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Today, we are celebrating Angela Dominguez’ latest picture book, ME GUSTA (Henry Hold and Company), a story that celebrates multicultural and multiethnic communities. ME GUSTA is a book about affirmation and love. Scroll on to read her conversation with Musa Judith Valdés B!  JUDITH VALDÉS B: Angela, I had the privilege of reading your story, ME GUSTA, and was captivated by your voice. What inspired you to write this story? ANGELA DOMINGUEZ: I’ve had this idea floating in my head for a few years. I kept imagining a child listing things they liked and finding a common ground with a friend, but it wasn’t enough of a concept to create a whole book. Then in 2020, one of my long-term editors, Kate, and I were brainstorming what my next book could be. We were discussing all the recent upsetting news and how it would be great to create a new book with an uplifting message. Suddenly it clicked, and I knew what the story for ME GUSTA would be. A story that celebrates the love of family, culture, and overcoming adversity. However instead of a child as the narrator, it would be a parental figure. JUDITH: With ME GUSTA, you certainly created a book with an uplifting message in a simple, calm, yet powerful voice. Did you ever think that ME GUSTA would become an invitation for children of all backgrounds and ethnicities to speak up about the things they like and do not like? ANGELA: What a wonderful question. I always hope that my books are universally appealing and that all children can relate to the themes and concepts. Nothing would make me happier than the thought that this book could encourage all children to speak with their own thoughts and feelings. JUDITH: The images are beautiful. How did you decide on the style of illustration that you did? ANGELA: When it came to the illustrations, I wanted to use bright colors and showcase a diverse range of Latino families. It’s impossible to encapsulate all Latinos into one book, but I tried to be as specific and as varied as possible. JUDITH: The settings in the story include the countryside, a small city, a big city, and the desert. Did you get your inspiration for those settings from places where you have lived? ANGELA: Definitely! I grew up in Texas and have lived in San Francisco, New York, and a few other places. They’ve inspired many of the settings. In addition, my mother lived in El Paso for a few years for work and I fell in love with the desert landscape. JUDITH: ME GUSTA includes some words in Spanish spread perfectly throughout the story, not too many, nor too few. Did you always intend for ME GUSTA to be a bilingual book? ANGELA: I’ve been working with Kate since she discovered my dummy for MARIA HAD A LITTLE LLAMA/MARIA TENÍA UNA LLAMITA in a slush pile. We’ve worked on a variety of books since then including I’M HUNGRY/TENGO HAMBRE and HOW ARE YOU? ¿CÓMO ESTÁS? The majority of my books with her have been bilingual and it’s been amazing to have her be supportive of that. They are the type of books that I would have loved to have seen as a kid. Books that feature Spanish but are also accessible, and not overwhelming if your reading comprehension isn’t the best in Spanish. At the same time, feature friendly familiar words for those who are learning English as well. JUDITH: I find it wonderful that your books include not only words in Spanish but that they also draw on cultural aspects of different groups of Latinos. Could you tell us a bit about your bicultural upbringing? ANGELA: I grew up understanding Spanish, but mostly responding back in English or with some Spanish sprinkled in. I’ve worked on my Spanish as an adult, but I have to admit I can be a little shy about it among people outside of my family. It’s a big reason I love encouraging kids to speak their native language. It’s way harder as an adult! JUDITH: Something that I love about your book is how you draw the reader to the story by introducing the things you like (who doesn’t like ice cream/helado?), in a way underscoring for the reader, “See, I am just like you!” This also prepares the readers' hearts for what you don’t like. The things that “no te gustan” are powerful, representing the