Adrianna Cuevas: Hello, my name is a Adrianna Cuevas and I am the author of The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto. The idea for this book came from the fact that in 2019, I volunteered as a librarian out in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, and it was just like Rancho Espanto in the book. There was no cell service. We were in the middle of nowhere. And I was at a very small library that had a very interesting and slightly spooky history to it.

I knew that I wanted to include ghosts, something haunted, something spooky, because I myself, as a reader, as a watcher of television and movies, I am a huge horror fan. My favorite movie of all time is a zombie movie. So I knew that I wanted this story to have lots of spooky elements to it, but I wanted to keep my reader on their toes trying to figure out what exactly was going on and needing to turn the page to try to solve the mystery, because those are the kinds of stories that I personally love to read.

When I am reading a story, imagine myself as the main character. And so what I would wonder for readers of The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto is if you would do the same things that Rafa decides to do in the book. Would you make the same choices that he decides to make? Because what this book really is about is the choices that we make and how we decide to handle the things that come into our lives. And so I'm always curious if readers would make the same choices that Rafa did, not to give too many spoilers away about the book.

So now I'll read from The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, chapter one.

" You meander down an empty corridor, late afternoon light streaming through the large smudged windows," Beto whispers behind me and Yesi as we walk down the hall. "You slowly make your way to the large banquet hall, empty of revelers."

Beto, Yesi and I stop at the doorway of our school cafeteria at Heron Glade Middle School. Beto gives me a confident smile, his braces glinting in the light.

He puts one hand on my shoulder and one hand on Yesi's shoulder. "Your clan has been granted one item from the banquet hall to aid them in their travels. What do you decide to take?"

Yesi looks at Beto and winks. I swallow hard. "Are we really doing this?" I ask. My ears hurt from straining to listen for approaching teachers or custodians catching us in the act.

Beto squeezes my shoulders as Yesi nods. "Oh yeah. Our clan elects to take the slushy machine," she says.

Beto smirks. "Excuse me brave traveler. The what?"

Yesi squints thinking, "The magic fountain of icy sweetness."

" Ah, the magic fountain," Beto nods. "Excellent choice. Roll please."

Yesi pulls a green twenty-sided die from her jeans pocket. We crouch on the ground and she flips the dye on the gray concrete floor. It tumbles with a clatter that echoes through the hall. Our game is based on Beto describing a situation, Yesi and I deciding what we want to do, and then someone rolling a die to see if we'll be successful. The number that pops up will tell us whether our attempt to steal the slushy machine will work. The higher the number, the better.

" Sixteen," Yesi says.

Beto winks at us. "I see success in your endeavor."