First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

Hi! I’m a Cuban American writer from California. I earned my MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge. ICE BREAKER: How Mabel Fairbanks Changed Figure Skating was named an American Library Association 2021 Rise Honor book and a SCBWI 2020 Crystal Kite Award finalist. Both this book and my second book, ALICIA ALONSO DANCES ON, are part of Albert Whitman’s She Made History collection. I’ve been figure skating for nearly 35 years. Currently, I’m a head coach in Sweden, where I live with my husband, son, and dog.

As an author, you are well known for the picture book, Alicia Alonso Dances On. What inspired you to write this book in the first place?

 It was actually one of my mentors from Lesley University that recommended I “write what I know.” Mainly: figure skating. But I felt that if I was going to complete my MFA and take away from it as much as possible, then I actually wanted to write more of what I didn’t know! I felt that after graduation I could focus on writing “what I know”, with the knowledge and (hopefully) the tools I would need to write successfully. Considering what my mentor was suggesting, I decided I wanted to write about a Hispanic female athlete. After extensive research I found Alicia Alonso’s story to be the most inspiring. The original draft was one of several picture book manuscripts included in my final thesis project.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically to picture books?

My mother was a huge influence in reading, and then later into writing. She made reading fun, using different voices for every character in the book. I remember bedtime (or anytime where we got to read a story with my mom/dad) as being very special. Writing specifically for picture books was actually not my initial intention. Again, one of my mentors from Lesley university had suggested I try writing picture books first. He knew what he was talking about! I’m glad I listened. Now that I have a son (nearly 5 years old), I love reading picture books with him. It’s a huge part of my life now in multiple ways.

How would you describe your creative process?

This is such a great question. I love the development process of creating a story. But I’ll be honest that the first words that come to the page have to come to me completely out of the blue, usually while I’m doing something else, like dishes or walking the dog. It’s like lightning. The inspiration hits me fast. It comes as a sentence or a stanza. Then I can sit down and write the first draft quickly. Interestingly, these “lightning” sentences/stanzas are always used in the middle of the book, never the text for the first page. I don’t know why! Just my creative process. Another fun fact: for me, I enjoy listening to rap music when editing. I think it has to do with the beats of the song feeling like the “beats” of the page turns in a picture book. I don’t listen to music at any other time in the process.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

I remember Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, deeply affected me. It was a book reading requirement in school. I loved the Dana Girls series, by Carolyn Keene. I still have most of them! I would love to complete the collection with original copies. Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, stuck with me also. I have a first edition of the book, over a hundred years old! The Giver, by Lois Lowry, touched me very much. All kids should read it.

As an adult there’s several books that have affected me: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne…you can sense a theme here. Anything about war/lack of human empathy always breaks me. But the inkling of human kindness within some of these books gets me too. That bit of hope. 

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest artistic/creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

There are so many creative inspirations and inspiring people all around in our world. Too many to list. But I’ll list a few here, mostly mentors and teachers from the master’s program I did. To name a few: Jason Reynolds, David Elliott, Susan Goodman, and A.J. Verdelle. There’s so many amazing writers I look up to, from all different genres and age categories. I like to take inspiration not only from books, but also from movies, TV shows, nature, or other cultures/places. I think inspiration can be found all around you if you’re open to it.

What are some of your favorite elements of your creative work? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult? 

I love everything from the spark of a new idea all the way to the first draft. After that, my least favorite part is editing. But I have grown to respect and acknowledge how important the editing process is. A.J. Verdelle gave a great seminar on the editing process. And I still have the notes from that seminar where she shared a lot of incredible information. I try to remember all the smart things she told us.

Many creators would say one of the most challenging parts of making a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say help you accomplish this?

Before my son was born, I was whipping out 20 to 30 stories a year. All kinds of different picture books ranging from non-fiction, fiction, wordless, etc. I was very motivated once I started, usually finishing within a few weeks (sometimes days). I love to write. But since having my son, I’m much busier, and it’s quite difficult to find the time to write at all. Right now I have to give myself some grace while I have a young child. I’m eternally grateful for my agent, Alexandra Weiss, for understanding this and continuing to support my writing journey. Perhaps when he’s older, I will get some “me” time back again. Until then, I will keep writing when I can. Although it’s not nearly as often, I manage the little time I get by sticking with just one or two projects at a time. Once they’re finished, I send them off to my agent and hope for the best after that! I wish I had some amazing strategy for finishing a project, but the only tips I can give is to do the research and put in the time at the start, then after that…sit down and write. Don’t stop to reread. Keep going forward no matter how long it takes. Do you only have five minutes a day to write? Fine, do it. Give yourself grace for the tough things in life that otherwise occupy your time. But those five minutes, JUST WRITE. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I was a pro athlete for five years. I was a professional figure skater with Disney On Ice, Holiday and Ice, and Europa Park. My husband and I skated as a pair team together.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

If your current profession didn’t exist, what other profession would you wish to do? 

The answer: librarian! Books would never leave my life!

What advice might you have to give for aspiring picture book creators?

Take the time to learn. So many people think they can just pick up a pen and start writing a picture book because they’re seen as “easy” with short manuscripts so they “can’t be that hard to do”. There’s actually a lot to learn first. And if you don’t have the money or time for school, there’s other resources out there that are available. For example; SCBWI, writers/critique groups that meet up online or in person, or you can go to your local library and look up writing craft books. There’s quite a bit you can do through basic Internet searches, like how to write a first draft, what is a query letter, how to edit a story, etc. Besides all that, go to the library and start reading all the picture books there. When my mentor, David Elliott, suggested I go in a different direction and write picture books first, my first thought was, oh my gosh, I haven’t read picture books since I was a little kid. How am I going to do this? He told me to go to the library and start reading. Residency was two weeks long and in Boston. I went to the Boston Public Library and I sat there for hours nearly every day for two weeks. I read more than 200 picture books. You’ve got to be willing to dive in and do the initial work. You need to build up your tools in your tool box. Then my recommendation after that? GO FOR IT and don’t look back.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Currently, my agent has a book out on submission. While I can’t give all the details, I can say it is another non-fiction book. But in a new direction for me, not about an athlete this time. It’s in the STEM category. But in other news, my first book, ICEBREAKER: How Mabel Fairbanks Changed Figure Skating, is going to be in paperback edition with Albert Whitten and Co. (Scholastic also printed it in paperback for their educational packages.)

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

So many!! 

Anything written by Jason Reynolds, David Elliot, Susan Goodman, Aaron Becker (his wordless picture books are fantastic), and Margarita Engle. As another resource specifically geared towards picture books (including diverse ones!), go follow Maya Lê on Instagram, @maistorybooklibrary.

She has many fabulous recommendations there, and she is constantly updating it. 

I also recommend following: We Need Diverse Books. A fantastic organization!

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