challenges we face as immigrants. What sentiment or conclusion do you hope the reader takes away from ME GUSTA? ANGELA: Simply, I would hope children realize that we have a lot in common no matter what their cultural ethnicity. We all have people that care for us, and we all want to feel accepted. It’s been disheartening to see a rise in racism or xenophobia. It’s easy to feel hopeless. The more we can understand and accept each other the stronger our communities will become. JUDITH: I agree. Children are the future, and planting seeds of understanding and acceptance is an important investment that we must make in them. Angela, Throughout the story, you represented the profound relationships that exist between children and their parents/families. You wrote about how home is wherever they were gathered and united. It would be hard to convey so clearly this emotion, this aspect of the story, without having experienced it yourself. Could you share with us what inspired you to include this? ANGELA: For me, home is not a place. It’s a feeling that you experience when you are with people who love you. Being an immigrant as well, we didn’t have one singular childhood home. We have also moved around a few times since I finished high school. I feel that sense of belonging or sense of home whenever I hear my nickname “Teté” or receive a hug from a loved one. JUDITH: Lastly, could you please tell us a little about you, about the things that te gustan? For example, which flavor of ice cream is tu favorito? ANGELA: My absolute favorite is lime sherbet from Braum’s. I don’t have it too often, but it makes me so happy when I have it. JUDITH: When was the last time you ran through the sprinklers? ANGELA: I believe it was in college. We were loopy from working on projects all night. It was so much fun! JUDITH: Do you have a pet dog? ANGELA: I do! Her name is Petunia. She is a Boston Terrier/Chihuahua mix and simply adorable. We adore her. JUDITH: Which filling/relleno in an empanada is tu favorito? ANGELA: Definitely, picadillo. JUDITH: Cuál is your favorite family tradition? ANGELA: My favorite traditions are on New Year's Eve. There is always so much excitement for the new year and a fresh start. No matter where I am, I must have my uvas, maleta, and a broom to sweep the front door. JUDITH: Angela, thank you much for your time. I enjoyed this conversation almost as much as I enjoyed ME GUSTA! Buy ME GUSTA today!  Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City and raised in Texas. She now resides on the east coast with her boyfriend, Kyle, and their petite dog, Petunia. She is also the author and illustrator of several books for children and a two-time Pura Belpré Illustration Honoree. Her debut middle grade novel, Stella Díaz Has Something To Say, was a New York Public Library and a Chicago Public Library pick for Best Books for Kids, Sid Fleischman Award winner, and an ALA Notable. She recently illustrated Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s newest picture book, Just Help! How to Build a Better World. When Angela is not in her studio or visiting schools, she teaches at the Academy of Art University, which honored her with their Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013. Angela is a proud member of SCBWI, PEN America, and represented by Wernick and Pratt Literary Agency. As a child, she loved reading books and making a mess creating pictures. She’s delighted to still be doing both.  Judith Valdés B. is an author and illustrator of children’s picture books. Growing up in Mexico, she loved listening to her father tell stories, which were wonderfully simple and short on words yet full of meaning. Often sketching as he spoke, Judith dreamed of retelling his tales one day.
Judith calls San Diego home, but she also lived in Annapolis, Hermosillo, London, Brussels, and Bangkok. She volunteers with charity organizations focused on meeting the needs of children. Of indigenous Mexican descent, Judith celebrates multiculturalism through her writings and illustrations. She is married and has three third culture kids, who inspire her. When she is not in her studio, Judith can be found cooking, stargazing, or looking for books at the library.
