Today we’d like to introduce you to Silvia López.
Silvia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Cuba where, as an only child living in a big, rambling house, I entertained myself by using my imagination. My dad would bring old receipt tablets from his office, and I’d fill up the blank backs of the pages with drawings of princesses, elves, and fairies, putting the story on bubbles above their heads. I filled so many tablets that sometimes the stacks would tip over! A week before my tenth birthday, I left Cuba with my family, along with a suitcase too small to fit even one of my precious tablets. And not knowing a word of English. Life in Miami was very different from everything I’d ever known. It was often tough. But there were also fun new experiences, like my first Halloween. I couldn’t believe it when people gave me candy. For free! I think ‘trick-or-treat’ were my first English words.
In Miami I made two wonderful discoveries. First, I found I loved learning English. A Spanish-English dictionary became my best friend. Spelling lists, vocabulary lists, reading assignments… bring them on!
Second, on a field trip with my fifth-grade class, we walked (yes, those were the days when you walked on field trips) to a building with hundreds of books free for the taking. I can tell you that I learned the way back to that public library very, very quickly! After I read all the Spanish books in the children’s section and my English became good enough, I plowed through mysteries, adventure books, and every fairy tale and folktale that ever warmed a shelf. It was bookworm heaven.
In college, I thought I wanted to be an English teacher but found I preferred being among books than in front of a class, so I got a master’s degree and became a children’s librarian, the perfect combination for someone who likes both kids and books.
After spending over three decades in a profession I loved, I began writing down my own stories. And getting enough rejection letters to wallpaper a bathroom! Finally, at the age of 68, I accomplished something I had been wanting to do since those days of the toppling tablets: I became a published author.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I sometimes wish I could have gone straight into writing after college, but life took side trips – marriage, a full time job, raising a family – none of which I would change for one minute. In many ways, those years spent in school libraries gave me a good perspective into what makes good children’s literature and what appeals to young readers. Those are valuable assets when you write for an age group comprised of the world’s toughest critics. The publishing world is very competitive. I found out right away that getting published as a children’s author was going to be a challenge. Finally, through what I like to call “a series of fortunate events” I got lucky to be taken by an excellent agent. Even then, it’s not always a given that publishers will accept your manuscripts. Rejection is a way of life for a writer.
I think anyone can write, but contrary to what most people think, writing for children is one of the hardest things to do well. It’s tough to convey your thoughts when you are limited in word count and vocabulary. If I wrote for adults I could go on and on until I make my point. In a children’s book you start with lots of words and thoughts and then shave, shave, shave back until you have a tight narrative or very precise information. And all of this has to be done in a way that will catch a child’s attention. Adults read because they’re interested. You have to convince a child that he or she will be interested and love what you wrote. I try to make my writing worth the time that the child will invest in reading it.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m as eclectic a writer as I am a reader. I like funny books, serious books, and those that teach me something I didn’t know. I write picture books as well as non-fiction in both English and Spanish, and have ideas for some middle grade novels. As the name implies, my recently published book – Handimals: Animals in Art and Nature – deals with animals, some endangered or threatened. I loved doing the research for that book. I’ve always liked animals, but I came away from writing it with a renewed respect and admiration for the animal kingdom. Handimals turned out beautifully, not only visually but with a great message, receiving a starred review on Booklist. I’m proud of the team effort that was involved. How the book came to be (it was five years in the making) is my agent Karen Grencik and editor Christy Ottaviano’s favorite story to tell at conferences! The icing on the cake was to find out that the artist, Italian Guido Daniele, had dedicated his part in the book to his friend Jane Goodall, one of my favorite people in the world. I mean, there’s her photo, right under the picture of me and my children, to whom I dedicated the writing. My face and Jane Goodall’s face on the same page in a book I wrote? It doesn’t get much better than that!
I like old tales, figuring they must be pretty good if they’ve lasted this long. My next book – Pacho Nacho – which comes out in 2020, is a very funny retelling of an old Japanese folktale. I am really looking forward to reading it aloud and watching the children’s reaction. The one thing I miss after retiring is being among, and reading to, children, so I make it a point to visit lots of schools and do as many presentations as I can.
I’ve also always liked to read and write biographies. It’s important for children to know about people who once were kids like them and grew up to do outstanding things with their lives. Two more of my books, scheduled for publication in 2020 and 2021, are biographies of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla and artist Frida Kahlo.
I was so honored when I was notified that my picture book Just Right Family: An Adoption Story had won the 2018 Gwen P. Richter Medal of the Florida Book Award! It’s a very gentle story that I think resonates with today’s families.
I am also proud of my six self-published bilingual digital books, two of which are now also in paperback. It began when I couldn’t get a publisher for a story. I decided to find an illustrator (wonderful local artist Veronica Cabrera) make it into an eBook, narrate it, and upload it onto my website by myself. I’ve always liked technology, but it was an incredible challenge! But one that paid off in the end since, in 2017, the book no publisher had accepted – Zunzuncito: Un Cuento del Pájaro Abeja Cubano – was named Best Picture eBook by the International Society of Latino Authors. My eBooks are free and purely a work of love. I consider them my gifts to the hundreds (thousands?) of children who sat ‘criss-cross applesauce’ at my feet and listened as I read or told them stories for over three decades.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My biggest cheerleaders are my husband Orlando and my three grown children, who have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
I owe a lot to the wonderful author Ruth Vander Zee, who recently moved to California after living for decades in Miami. She served as a mentor and friend, always generously offering the most spot-on and brilliant critiques a writer could wish for.
When Ruth moved away, I took over the leadership of the Society for Children’s Authors and Illustrators (SCBWI) Miami-based critique group along with my friend Marta Magellan, also an excellent published author. The members of our critique group are terrific. their insight invaluable. I never submit anything without running it by the group first. One of our most talented writers in that group is author-photographer Kirsten Hines, to whom I am thankful for suggesting my name to you.
Former SCBWI Florida Rep Linda Bernfeld has been my go-to person for her incredible knowledge of the publishing world and her unflagging belief in my abilities. Linda was a key factor in my being signed by agent Karen Grencik, of the Red Fox Literary Agency in California, whose support and faith in my writing are also invaluable.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.silvialopezbooks.com
- Phone: 305-479-7155
- Email: talesandcuentos@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silvialopezauthor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silvialopezchildrensauthor
Image Credit:
Personal photo: Alexander Rodríguez
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