Laura Esquivel is not only an author, she also directs children's theater and writes children's shows for Mexican television (Esquivel, Laura). Esquivel began writing "Like Water for Chocolate" as a screenplay, but when producers told her the script would be too expensive, she turned the story into a novel (Esquivel, Laura). “Like Water for Chocolate” uses magical realism and domestic gothic to tell a romantic story. The novel quickly became an international bestseller. Esquivel is the third of four children, and growing up, storytelling was very important as a child (Esquivel, Laura). She grew up in Mexico City with her father, Julio Caesar Esquivel, who worked as a telegraph operator, her mother, and three other siblings (Esquivel, Laura). Esquivel and his father made up stories together and recorded them with his reel-to-reel tape recorder (Esquivel, Laura). She grew up in a Catholic family, but she describes her religious background as “eclectic” (Esquivel, Laura). Additionally, the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s greatly shaped Esquivel's perspective on gender relations and artistic expression. When writing his novels, Esquivel used two types of writing, domestic gothic and magical realism. The first type of writing is domestic Gothic. Domestic Gothic is a hybrid of female-centered gothic horror novels that mixes sensationalism and sentimental fiction (domestic gothic). In the 20th and 21st centuries, domestic angst invaded literature as women yearned for independence and personal fulfillment (domestic gothic). Esquivel's novel "Like Water for Chocolate" uses domestic gothic when the mother mistreats Tita because she is the youngest daughter in the family (domestic gothic). The other f...... middle of paper ...... tale, and was Laura Esquivel's best-selling novel. Gothic and domestic magical realism is what influenced Esquivel to write this book. Her husband also helped her a lot by giving her inspiration to write screenplays. This is how “Like water for chocolate” was written. Works Cited Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate. First Anchor, 1989. Print. Gaydosik, Victoria. “magical realism”. Bloom's literature. Facts about File, Inc. Web. March 26, 2014. Hutchinson, Glenn. “Esquivel, Laura.” Bloom's literature. Facts about File, Inc. Web. March 26, 2014. Hutchinson, Glenn and Linda Loya. “Like water to chocolate.” Bloom's literature. Facts about File, Inc. Web. March 26, 2014. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. “domestic gothic”. Bloom's literature. Facts about File, Inc. Web. March 26, 2014. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. “Esquivel, Laura.” Bloom's literature. Facts about File, Inc. Web. March 26. 2014.