Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Monika Romer.
Hi Heidi Monika, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story is rooted in identity, culture, books, and the belief that our stories deserve to be seen.
I am a first-generation American and grew up between the Bronx and Miami, shaped by my Puerto Rican and German roots. I have spent much of my life moving between cultures, communities, and spaces and that movement shaped how I see the world, how I lead, and why storytelling matters so deeply to me.
Before founding H.O.L.A. Books, I had the opportunity to contribute to three anthologies. It was an incredible experience, and it taught me so much about the power of putting your story on the page. But it also crystallized something important for me. I did not feel called to only write my own story. I felt called to help other people’s stories be discovered, distributed, and carried into the communities that need them.
There are close to 68 million Latinos in the United States, yet only about 7% of authors in this country are Latino. That data does not just disappoint me. It makes me angry, because it means so many of our stories, experiences, histories, and voices are still missing from the cultural record.
I realized I could keep talking about that gap, or I could do something about it.
I chose to do something.
I didn’t start with a perfect roadmap. But I believe deeply our stories matter, and that visibility is a big part of how culture is preserved, protected, celebrated, and passed forward.
H.O.L.A. Books is an independent online boutique literary platform and creative sanctuary dedicated to Latino, Caribbean and diaspora authors. When I say Caribbean, I mean beyond the Spanish-speaking islands too. The Caribbean cannot be defined by one language. Our languages are shaped by colonization, migration, survival, and resistance. Our stories are layered, multilingual, multicultural, and deeply connected across history, identity, and community.
The name H.O.L.A. was intentional. No matter where you are from or what language you speak, most people understand what “hola” means. It is an invitation and a welcome. And while our focus is on Latino and Caribbean authors, I wanted the platform to feel open enough that even someone who does not identify as Latino or Caribbean still feels invited in.
Today, H.O.L.A. Books supports authors through distribution, visibility, partnerships, curated reader experiences, community-rooted storytelling, and increasingly, direct support as authors navigate the publishing process. We are moving books into homes, schools, libraries, conferences, museums, corporate spaces, and community rooms because our books belong everywhere.
H.O.L.A. Books has grown from an idea into a business, a platform, and a movement. At the heart of it, my mission is still the same: to make sure Latino and Caribbean authors are seen, celebrated, distributed, and connected to the readers, communities, and spaces where their stories belong, because our stories belong everywhere.
H.O.L.A. Books is more than a name. It is an invitation and a promise: welcome to the home of Latino and Caribbean authors.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not been a smooth road. H.O.L.A. Books is only one year in business, and I have had to learn, build, fund, and believe all at the same time.
One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to become an entrepreneur while building the kind of literary home our stories have always deserved. In many ways, I am building the bridge while walking across it.
I became an entrepreneur later in life, and no one really teaches you that what you love, what you are good at, and what you see missing in the world can become the foundation for a business and a movement. H.O.L.A. Books was born from love, but building it has required strategy, capital, partnerships, systems, and a level of belief that has had to carry me through moments when the resources were not yet there.
One of the moments that changed everything came early. When Samí Haiman-Marrero approached me about distributing her new business memoir, Becoming La Jefa: The Angst and Joys of a Latina Carving Her Path in America, I didn’t even have my logo finished. By every traditional measure, I was not “ready.”
But being ready is not always a prerequisite. Sometimes ready is something you become by doing the thing.
So Samí and I figured it out together. Five thousand copies. My first large-scale distribution project. I was learning the logistics, systems, details, and responsibility in real time. It was hard, exhilarating, and transformational. It changed my business model almost overnight. I went from imagining what H.O.L.A. Books could be to operating as a distributor with a real book moving at real scale. Today, I am the exclusive distributor for that book.
That experience taught me that I may not always feel ready for what’s in front of me, but not feeling ready is not the same as not being capable. I have moments of doubt, but I refuse to let doubt make the decision for me. I face what’s in front of me, find my way through it, and keep moving. I can. I will. And I am doing it.
The truth is, access is a real challenge — and so is capital. I fund much of this work myself because I believed in it before there was proof, before there was a safety net, and before all the right doors opened. There are rooms I am still working to get into, relationships I am still building, and opportunities that require resources before they can fully come to life.