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Today, we're celebrating Musa Andrea Beatriz Arango's debut middle grade novel, Iveliz Explains it All! Scroll on to read her conversation with Musa Karina Nicole González!  Karina Nicole González: Felicidades, Andrea, on the release of your debut MG novel, IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL! For aspiring authors who want the 411, how did you manifest the idea of IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL into a tangible book published by none other than Penguin Random House? Andrea Beatriz Arango: You know what? If I’m being honest, the pandemic had a lot to do with it. When schools shut down unexpectedly in March of 2020, my district had no idea what to do. We didn’t even know how long-lasting everything would be. Rather than the organized (and live) virtual school we started implementing in Fall 2020, that first spring consisted mostly of asynchronous lessons we’d upload for our middle school students, and virtual office hours we’d hold once a week. It was a mess - but it did mean I was home A LOT and in front of my computer. IVELIZ was born during that time, developed over the summer, and pitched at the #DVpit twitter event that fall. The rest of it I attribute to my agent, Rebecca Eskildsen - she took a chance on me and was instrumental in not just helping me polish up my manuscript, but in believing in my book in a way that I think was contagious to the editors we submitted to in 2021. KNG: I love your path to publication story. Those early querying and submission moments can feel scary because we’re essentially sharing our creative work to strangers and hoping that they understand it and even like it! I’d like to pivot our convo to writing habits. You have another upcoming MG novel titled, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND HOME, slated for release in 2023. I also saw that you’re doing research for a YA novel! How do you go about drafting a new manuscript? Do you have any techniques or strategies that you’ve found successful when writing and revising? ABA: Don’t look back! Seriously. It can be so easy to fall into the endless cycle of writing something, then revising, then writing, then revising. For me, that makes it almost impossible to finish. So for my first draft, I make myself keep going until it’s finished. Even if it’s trash. Even if I want to go back and change things. Once it’s done, that’s when I let myself start tweaking. Otherwise the perfectionist in me won’t ever get anything done. KNG: That’s such good advice, Andrea! You spent much of your adult years teaching children, and drafted your first novel, IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL while teaching. How did you balance a full-time job, one that is incredibly demanding, while writing a novel? What advice do you have for other aspiring writers who work full-time, and are trying to carve out time in their schedule to write? ABA: It is very hard, not gonna lie. While I initially wrote IVELIZ during lockdown, I had to then do multiple revisions with my editor while being back to teaching in person during the absolutely *chaotic* academic year that was the 2021-2022 one. Not only that, but because my book deal was a two-book deal, I had to write the second one during that time as well. Because I was often exhausted at the end of the school day, I had to make myself write on weekends, as well as learn to take advantage of small moments of time (like my lunch breaks) where I could squeeze in some writing before my mind was done for the day. It wasn’t a great system, but it worked better for me than having to wake up at 4am to write before work, or writing at 5pm after I was home. At the end of the day, my biggest piece of advice is to not compare your schedule to anyone else’s. I have never written every single day. And I don’t set word count goals for myself because they stress me out. You know what I do love, though? 15 minute timed sprints. Sometimes I do four in a row. Sometimes I do one. Sometimes I do zero. But because my routine works for me, I keep doing it. KNG: I also work in a school, and I could never swing waking up early to write before work. And many days, I would feel too depleted to write after work. For some people, that schedule works for them. Yet, I think it’s helpful to tell other fellow writers who have separate full-time jobs that they don’t need to pressure themselves into an uncomfortable schedule, so thank you for sharing that! Now back to this incredible book – in IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL, Ive keeps a journal and in it she writes her thoughts and feelings in verse/poetry form. Do you also write poetry? Do you have any favorite poets/poems that have had an impact on you as a writer? ABA: I do write poetry! When I was younger, I was always gifting my grandparents poems. They would often frame them, and that made me feel SO validated. Once I was older, I was forever writing romantic ones for the people I’d date - though those never got framed, haha. During my Tumblr years, I