🎙️ Monica Louzon & Isis Aquino

Read Isis Aquino and Monica Louzon's story, The abyss in the depths of her eyes, now!

Monica Louzon

What was it about this story that made you want to translate it?

There are several different kinds of poignant loneliness in this story that resonated with me, and I’m a sucker for literally star-crossed lovers.

Are you much of a stargazer?

Yes! I don’t have my own telescope, but I grew up peering through my dad’s telescope on cold winter nights at the Moon, Jupiter, and rings of Saturn (other stuff, too, I’m sure, but those three made the biggest impression on me). Nowadays, I’m always looking up at night - you can often find me walking my dog in the dark, letting him lead me while I stare up at the stars and try to spot the ISS. 

Who do you see yourself in more, Lenny or Skylar?

Lenny. There’s a point in the story where Lenny tries to come up with a way to give Skylar hope, but can’t think of anything, so he instead tries to distract her by talking about random things that come to mind - I can relate so hard to this conundrum, and and absolutely employ this exact same strategy in similar situations. (I have lots of trains of thought going at any one time, which makes it easy to distract people with them!)

How many times has this story been rejected?

It took 54 submissions over 3.5 years before foofaraw accepted this translation. We got 12 personal rejections and 2 holds in the process (which didn’t overlap, interestingly enough)!

What’s a great short story you’ve read recently?

I must confess that I haven’t read much English-language short fiction in the past year, but the two works that stuck with me were Zohar Jacobs’s novelette “On the Night Shift” (2025, Asimov’s) - about an engineer in Mission Control who ends up stuck handling a Mars mission crisis overnight - and Michéle Laframboise’s well-written coming-of-age steampunk novella “Maragi’s Secret” (2024, Asimov’s) about family, conservation in the face of hardship, and challenging the status quo.

What book are you reading right now?

I don’t often read nonfiction, but I just finished thoroughly enjoying Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography (2022) by Rob Wilkins. Rob was Terry’s personal assistant and heavily pulled upon Terry’s own notes toward his incomplete memoir/autobiography to finish this biography for Terry. It was delightful getting to meet Terry and, although a couple bits made me cry, I plan to reread it someday (which speaks volumes - I don’t think I’ve ever reread a nonfiction book)!

Do you have anything else you’d like to share?

If you want to read about librarian drama and books that make pearls (like oysters!), check out (ha!) my story “Shorthand” over at After the Storm Magazine - it came out in January 2026!

 I’m really excited to have 3 more translations for different authors coming out during the first half of 2026: 

1. “Letters From a Dead Girl” by Santiago Eximeno, which is a horror microfiction forthcoming in Dreams & Nightmares Magazine, 
2. “The Sea’s Decree” by Armando Boix, which is a folk horror/dark fantasy novelette coming out in Adventures BookZine, and 
3. “Above the Sand, Under the Skin” by Ramiro Sanchiz, which is a weird science fiction story forthcoming from Translunar Travelers Lounge.

Isis Aquino

When you think about what could be out beyond this galaxy, do you get hopeful or pessimistic?

Definitely hopeful. I’m not sure we will ever have the technology to travel through space at super high speeds or do anything depicted in space operas, but I’m absolutely positive that we’ll be discovering new phenomena and understanding more about the universe and the way it works.

Despite being in a terrible position, there is a gracefulness in the way Skylar handles herself. Do you think you’d have the same grace in that situation, at that age?

No way! I would be a mess! But as my father used to say, each generation of children tends to be more aware of itself and the reality around them at earlier ages. I guess that I was trying to depict a teenager that is composed and calm as a result of this tendency towards precocity as a result of an overall advancement in future societies.

Who do you see yourself in more, Lenny or Skylar?

I’d say Lenny, because he’s a smart kid but also kinda awkward. I tend to feel awkward even if I’m really not.

What’s a great short story you’ve read recently?

“Mouthful of birds” by Samantha Schweblin. I found it unsettling in an enjoyable way. 

What book are you reading right now?

It’s in Spanish, it’s an anthology of science fiction written by Puerto Rican women. Its title is “Distopía nuestra de cada día” with a go word by Puerto Rican scholar Angela M. Valentin Rodriguez. All the short stories are mind blowing!

Do you have anything else you’d like to share?

There is a short story I read a couple years ago that stuck with me, it was written by Monica Louzon who happens to have translated my stories into English. The title is “Mother’s Love” and I think about it almost every month. Any woman who reads it will know why.

Thanks to Isis and Monica for chatting with us about space and storytelling in all of the worlds wonderful languages!