But I do not see that as a reason to stop. I see it as part of the work.
I am an optimist by nature. I start a lot of conversations with, “Can you imagine?” because I can. I can imagine Latino and Caribbean authors in more bookstores, schools, libraries, museums, conferences, corporate spaces, and community rooms. I can imagine our books being treated as essential, not occasional. I can imagine a stronger literary ecosystem where authors are not doing it alone.
I believe in the authors. I believe in the readers. And I believe that when the right people, partners, and institutions understand what H.O.L.A. Books is building, they will see that this is not just a business. It is an opportunity to help move our stories into the places they have always belonged.
I am not asking people to simply support a small business. I am inviting them to help build a literary ecosystem where Latino and Caribbean stories can move with the visibility, care, and access they deserve.
Our stories belong everywhere. I am building toward that every day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
H.O.L.A. Books is an independent online literary platform, distribution partner, and publishing advisor dedicated to Latino, Caribbean, and diaspora authors.
We center authors too often overlooked by traditional publishing, retail, and distribution — authors whose work is layered, multilingual, multicultural, and rooted in identity, belonging, leadership, memory, joy, and lived experience. Our collection includes memoir, leadership, children’s books, identity-centered stories, bilingual and Spanish-language titles, and culturally rooted work that speaks to who we are and who we are becoming. Children’s literature is also a growing area of focus, because our children deserve to see themselves early, fully, and beautifully.
What sets H.O.L.A. Books apart is that we do not treat books as transactions. We build relationships around them. We work alongside authors to help their stories be discovered, experienced, distributed, and carried into the communities and spaces where they belong. That can look like visibility campaigns, curated reader experiences, signed editions, bulk orders, community activations, distribution partnerships, and publishing advisory that helps authors make clear, strategic decisions about how their books come into the world.
Distribution is a major part of our work. That matters because distribution is where so many authors hit a wall — the place where a finished book either reaches readers or quietly disappears. H.O.L.A. Books helps move books at real scale, with intention, care, and cultural understanding. We are not just asking, “How do we sell this book?” We are asking, “Where does this story belong, who needs to discover it, and how do we help it move?”
I am proud that H.O.L.A. Books is becoming known as a literary home, a name people recognize and trust, and a place where authors feel seen. The name was always intentional too. H.O.L.A. is an invitation in a single word, understood across languages and borders. And for us, it also means welcome to the home of Latino and Caribbean authors.
What I want readers to know is H.O.L.A. Books is a platform for our voices, our stories, and our communities. It is a movement rooted in visibility, belonging, and access. We believe our stories belong everywhere and we are building the pathways to carry them there.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy are the things that make me feel connected.
Food is a big one. So many of my happiest memories are tied to food and meals with people I love, conversations around a table, events where food becomes part of the experience and the memory. I love the way food brings people together without needing to explain too much. It creates belonging.
The beach, the ocean, and being near water also make me happy. There is something about water that helps me breathe, reset, and remember what matters. The beach is my church.
Books and bookstores make me happy, of course. I love the feeling of discovering a story, walking into a space filled with possibility, and being reminded that every book represents someone’s voice, imagination, courage, or lived experience.
People make me happy. Bringing people together makes me happy. Whether it is around food, books, conversation, culture, or community, I love creating and being part of moments where people feel seen and welcomed.
My friends make me happy, especially the ones who became family along the way. They are the people who celebrate with me, hold me up, tell me the truth, and remind me that I am not building anything alone.
Traveling and new experiences also bring me joy because they remind me how much there is still to learn, taste, see, and understand.
And then there is Zelda, my son’s cat. I did not grow up with animals, and I learned to love them later in life. Zelda was a stray who came into our lives, and now I am pretty sure I live in her house. She has brought a kind of unexpected joy and softness into my life.
At the center of all of it, food, water, books, travel, friends, my sons, community, and Zelda – is connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hola-books.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsheidimonika?igsh=cndleXNnemdzaXF2&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16AvFrYLKw/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidimonikaromer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HOLABooks_HeidiMonika
- Other: https://linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=H.O.L.A.%20Books&origin=RICH_QUERY_TYPEAHEAD_HISTORY&heroEntityKey=urn%3Ali%3Aorganization%3A109185069&position=0
