosie sing. He risks everything for
one look at her and his life is changed, forever. An impossible
friendship blossoms into affection deemed sinful and perverted in a
society where the only rightful union is between women. Love is born
where only hate has roots and leads Mauricio to uncover a truth that
could destroy Ginecea.
Do you write under your actual
name or a pen name, and is there any special meaning behind your name?
I write
under my name. When I was a kid, my last name was the source of infinite jokes.
‘La Porta’ means ‘the door’ and a six year old can’t resist the lure of
inventing elaborate tales around it. They weren’t overly mean, but I was a
child myself and prone to take umbrage. It didn’t help that I grew up a tall
and flat teenager, resembling more and more my last name. Long story short, I
decided to embrace it. When I moved to the States with my family, I refused to
change it to my husband’s last name as it is customary here. I’ve been working
hard at being the best Monica La Porta I could be and I don’t want to become anybody else.
What are the names of your main
characters and what can you tell us about them?
My main
characters have two names each. The names they were given at birth, Mauricio
and Rose, and the names they’ll choose for themselves, the Priest and Rosie.
Do their names have special
significance to your story or were they just names that you liked?
Names
are important to me. When I imagine my characters, their names must reflect who
they are. Other than being pleasant to the ear, Mauricio means dark and prone
to solitude. Following a path he didn’t chose for himself, Mauricio, born in a
society where women enslave men, will become a complete different person at the
end of his journey. The Priest—despite the name doesn’t have religious
connotations in the story—is the essence of what others will see in him. Rose,
daughter of the President, doesn’t accept to be what society has decided for
her. Born and raised to be haughty and elegant as the flower her mothers named
her after, she wants to be called Rosie. Her dual temperament, soft and yet
unwavering, will propel the story to an unexpected ending.
What are some fictional names
of places where your characters’ stories unfold?
The
names of the main locations in The Priest are: Ginecea, the Temple, and the
City of Men.
How did you choose the names
for your fictional settings? Do they have special significance?
Ginecea
is a name I borrowed from the Greek language. It’s a noun indicating anything
related to the women’s world. Ginecea is quite literally the land of women. And
since I like to play with meanings, the Temple isn’t exactly what the name
suggests. The City of Men on the other hand is precisely that, a place where
men live. But in a setting where men are slaves, a place they can call their
own assumes a different meaning.
Thanks for stopping by Monica!
Thank
you, Angela. I truly enjoyed answering your questions.
Find Monica La Porta all across the interwebs....
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