Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am fairly new to writing. Actually, I have always written, but not books until recently. When I was younger, I liked to write poetry. I was born in Fresno, California, and grew up mostly in the San Joaquin Valley. I worked in the fields as a child farm worker. I went to college on the East Coast. I have two children, and five grandchildren. I have two sisters, and one brother living. I have two other brothers who have passed away. One died of complications due to childhood diabetes. The other was beaten to death by police officers in New Jersey. When I was young, I was put briefly into an orphanage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but was brought back to California and raised by relatives.
I had the great fortune to be able to live, study and travel in Europe. One of the things that I took with me to Europe was a collection of tiny Mexican chollo figurines. I wanted to have my little chollo figurines with me to remind me of home. While living in Europe, I traveled to England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. I tried Mexican food in England and in Paris, France, but nothing compares to the Mexican food you can get in Los Angeles. It is the best!
I have published two books: The Marble Harvest and Tiny Bigfoot’s Big Choice. Both are children’s books, but they are different from each other.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I just finished Tiny Bigfoot’s Big Choice, this past summer. After writing my first book, I spent a lot of time visiting schools, libraries, and homes for children, sharing my book, The Marble Harvest, with the kids. I always asked the kids about their pets, and they were very enthusiastic in telling me about their dogs, cats, turtles, fish, hamsters…you name it. I think children really identify with pets. Pets are therapeutic. They love you unconditionally, and that is a really important thing for a young child to learn.
I remember speaking to a group of kids at the Los Angeles Memorial Branch library, and also at the Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Long Beach. The kids at both places really wanted me to write about a dog. Writing about a dog is something I wanted to do as well, because I had a dog, a beautiful German Shepherd, named Lobo, whose picture is in my first book, The Marble Harvest. Lobo passed away this summer, shortly after Tiny Bigfoot’s Big Choice was published. I really miss him. I have a new German Shepherd puppy, Bear, who terrorizes my plants, and chews up my furniture and my shoes. In spite of his bad habits, he is winning a place in my heart.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a morning person. I like to write in the morning, but before I write, I must have a cup of coffee. I notice that when I dream, often times the words come to me, so I spend time daydreaming. I think it is important for a writer to be able to tune out the world, and turn inward to get the benefits of daydreaming.
Also, if you’re going to write children’s books, I think it is important to be around children, and to interact with them on their level. You have to be willing to be silly, to get dirty, and to do the things that kids do. I play hide and seek with my grandchildren. We tell silly stories with each other – one person starts off the story, and the next person picks it up and takes it in whatever direction he or shed wants, and then it gets passed to the next person, and so on. I write after being around my grandchildren, and I think it is important to immerse yourself in a child’s world.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I wrote my first book, The Marble Harvest, I was influenced by John Steinbeck. I remember going to Salinas, CA, and visiting his house, and seeing all the farm land around me. The Pearl is still one of my favorite books of all time.
I also remember working those fields that Steinbeck wrote about as a child farm worker. I hated that work. I remember being pulled out of school to go pick grapes, tomatoes, onions, cotton, carrots, chile peppers, potatoes. I picked, washed, sorted, and bagged vegetables and fruit. It was hot, dirty, aching work. The smell of the chemicals bothered me, and there was always the prospect of getting bitten or stung by insects. Working that hard as a child, while still trying to do well in school was exhausting work. There are still over a half million children in the U.S. that work in the fields. They are not protected by the child labor laws that cover child labor in other industries.
I am also influenced by Jeanette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, Half Broke Horses, and The Silver Star. I relate to Jeannette Walls because she also struggled as a child. Her stories are about survival, loss and self-reliance. I relate to her because the lack of foundation that she experienced as a child was very similar to my own childhood.
Victor Villaseñor is another influence on my writing. My grandfather was from Chihuahua, and I relate to his descriptions of his Mexican ancestry, the aboriginal experience in Mexico. His writing is very mystical, which appeals to me.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a mystery involving a troubled young boy who lost his parents as an infant. The story is set in the San Joaquin Valley, California. I don’t want to talk too much about it, because it is still very much in the formative stage right now. I could tell you something about it now, but it might be different by the time I’m finished.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Why, awesomegang.com of course!! Actually, when it comes to promoting there is no one website or method that is the be-all and end-all of marketing. Promotion is about multiple methods of networking and getting your name out there. You have to be tweeting, Facebooking, visiting schools and libraries, doing book signings, talking to people, advertising on blogs, doing lectures…the whole nine yards.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be patient and be consistent. Don’t give up on your dreams of making it. I’m still trying, and I still have a ways to go before I’ll consider myself successful as a writer. You have to believe in yourself and your vision. I think it is important to read and to be around creative people. Dream a lot. Find a good editor. Like anything worthwhile, writing takes a lot of hard work. Don’t be afraid to put in the work. Drink good coffee.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I have heard a lot of good advice from a lot of people over the years. The best advice I know is to listen to your inner voice.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading Jeannette Walls, The Half Broke Horse. After I finish that one, I am planning to read The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write a sequel to The Marble Harvest. In fact, many of my friends and relatives have been bugging me about the sequel. Spoiler alert: The Marble Harvest has a cliffhanger ending. There is definitely more to the story. I have been hesitant to do the sequel because writing The Marble Harvest was pretty emotional for me. It was based a lot about my own childhood experience. Many of the characters in the book are people from my childhood. I definitely want to finish telling the story, but I had to take a break from it. My granddaughter wants me to do the sequel with a happy ending. I can’t promise that, but I think I need to get back into it.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I think the first book on that list would be “How to Survive Being Stranded on a Desert Island.” After that, I’d like to have Gone With the Wind, because it is really long and because it is a love story. I would also have a copy of The Pearl. That’s three books.
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