Lucas Rocha Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Lucas Rocha
Lucas Rocha was born in Sao Goncalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He got an MS in information science from Fluminense Federal University in Rio de Janeiro.

During the day, he is a librarian that works in a public library spreading bookish joy through his community. By night, he shares his time writing on new projects, obsession over books, TV shows, music, and a bit of video games. Lucas also likes going outside to do exercises, and spends much of his free time hanging out with his friends.

He shares an apartment with an agent of his, so there is a bunch of bookish talk all day and all night. Lucas struggles daily to figure out if he is a cat or a dog person. He loves My Chemical Romance, so much so that he has a tattoo of their last album cover art on his leg. He also loves some Brazilian music and David Bowie.

In terms of food, he is quite fond of Pao de queijo and carrot cake that is covered with Brigadeiro, which are the two ultimate Brazilian foods there is.

The Initial spark for “Where We Go From Here” came after Lucas read a medical article that asked people how they felt about HIV and people with HIV. During the interviews, he noticed a lot of prejudice and misconceptions against HIV positive people, things he believed were behind us, yet are still very much alive.

So the very first thing he did when he chose to write a novel on this subject was to look for young adult novels that depicted discussions about HIV in such a way that might be hopeful for the future, however, he didn’t find a lot of them to feel like there were enough. Lucas wanted to tell a story about people that have relationships involving HIV or live with HIV positive people that wasn’t at all stigmatized.

Research became his biggest concern. When dealing with something like HIV that is sensitive to many people, he needed to be extra careful in order to deliver the proper information and not spread any misconceptions, false truths, and/or improper terminology.

He went to different treatment centers and talked with a lot of infectologists and patients in order to understand the different points of view that they had about this virus and how it affects somebody’s life. Lucas also had to do a bunch of rewriting too, after his agent read the book, as well as his beta and sensitivity readers read it along with some other people.

During the outlining phase of the novel, one thing he noticed was that the three perspectives options would be the most effective way to tell this story. He wanted to talk about HIV with more nuances, and having Henrique, Victor, and Ian, each with their own point of view on HIV they had to deal with, it helped him navigate through many aspects of having to live with HIV or relating to it in some way.

Lucas had a lot of fun writing Eric and every one of his drag queen buddies. He believes that they spark quite a bit of fun scenes in the novel. He is also quite pleased with Gabriel, a side character and Ian’s best friend. Just due to his being the type of person that is willing to jump in his ancient car and drive a hundred to make sure his best friend is actually okay. He finds he has a lot of folks like Gabriel in his life, so the guy reminds Lucas of his own friends, which is a wonderful feeling to have.

He felt that Victor was the toughest to write. This is due to his being the youngest and the most privileged and the one that has much more to learn throughout over the whole novel. He has got his own journey he must accept and comprehend what it means to be in a relationship with somebody that has HIV, and how a lot of negative thoughts and prejudices differ from Lucas’ feelings and thoughts.

Victor also expresses a bunch of what Lucas thought during his youth. So he needed to slip into his shoes for a bit, always keeping in mind that his growth was part of the process. Even if he didn’t really agree with many of Lucas’ attitudes.

Lucas’ debut novel, called “Where We Go From Here”, was released in the year 2020. He writes science fiction, young adult fiction, and fantasy.

“Where We Go From Here” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2020. Henrique has been living with HIV for the previous three years. Victor, to his great relief, has just tested negative. Ian has just been diagnosed with HIV.

Victor finds he’s getting tested for HIV the first time, and he cannot help but question his whole relationship with Henrique, the guy that he has, had, been dating. Henrique did not disclose his positive HIV status to Victor until after having sex. Even though Henrique insisted on using each and every possible precaution, Victor is still livid.

That is when Victor meets a guy that is also getting tested for HIV, named Ian. Ian’s test, however, comes back positive, and his world will change forever. Even though Victor is loath to even think about Henrique, he offers to put both of them in touch, hoping that maybe Henrique is able to help Ian navigate through his new life.

In the process, the lives of Victor, Ian, and Henrique are going to become intertwined in a story of self-acceptance, friendship, and love.

The characters in this book are very interesting and readers found themselves enjoying their own special perspectives shared in the novel. They to come to life with color, showing their passions, their hearts, their pains, and their fears. The novel is a deeply heartwarming story about found family, friendship, and the journey to overcoming all of your fears. Above all, this is a very informative novel that shines a bright light onto HIV and tries to stop all the stigma that still surrounds it. Each of the three perspectives and characters are distinct.