even had a blog where all I did was repost snippets of poets I liked! I think the kind of poetry that most impacted me as a writer, though, was discovering spoken word poetry in my 20s. Watching the amazing storytelling abilities of poets like Elizabeth Acevedo and Sarah Kay are what eventually led me down the path of novels-in-verse. KNG: Tumblr! Oh my, I totally forgot about the Tumblr blogsphere – what a time! Lately, the tech and digital world feels like it’s changing so quickly, and I don’t think I’m the only one trying to keep up with everything. The publishing and bookselling industry is changing, too. We just heard the unsettling news that Barnes&Noble will drastically cut their middle grade hardcovers that they stock and sell in-store. You found out that this decision impacted you directly, and that B&N will not be carrying IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL. Tell us about the repercussions that this could potentially have on the broader writing community and publishing industry. How can readers support your work and ensure that IVELIZ can achieve the most visibility and accessibility to readers as possible? ABA: It’s hard because although it’s true that you can still find my book online, you’d have to know about IVELIZ in order to search for it. For many families, especially those not involved in education, libraries, or book communities online, that discovery happens through browsing at a store. If a parent or child can’t come across my book displayed in a bookstore, they might not ever know it exists. And yes, there are many indies out there doing amazing work, indies that I know will be carrying my book. But not all towns have indie bookstores, and not all indie bookstores have the space to stock a wide variety of books. And so I think the B&N decision will have long-lasting impacts, not just for me, but for publishing as a whole. For people wanting to support my debut, an easy and free way to do so is to request your indies and libraries purchase it! I mention libraries here, too, because I am basically a library worshiper - and asking libraries to stock it will ensure families without the money or desire to purchase books can still read IVELIZ for free. <3 KNG: Thank you for amplifying the importance of libraries. Dear reader, I hope you pick up a copy of IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL, and share it widely with family and friends. I know I will stock my classroom library with copies of this exceptional book! Éxito, Andrea! Purchase IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL today!  Andrea Beatriz Arango was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is the author of Iveliz Explains It All, and is a former public school teacher with almost a decade of teaching experience under her belt. Andrea now writes the types of children's books she wishes students had more access to. She balances her life in Virginia with trips home to see her family and eat lots of tostones de pana. When she’s not busy, you can always find her enjoying nature in the nearest forest or body of water.  Karina Nicole González is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (MS, CCC-SLP, BE) and children’s book author. Currently, she works with school-age children at a school in Brooklyn, NY. While targeting students’ storytelling skills through therapy, their boundless imaginations inspired this dream to write picture books of her own. The Coquíes Still Sing / Los Coquíes Aún Cantan is her debut picture book.
Today on the blog, we're here with an interview between Musa Rebecca Balcárcel and Musa Anika Fajardo, author of Meet Me Halfway. About MEET ME HALFWAY: When new classmates Mattie and Mercedes meet and realize they have the same Colombian dad, the two team up in a Parent Trap–inspired misadventure to meet him for the first time in this sharp and poignant middle grade novel about the bonds that make a family. 
Rebecca Balcárcel: Hi, Anika! I’m thrilled to talk to you about your newest book, Meet Me Halfway! I fell in love with this book when I read an early copy, and I read this book in one day! Tell us what inspired this story. Anika Fajardo: Thank you, Rebecca. Muchísimas gracias, too, for blurbing my book! It’s a thrill to have one of my favorite middle-grade authors say nice things about my book. Rebecca Balcárcel: Aww, thanks! The admiration is mutual! So, the frenemy dynamic in your book is so vivid! Was that fun to write, or aggravating? Anika Fajardo: So fun to write! Obviously, perhaps, the dynamic was inspired by the twins in The Parent Trap, which my mom introduced me to when I was a kid (the Haley Mills version). When I was young, I also loved the mean-girl dynamic of Nellie Oleson in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. So, in a way, I’ve been preparing for this storyline my whole life. What was most challenging about writing this, though, was making sure neither girl comes off more mean–or more likeable–than the other. Rebecca Balcárcel: Yes, I see how that would be tricky. You did it well! (And I LOVE the Haley Mills' The