Into the Hyperspace: P. A. Cornell and Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl
"Readers are saying it packs a lot of punch in its few pages."
My guest today is Chilean-Canadian author P.A. Cornell, who is Nebula, World Fantasy, and Aurora finalist (and was a Nebula finalist in the same year as me for her beautifully moving story Once Upon a Time at the Oakmont). More recently, she gifted us with her novelette Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl, published by Stars & Sabers. I was delighted to be invited by the publisher to blurb this one, and here's what I had to say:
"PA Cornell gives us a fun romantic tale set in a retrofuturistic Toronto. A story not only about fulfilled love but also of trust and care for each other. Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl will leave you smiling and wishing for more happy endings."
It is a truly a joy of a story! It is a novelette but it came out with the whole package: a print version, a beautiful cover art, and interior retrofuturistic artwork showcasing what the publisher Stars & Sabers came for.
By the way, you can find P.A. Cornell at Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and Goodreads.
P. A. Cornell
Tell me more about something you have published recently (or will publish soon) and what made you write it.
My latest book, Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl, was published in February. It’s a novelette, so a fairly short read, but readers are saying it packs a lot of punch in its few pages. This is a retro-futuristic love story, set in an alternate Toronto. It has a bit of noir influence too.
The protagonists are Cigarette Girl, a streetwise grifter, and Shoeshine Boy, who’s a bit more naïve but a total sweetheart. They both have big dreams and as they fall for each other their focus becomes helping each other make their dreams come true. But then The Man enters their lives and things get a bit more complicated for them. Generally speaking though, it’s a fun and hopeful story at a time when I think a lot of us need something hopeful and uplifting.
I also included a bonus section at the end of the book that talks about how this story came to be, my inspirations, and such. This is something I do regularly in my newsletter, but this is an extended version of that exclusive to the book. Many readers have said this section was a highlight for them. I think any reader who enjoys a peek behind the curtain will like it.
What is an underrated piece of fiction that you think didn’t get enough attention?
I love this question because it gives me a chance to shine the spotlight on someone else’s work, but it’s also so hard to choose! There are too many stories that don’t get enough attention. If you asked me this question every day I could give you a different response each time. For this interview, though, I think I’ll go with “One Night at The Pájaro Azul” by my fellow Chilean, Rodrigo Culagovski.
I love Rodrigo’s fiction because not only is he a terrific writer, but he often sets his stories in places that are familiar to me from my time living in and later visiting Chile. I live in Canada now and don’t get many opportunities to travel back to the country of my birth. Nor do I often encounter it in most of the SFF I read, so it’s like a warm hug when I do come across it.
This story has that, but Rodrigo also imbues it with a great deal of worldbuilding elements that are purely his creation and make the setting come alive.
But this is just one aspect of the many things I love about this story. I’m a huge fan of the way Rodrigo writes about music—which he’s done in more than one of his stories. This particular piece really leans into the music aspect as it focuses on three musicians who meet during an open mic night.
Music is something I too use in my stories a lot. I also often write about connection. In this story Rodrigo succeeds at writing music as the language of connection, and that speaks to me so much.
It’s a gorgeous piece with characters that are distinct and nuanced, each with their own unique voice. Well worth a read.
Show me an illustration that you love and tell me why!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t choose one of the illustrations Ahmed Raafat made for Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl. There are several throughout the book. He really captured the style of the story in all of them, as well as in a special Valentine card he created, but if I have to choose a favorite, it’s the Rocket Ray’s Diner ad. This is also the location where Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl first meet, so it’s special for that too.
I feel very lucky that I was able to work with top artists throughout the making of this book, including cover artist Kim Herbst and Danika Corrall who designed much of the SWAG. Here I’m focusing on Ahmed though, who’s a comic artist that’s worked with Kevin Smith and Dark Horse Comics, as well as Netflix, among others. He’s incredibly talented and wonderful to work with.
Ahmed’s illustrations add so much to my story. I honestly feel like it’s a better book because of his work and I’m honored to share space with his art.
This particular illustration is just so fun. It encapsulates everything I love about the retro-futuristic aesthetic. The waitress looks like she was plucked right out of The Jetsons. It’s also just such a fun image with the diner food and the retro rocket that makes up the Rocket Ray’s logo.
Which are the main challenges of writing a retrofuturistic piece?
I think it can be easy to get caught up in the “coolness factor” of the genre and neglect the story itself, so I’d say the challenge lies in balancing the story with the aspects of the setting that make it retro-futuristic. You want those retro sci-fi elements to be present, but not to distract from the story. They need to feel like to the characters they’re just normal, mundane, things.
The retro aspect also brings about an old-fashioned mentality, some of which is good, but some of which has not aged particularly well. This isn’t like writing in the 1940s or 50s, for instance, where they imagined a future that was basically their society at the time, but with flying cars and rockets. I’m writing this in our current present in which certain things can and should be changed. For instance my decision to make Shoeshine Boy a person of color. I’ve always loved vintage illustrations, but it’s a bittersweet feeling because I’ve never seen myself or any person of color represented in them. So my version of a retro-future world includes alterations like that.
As for the things I leave unaltered—like The Man’s attitudes about women—this is done with intention as commentary on how these sorts of things should no longer be tolerated in our current world.
Let us show the newer writers that they are not alone! Tell me something that made you feel bad (a rejection, an empty signing session, a very harsh critique) and how you got over it (or not).
I think because I came into this business knowing how tough it can be, I’ve always been pretty thick-skinned. That said, even I have moments when I feel just crushed by a rejection that I’d gotten my hopes up about. Or it can hurt when you publish a piece that you’re really proud of and it gets little to no attention. If there’s one thing about artists, it’s that we feel things intensely, and that makes for great art, but it can also make you prone to getting your feelings hurt. That’s normal. We’re human.
When I have moments like this that get me down, I don’t try to dismiss it. It’s okay to let yourself feel your feelings for that day. But then I get back to work.
I think it’s important to set goals that are within what you can control and think of everything else as a nice bonus if it comes your way. Whether or not a story is accepted by an editor, is not in your control. Whether or not a reviewer or reader likes your work is not in your control. But working on your craft is. Continuing to submit your work is. Aiming for achievements within what you can control will bring you satisfaction and will give you something to aim for as you work through any setbacks or discouragements.
Tidbits
My short story The Hungry Mouth at The Edge of Space and the Goddess Knitting At Home, published at Reactor, is in the 2025 Locus Recommended Reading List. Voting is open for anyone until April and you can also add write-ins!
The Hugos are open for nominations until March 28th. I appreciate any consideration. This year I'm mostly campaigning for my novella, Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle! If you're reading for awards and want a copy, drop me a message.
I recently published my novelette The Winter of the Icebergirl at GigaNotoSaurus. It's a piece that is very dear to me, about elderly superheroes in a care facility.