Differential Equations, the novel Julian Iragorri and I just published, had numerous sources of inspiration. Julian’s family story was one, as was the fact that both of us had some mind/body experience. Another key source of inspiration were the magic realists. I knew that Julian and I could collaborate well when I learned in our first conversation that both of us considered Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude a favorite novel. Further conversation revealed a shared affection for Isabel Allende, Jorge Amado, and others. I’d wanted to write a magic realist novel for some time, and with Julian I would finally get the chance to do so.