In fiction, people are driven by motivations that have to be carefully explained and that are required to make more logical sense than happens in reality. So, when you're writing magical realism, how do you introduce magic? In my new novel, Jaguar Paloma and the Caketown Bar, animals fit the bill. Without too many spoiler alerts, here are some of my favorite animals:
- Crows are harbingers of guilt and entrap a key character
- Insects descend on the village and carry away chicks
- Monkeys steal the wigs from brides and carry them like babies in the jungle
- Goats being driven to market won't leave Paloma's side, with dire consequences
- Ducks react to Paloma and stockpile eggs like the opposite of cannon balls.
There are many more examples and I hope you'll enjoy discovering them in Jaguar Paloma and the Caketown Bar.