Parent Trap!) You tackle the pain of lost family and the awkwardness of newly discovered family. Can you talk about how you entered the emotional lives of your characters to make that so real? Anika Fajardo: Both of these–lost family and new family–directly reflect my personal experience. I grew up estranged from my Colombian father and, for a time, lived with a stepfamily. When I was twenty-five, I found out I had a half-brother around my same age. We happened to both live in the Bay Area at the time, so I spent a lot of time imagining what it would have been like to run into him unknowingly. I channeled my own experience in the writing. Rebecca Balcárcel: I love how the girls run all over a college campus as they search for their father. What research did you do about the campus and other aspects of the book? Anika Fajardo: I spent twelve years as an academic librarian at a small liberal arts college and so everything that happens on the college campus is inspired by real life! I really wanted kids to see college from the ground level, to help kids who might become first-generation college students imagine what the college experience is like. I think kids get a lot of information about how college is about studying and learning and getting ahead in life, but there’s a lot more to college life. Rebecca Balcárcel: So true! No wonder the campus is so realistic! I was struck by your use of myth and folklore and how it added a deeper layer. Can you talk about that? Anika Fajardo: My stepmother is an anthropologist in Colombia, and she helped me track down mythology of Colombia’s indigenous people. Kids tend to really love mythology, and I wanted to show a story that they might not be familiar with. The story of Tima and Yui comes from an indigenous group called the Arhuaco in the Caribbean coastal region of Colombia. I recently got to visit an Arhuaco village and meet with some of the people, and it made me extra glad that I used their story. Rebecca Balcárcel: Wow, that must have been amazing! So cool. So let’s talk theme. Opening to love and being your honest self are a couple of themes in this book. What do you hope readers take away? Anika Fajardo: First of all, I hope readers get a fun read! I was inspired by the adventure in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and I wanted to write a book that made readers feel like they’re on their own adventure. I also want kids to see that families can be lots of different things and that we can’t always know what’s going to happen when we first meet people. Order Meet Me Halfway today!
Happy Book Birthday to Cindy L Rodriguez’s Three Pockets Full: A story of love, family and tradition!
Terry: Cindy, I am so delighted to interview you about your latest book, Three Pockets Full. And please note that it is not three pocketfuls (which my spell check doesn’t love anyway) but Three Pockets Full. We’ll talk more about that. But I have to tell you that you have done so much for the Latinx kidlit community that I just wanted to do the interview to give just a little tiny bit back to you. I am grateful for all you have done and continue to do for all of us and I am so happy to be celebrating your debut picture book with you. Tell me, you are prolific and your writing spans from YA to now picture books. You have been a journalist. What brought you to this story? Cindy: Hi Terry! Thanks so much for interviewing me! I have grown up around men in guayaberas, especially my dad, who is from Puerto Rico. When I was brainstorming ideas for Latinx-themed picture books, focusing on the guayabera was one idea that rose to the surface when I couldn’t find any other books specifically about this traditional garment. I tried different approaches. In one version Beto had an older sister who was getting married, for example. Ultimately, I decided to have Beto’s Mami get remarried, and the shirt came into play that way. Also, I taught in public schools for 21 years, and so many of my students have blended families, so I wanted to combine these things—the shirt plus a parent getting remarried, creating a blended family. Terry: I totally get it. When I picture my papi, he is wearing a guayabera. And I am happy you landed on Mami and the blended family. You are right, that’s what so many children experience, you had to do it. Now let’s talk about your other work. Your YA book is a very serious book, dealing with mental health issues. Your Jake Maddox books are for middle graders and they’re all about sports. Then you just had a non-fiction picture book The Doomed Search for the Lost City of Z. What a range of interests! Can you chat with us about which of these genres you like best, what they bring to you? Cindy: I think this is a left-over effect of being a journalist. When I covered towns in Connecticut, each day was something different, and I’d have to adjust. One day, I’d attend a planning and zoning commission meeting (fun!), and the next day, I’d write a profile of the town’s teacher of the year. I’m always open to different topics and formats. Also, after my YA released, I had issues