GREETINGS, BOOKWORMS! I’m Aisha Kandisha, Head Librarian at Kandisha Press. Join me in the dusty stacks of the library I will never leave again as I chat with some of my favorite Women in Horror. Today we feature author Carmen Baca! Carmen’s story “Xolo” is featured in PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (Kandisha Press 2025 Women of Horror Anthology.)
CARMEN BACA – As a Chicana, a Norteña native to New Mexico, Carmen Baca keeps her culture’s traditions alive through regionalism to prevent them from dying completely. She is the author of seven books and multiple short publications from prose to poetry in a variety of genres, including folk horror and quiet horror. She is a recipient of New Mexico Magazine’s 2023 True Hero award for celebrating and preserving her culture through story telling. Two of her short works were nominated to Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize also in 2023.
Hi Carmen! Your story, Xolo, features your iconic character, Atlaclamani Alhuatzi (aka Atla.) Can you tell us about her origins, and what led you to create such a startling persona for her in the very beginning?
Atla was conceived in my mind at the advanced age of elderly, somewhere between 80 or 90 if I recall. Readers met her in a short scene at the beginning of my 5th book, La Quinceañera, a short story cycle, where Alta does something we see as possibly suspicious and definitely deadly but isn’t confirmed even at the end of the book. Descendant of powerful Aztec women, she remains a mystery in the sequel when the main characters go in search of her (if I ever finish it).
As I worked on other projects, Kandisha Press asked for submission calls for their women in horror anthologies, and Atla’s origin story came about, then one story at a time for subsequent books. So far they make up the first few chapters of another book, her own story from beginning to end. She may have been a different woman altogether had society shown her a bit of mercy. This is book three of the original Quinceañera book, but I’m unsure if it should be classed as a prequel.
Atla features in many of the Kandisha Press anthologies. Where does Xolo fit into the timeline of the character’s life?
I highly doubt anyone remembers, but Atla is ruled by a guiding number: seven. She meets Xolo when she’s 28 in a desperate situation which could’ve killed her. Her innate powers conjured him up at the perfect moment. I had an educational and eye-opening time researching his origin story and connecting him to Atla’s. He comes to her when she’s already becoming educated by life’s trials and will no doubt save her from future deadly situations when I get around to making them up. He’s a bit ignorant, having been in oblivion for centuries, so Atla serves as a guide and educates him about human behavior.
What can we expect from you and Atla in the future? I know there has been a full-length novel in the mix for a bit.
When Xolo came into Atla’s life, he proved to have quite the sense of humor and evolved into my character of comic relief when he isn’t satisfying his role as her protector and other characters’ worst nightmare. One reason he arose from the dead is because Atla’s learning valuable life lessons in the middle chapters, life events which teach her that innocents pay the price where evil is involved.
What else are you working on at the moment? Any projects you’re especially excited about?
I’m proud to say I’ve earned recognition in my state for celebrating and preserving my culture through story telling. My love of my culture’s folklore, history, language, and so much more feature into 90% of what I write. My next book which is close to the editing stage is a mix of short prose and poetry about the supernatural, featuring ghouls, creatures, and cryptids of my area. Another I’ve been working on is a sequel to my only YA adventure, Bella, Collector of Cuentos since it also features the same characters who come from the world of the forgotten to remind earthlings they exist. I answer as many submission calls as I can, so I’m always in the middle of an essay, poem, or short story of whatever genre I challenge myself to write. And I almost always find something about my culture to celebrate or preserve as I write.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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