Happy Book Birthday to FLOWERS FOR TIA LUZ MARIA

Cover of Flowers For Tia Luz Maria by Cynthia De La Torre

Grab your cafecito and join us for a conversation with Cynthia De La Torre about her beautiful book Flowers for Tia Luz María

Cynthia, welcome to this interview with Las Musas! We are eager to learn about your project. Tell us more! ​

This beautiful and thoughtful cut-art picture book from debut author-illustrator Cynthia De La Torre, draws on imagery from Dia de los Muertos to gently introduce readers to grieving a relative—with the reminder that memories formed with love are never lost.

Cynthia, what inspired you to become a writer?

When I was in the 1st grade, our teacher gave us an assignment to write and illustrate our very own books. That experience was life changing. I fell in love with story telling, and, right then and there, I decided that I wanted to be an author illustrator. I was derailed from that goal for a few years, because it seemed unrealistic, but I came back to it after I became a mom. I wrote and illustrated a book for my first baby, after he was born. I became obsessed and knew I couldn’t do anything else. So that’s when I decided to seriously pursue this journey.

Credit: Cythia De La Torre

How would you describe your main character? Why did you create your character that way? 

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Galina is a happy, imaginative and creative child who is confronted with a sudden family death. She loves very deeply and is frightened by the thought of what happens to her beloved tía after she joins los muertos. So, instead of allowing her image of her dear tía be changed into something scary, she decides to try and forget about her. I made Galina this way, because I could relate to her. I saw a lot of my kids and myself in her and I knew others would too. I wanted to talk about a shared experience that isn’t often found in children’s books. ​

Can you share your path to publication for this book?

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster journey. I went out on submission with 3 other projects before this one and, while we received some interest, even a few revise and resubmits, none of the books got a definitive yes. My agent and I used the feedback I received on the other projects to create this book. I went out on submission with FLOWERS FOR TIA LUZ MARIA in mid November, and within a few weeks, we had interest from 3 editors. The team at Quill Tree asked for a revise and resubmit. I worked on making the changes they suggested, because I did feel it helped the overall story. Shortly after we sent them the updated manuscript, they made an offer. The other two editors did not end up making an offer. But I was thrilled to be working with Quill Tree.

Illustration from Flowers For Tia Luz Maria by Cynthia De La Torre

Can you share if you used any mentor texts for your story? If so, how did you use them?

Whenever I am working on a new project, I will look at books to see how they tackled certain illustrations. I use a ton of diverse books from illustrators whose work I greatly admire and I see what methods they used to convey certain emotions or to make a scene dynamic and interesting. Similarly, I use mentor texts when I’m stuck on a certain part of my story. It just helps give me ideas for how to tackle certain scenes and move the story forward.

What is on your creative bucket list?

​I would LOVE to one day make a lift-the-flap book. My kids and I have always been big fans of interactive books. I would also love to write a book with a collection of Mexican ghost stories. And, more than anything, I want to publish many more books that share more about my Mexican culture, the spooky side, and all the things I love about it.

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Credit, Cynthia De La Torre

Cynthia De La Torre was born and raised in Southern California. She loves all things weird, whimsical, and magical. She writes and illustrates picture books. She loves writing stories, infused with magical elements, that teach kids about self-acceptance, finding their place in the world, and accepting other people’s differences. 
https://cynthiadelatorre.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cynthiagdelatorre/
https://www.tiktok.com/@cynthia.de.la.torre
https://www.youtube.com/@cynthiadelatorre1113

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