In Valdés’s Hollow Beasts (Thomas & Mercer, Apr.), poetry professor Jodi Luna becomes New Mexico’s oldest conservation officer.

What inspired you to write Hollow Beasts?

Twenty years ago, I wrote the “chick lit” book I wanted to read but couldn’t find as a young professional Latina in Boston, The Dirty Girls Social Club. In Hollow Beasts, I’ve written the book I needed but couldn’t find as a single mom in rural New Mexico.

Why the extreme career change for Jodi—going from being a poetry professor to a game warden?

Jodi Luna is a nature poet, like Mary Oliver. In the era of climate change, she realizes nature needs warriors. As a poet, Jodi observed the wilderness. As a game warden, she protects it.

What makes your depiction of New Mexico different?

I’m a native New Mexican, with 11 generations in the region. College and career took me away for 15 years, but I came back 21 years ago when my son was born, to raise him here. New Mexico is the fifth-largest state, 29% larger than England, with its own unique history and culture. Hollow Beasts is a thriller, but it’s also my love letter to this beautiful place.

What was your inspiration for Jodi and her daughter, Mila?

I love Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire and C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett. But I always found myself wishing they were women. There are so many badass women in the mountain west. They deserve a voice, too.

Is the book’s plot, the kidnapping of young women of color by white supremacists, based on real events?

I was a staff writer for the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. Current events inspire my books. The villains in Hollow Beasts are white supremacists because the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security say they’re the most dangerous terrorists the U.S. currently faces. Additionally, hate crimes targeting Latinos are skyrocketing, thanks to xenophobic scapegoating by both political parties. In 2020, a white terrorist in Iowa hunted down a 14-year-old girl named Natalia Miranda “because she looked Mexican.” Natalia’s attack inspired the plot for this novel. I needed to see the terrorists lose, even if only in fiction.