Lucia M. Gonzales
Author of The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos
(from Children’s Book Press )
Read the review here.
When did you start reading, and what did you like to read as a kid?
I remember very clearly how much I wanted to learn to read before I started school. At night, when my mother didn’t have time to read to me I would say to my self, “deja que lea solita / wait till I learn to read by myself.” I must have been 4 years old.
When you were growing up did you have books in your home?
I grew up in the countryside in Cuba and we didn’t have access to books the same way that we do here in the United States. We had three books in my house when I was growing up: The One Thousand and One Nights (Las mil y una noches), Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales, and magnificent pop up book of the story Puss in Boots. My mother read to me from those books every day.
When did you think about becoming a writer? Was there someone who got you interested in writing?
From the moment I became a reader, I also became a writer. I loved to write and my assignments were always selected for display in the class.
How do you write? Do you have a daily routine? What’s good about it?
I don’t have much time that I can dedicate to writing, but I the little time I do have I use it very wisely. I get up at 4:00 a.m. every day, make my Cuban coffee, open my laptop and start writing. I dedicate three hours daily. I love this morning ritual because at this time the house is quiet and my mind is fresh.
What do you hate about it?
I would like to have more time in the mornings to dedicate to writing. By 7:30 I have to stop and get ready to go to work.
Any particular story to tell concerning the writing of this book?
I went to New York City for the first time when I started the research for this book. From the moment I arrived in New York everything happened by serendipity. The spirit of Pura Belpre guided me by the hand to the places where I needed to be.
I stayed at the YMCA in Harlem because I couldn’t find another affordable place at the time. As I walked out of the YMCA the next morning and asked for the nearest NY Public Library, a man that was leaning against the dark brick wall just lifted his hand and pointed across the street. There, across from the room where I stayed, was the Schomburg Library, the first library where Pura Belpre worked in 1921. My heart pounded with emotion when I entered the place where Ms. Belpre first told the story of Perez and Martina to an eager group of children by the light of the storyteller’s candle.
What some good advice that you’ve received concerning writing?
Learning to block time everyday for writing was the best advice. Writing is a craft that requires much discipline. I also received great advice from the editor of my first book. She told me not to worry about corrections, just to write what was in my mind and follow my inspiration. The first draft of a story has to pour out of you. Later there will be time to make corrections and edits.
What’s some advice that you could offer young writers?
Writers need to allow time to satisfy their curiosity. They need to read and be always open to new experiences and different points of view.
How did you find the publisher for this book?
I didn’t find the publisher, but the publisher found me. I was at a meeting at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association where I mentioned that my dream was to be able to write a book about Pura Belpre as a story not a biography. The Executive Director of Children’s Book Press at the time was also at that meeting. She remembered my dream and months later she called me to offer me the opportunity of writing this book. Publishing this story with Children’s Book Press was very important to me because I have always admired the history of the publisher. They pioneered the publication of bilingual books for children in the 1970’s.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am not working on anything else for now. I have to wait for another dream to come my way. I chase dreams.
What are you reading?
I am reading Pablo Neruda’s autobiography, Confieso que he vivido. It is a beautiful book.
bronzeword