with agents and did not have another contract. To keep writing and remain in the publishing world, I started doing work-for-hire projects. The Jake Maddox books and Lost City of Z are all work-for-for-hire projects published by Capstone. I learned something valuable with each project. With the Jake Maddox books, I learned about different sports, plus one is a mystery, which I had never done before. Lost City of Z is a non-fiction graphic novel, so that was a whole new process! Doing work-for-hire projects keeps me writing while I wait, wait, wait for something to happen with my personal projects in traditional publishing. Terry: I feel the same way about work for hire, I just finished a project. It does keep you writing. And it’s a great opportunity to learn something new. You dedicate the book to your dad “who looks super cool in a guayabera.” In addition to Beto’s story, this book is a primer on the history of guayaberas. Tell us more about the evolution of the story, the melding of the two threads, Beto’s thread and the history of the Mexican Wedding shirt. Cindy: I talked a bit about Beto’s story above, but more on my dad…He was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Chicago with his family when he was young. Fast forward many years, he joined the Peace Corps and was stationed in Brazil, where he met and married my mom. Because of his time in Brazil and his relationship with my mom, my dad is fluent in Portuguese, as well as Spanish and English. And, honestly, since my mom had a bigger family and didn’t speak English when she first moved to the U.S., my siblings and I heard more Portuguese than Spanish while growing up. Because of this, I always make a conscious effort to research and dig into my Puerto Rican side, to honor and not forget my dad’s roots. While the guayabera is called the Mexican wedding shirt, it is popular throughout Latin America and Southeast Asian countries. The guayabera was often the go-to shirt for my dad when we were going out somewhere, so I wanted to learn more about its history and honor my dad. Terry: This book is both hilarious and poignant. Three things I want to explore. One is whether this story has a basis in your life? The other question, or maybe comment that I want you to reflect on is that this is a very poignant story, but the humor in the beginning makes the revelation at the end that much more moving. The last thing is that you are the master of foreshadowing. This is a picture book, yet it unfolds as a mystery. You dribble out the clues slowly, as the story goes along, but it’s not until the very end that the reader understands Beto’s motivation. Can you tell us about your journey to that form? Cindy: I did not grow up in a blended family, but my own is very much so. I adopted my daughter from Guatemala as a single parent almost 16 years ago, and I married my husband who is 100% white by way of rural Vermont, only four years ago. So, my daughter is a Guatemalan adopted into a Puerto Rican/Brazilian family and has a white step-dad, plus an older step-brother and step-sister. Whew! So, yeah, this, plus thinking about my students, I wanted to write something about blended families and some of the emotions that a young person might feel. At the same time, this is a picture book, so I wanted to inject some humor. As a former teacher and as a mom, I have seen the things children do when they want to avoid a tough situation. I drew from that for Beto’s antics. The back-and-froth between Beto and Mami also allowed me to get in some of the history of the guayabera. I also like stories when there’s an “Ah-ha” moment. So, in this case, readers will first think it’s about the shirt—a cultural thing that’s not cool, but he’s being forced to accept. This alone is a thing that happens in families—the older generation forcing something onto the younger generation to preserve traditions. Later, though, I wanted readers to then go, “Oh, it’s not really about the shirt. His feelings stem from something else, something deeper.” Terry: Well, brava! You did it. It worked beautifully. I love, love, love, Beto. His voice is perfect, and he is absolutely imaginative. I loved when he dressed up the dog in the guayabera. Who was the model for Beto? Cindy: Beto wasn’t modeled on a single child, but, as stated above, I pulled from my experiences as a mom and teacher. Children have big emotions, but they don’t always know how to express them, or they do so in ways that are anything but straightforward. I remembered my daughter used to cover her eyes, like if she couldn’t see me, then I couldn’t see her! Or she’d shove everything under her bed or in the laundry basket to “clean” her room. I once found a computer keyboard in her laundry! Hysterical! Like, if I just shove things out of sight, the problem is solved. Beto seems to think by returning the shirt in creative ways, he will wear down Mami and get his way, but nope…not going to happen….which leads us to our next question :.) Terry: Beto’s mantra to wearing the guayabera to the wedding is “NOPE, NUNCA, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.” Sometimes