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Where are you from? I was born here in the U.S., so strictly speaking, I’m American. However, I am the first American-born person in my family. My parents fled Cuba in the late 1950s during the Cuban Revolution when Fidel Castro took power. I grew up with my mother and her family in New York. I consider myself bi-cultural because I grew up with the language, values, foods and customs of my Cuban family. What were you like as a child and/or student? As a young child, I was full of energy and pretty enthusiastic about everything – two qualities that exhausted many members of my family who preferred quiet girls scented with violet body splash. I was impatient, disorganized and talkative in school. And I was skinny. My sister just called me La Flaca (the skinny one). I liked to read, sing, and play outside dawn to dusk. I was always covered in scrapes and scabs from my misadventures. I thought Helen Reddy and other feminists were extremely cool. My best friend was Raquel Jaramillo, who, years later, designed the cover to my first novel. As a teenager, I changed a lot. I felt lonely and disconnected from family and friends. I was very moody and judgmental about myself and others. I had no patience whatsoever for packs of girls or other high school cliques, so I had only a few friends and one boyfriend. I was a poor student in middle school, but I became a strong student in high school. Why do you always write about Latino characters? I don’t always, but it’s one of my favorite topics. Writing for young people involves remembering the kid you once were. The girl’s voice inside of me is bi-cultural – so I write from her point of view. I remember what it was like to be between two cultures as a girl. For me, it was a mix of being proud to be different, but often ashamed of being Hispanic. I hated my mother’s accent and thought her ideas, habits, and customs were silly compared to those of my American friends. It was also hard to struggle with issues like lack of money, succeeding in school, and all the strange stereotypes about what you are supposed to be like. I like to name that bi-cultural experience for my readers so that they can be honest about it, make it a natural – and positive -- part of themselves, and move on to a place of strength and pride. Do you only write for young people? No. I’ve written short fiction and poetry for adults. My work has appeared in small literary journals, and one piece – The Dress of Eleven Yards - has been performed by dancer/choreographer Cherie Carson all over the country and in Scotland. Have you always been a writer? Yes and no. I wrote my first poem about pollution in the third grade for Mrs. Zuckerman (my favorite teacher), and I fell in love with writing on the spot. As a student, I was always drawn to English class and I was on the student paper in high school. But later in life, I’m sad to say that I lacked courage to go ahead and shout to the world, “I’m a writer.” I spent many years trying to do other related things that I thought were more stable and respectable. For example, I was a writing teacher (loved it), a grant writer, a development director, and a freelance feature writer for lots of local publications. It wasn’t until I was 40 years old that I finally decided it was time to do what I had always wanted to do: write novels. What kinds of things do you like to read? Nothing gory or overly violent because my imagination is too vivid and I stop sleeping. And nothing too light and breezy because I get annoyed that actual life is nothing like that. But everything else is up for grabs. These days, of course, I read a lot of young adult literature. My favorites include Cornelia Funke, An Na, David Almond, and lately Jennifer Donnelley. It’s a great time to be a YA author because everywhere you look, you can find talented inspiring voices. I also read as much Latin American literature as I can, especially fiction by women. It’s so rich in language and soul. Every time I open the pages of a fellow Latina, I return to the sounds my kitchen, regardless of the author’s country of origin, a fact that speaks to the unity of attitudes and culture that is possible among all the Latin American nations. I especially admire Sandra Cisneros, Angeles Mastretta, Julia Alvarez, and Isabel Allende – who are blessed with unflinching powers of observation about women’s lives. Do you have an all-time favorite book? No, but that’s a good thing. I love so many books for millions of different reasons. But what I can tell you is that Charlotte’s Web was the first book that brought me to tears. Where do your ideas come from? To be honest, I have no clue. I do not have a journal where I keep book ideas or anything as useful as that – though many accomplished writers recommend this system. Maybe I should give it a try! I usually start with a character that won’t leave me alone or a line that keeps popping into my head. What is your writing process? When I am working on a novel, I write every day. Usually, I sit down at my desk – which faces a nice patch of woods - by 10 am and I write for at least four hours. When I’m stuck, I throw in a load of laundry or run to the grocery store or (most often) I eat unnecessary junk food. I begin a novel with a character and a rough idea of what the problem is. But I never know what is going to happen, who she is going to meet or how she will solve the conflict. Many, many times, the most minor character suddenly becomes a strong force. Those are the most wonderful surprises of all. The good thing about writing this way is that you don’t get bored with the story. The tale unfolds the way life does, if you’re lucky: unexpectedly. The drawback is that you sometimes have to edit and re-edit to undo things that don’t make sense once you add in your new ideas. Overall, I believe in the characters. I know if I listen to who they are, they won’t disappoint me. What’s the best and worst thing about being a writer? The best thing is that you get to live in close connection with your imagination. One of the dangers of adulthood is losing your privileges in the world of pretend. As a writer, I can still talk to myself as one of my characters. I can stare into my cereal milk for a long time as I dream of what might happen next in a story. I can sit by myself for hours, thinking, and no one asks me why I’m wasting my time. I love that. The worst thing is that it takes almost inhuman amounts of determination – and you will often think you should give it all up. It takes a while to make money as a writer – so, if you’re supporting yourself and others, it’s likely you’ll have to have other jobs, too. But even more difficult is that it’s hard to break into the publishing world. The rejections can almost break your spirit if you’re not careful. Do your children think it’s cool that you’re a writer? Generally speaking, yes. But mostly my children think it’s cool if I remember to wash their laundry and help them with their homework. Thankfully, they see me more as their mother rather than as an author. That’s a lot healthier. |
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