there is a phrase that turns the story on in my mind. I love it so much, that I weave the story around it. Did that happen to you with that phrase? Which came first, the story or the phrase? Cindy: I think the story came first, as I remember doing the research and drafting first. I had a friend who simply said, “No,” whenever she wanted to dismiss an idea or something that happened. Nowadays, we hear that more often, and there’s even the movie “Nope,” which I haven’t seen, but we often respond with these simple phrases: No. Nope. Not okay. I think it was this kind of thought process that created Beto’s refrain. Terry: Another tool you use in the story is the use of notes. After the first verbal exchange, Beto tells his mother all the reasons he won’t wear the guayabera to the wedding via notes which he places in the pockets of the guayabera. His mother answers in a similar way. Even the history of the guayabera is told through the notes. How did you come up with that idea? Cindy: I could have kept all of it in the back matter, but not everyone might read the information in the back of the book. I really wanted to weave the information into the story to give the reader more to think about. You could read it once, focusing on his feelings and the family aspect. You can read it again, with a focus on the guayabera itself, the history, etc. As a veteran teacher, I think I’m always thinking about including nonfiction that can be used in the classroom. Sometimes, it works, sometimes it doesn’t and it makes more sense to keep all of it in the back matter. With this story, since Beto and Mami are communicating through notes, it seemed to work. Terry: Yes! It really worked. And it added humor as well. What can you tell me about the illustrations? I loved the cover. It is perfect because it features the guayabera and its pockets. And nothing else. Begoña Fernandez Corbalán did a fantastic job capturing not just Beto, and Lupe the dog, who are both adorable, but also the mother. And then again, there is David in the background. Always in the background. What can you tell us about how you feel about the illustrations? Cindy: I was thrilled with the illustrations! Begoña did an amazing job capturing the characters. Lupe, the dog, is a total scene stealer. I am a huge dog lover, so I loved all of Lupe’s expressions and how much the dog added to the story. And David being present was not my idea, so kudos to Begoña and the publisher (if they discussed it first). When I saw him there, I thought it was brilliant. The reader probably thinks David is his dad and the wedding is someone else’s—a cousin, aunt, whoever, and Beto just hates this traditional shirt. And then, at the end, you realize David and Mami are getting married! And he’s been around the whole time, also witnessing Beto’s antics. Poor guy! :.) But that’s reality, right? He’s there, and he’s part of the story, but, really, Mami and Beto have to work through something important themselves. Terry: Begoña really did hit it out of the park having David there. And absolutely, at first I thought it was this random unimportant wedding and the book was all about the guayabera. You both have given teachers and parents so much to work with. Kudos to you both. On your website, you say I teach. I write. I dwell in possibility. Can you share what that means to you? Cindy: On August 29, I started a new job after 21 years in teaching. Who knows, I may still tutor or teach at the local community college, but for now, it’s the first time in two decades that I’m not teaching. Being an educator has taught me so much about myself, about children, about learning, and more. It’s been a crucial part of who I am and how I’ve grown over the years. This is also true about writing and the phrase I dwell in Possibility. As a lifelong learner and writer, I am always looking ahead and thinking about what’s possible. That keeps me interested in the world and makes me wonder how I can contribute positively in this lifetime. Plus, I’m a huge Emily Dickinson fan/nerd, and “I dwell in Possibility” is from one of her poems. Terry: Well, of course. Love that idea. Cindy, tell us what else is on the horizon for you? What other projects can you tell us and not tell us about? Cindy: In January 2023, another nonfiction graphic novel comes out with Capstone, called The Mount Everest Disaster of 1996. Right now, I have two picture books on submission with editors—one is about Three Kings Day and the other is a back-to-school story. I am also working on two middle grade projects—one that is a personal project and another that is work-for-hire, which has been acquired but has not been announced yet, so I can’t reveal any details. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share the good news soon! Terry: I can’t wait to hear the good news. Cindy, it has been a pleasure chatting with you. I wish you every success and look forward to working with you more in Las Musas. Be sure to put THREE POCKETS FULL on your to-read list!
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