Interview With Author Mona Liza Santos
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a children’s book author, publisher, mom, traveler, and honestly just someone who has always felt things very deeply. I think that is probably one of the reasons I ended up writing in the first place.
I never grew up thinking, “I’m going to become an author someday.” It happened much later in my life. I started writing because I had stories, emotions, memories, and life experiences that I wanted to turn into something meaningful. Once I wrote my first book, I realized how much I loved creating stories that could help a child feel understood or help a parent start an important conversation with their child.
Since then, I’ve written more than 40 children’s books. My stories touch on kindness, emotional literacy, confidence, resilience, family, identity, culture, safety, and simply learning to appreciate who you are.
A lot of what I write comes from being a mother too. I’m always thinking about what children are absorbing from the world around them and what I would want my own son to take away from a story.
Travel has also influenced me tremendously. I’ve been fortunate to experience many different cultures and meet people from all over the world. The more I travel, the more I realize that even though our traditions and backgrounds may be different, children everywhere want many of the same things. They want to feel loved, safe, included, accepted, and understood, and that is really at the center of my writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
One of my newest books is The Light in the White House. The idea really started with a question: What does the White House represent?
I didn’t want to write a book that was simply about the building itself. I wanted to look at it through a child’s eyes because children have this wonderful way of asking questions adults sometimes stop asking.
The story became more about what places and symbols can mean to people, how history connects generations, and how children begin forming their own understanding of the world around them.
I love books that leave children with something to think about after they close the cover. I don’t necessarily want to give them every answer because sometimes a good question stays with you much longer.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am definitely not one of those writers who sits down at the exact same time every morning with coffee and writes for four hours. My brain does not cooperate like that.
Ideas usually come to me at completely random times. I could be traveling, driving, listening to music, thinking about something from my childhood, or lying in bed when suddenly I think, “That would make a really good book.”
Then I have to write it down immediately because if I tell myself I’ll remember it later, I probably won’t.
Sometimes an entire book begins with a title. I’ll think of a title I love and then start wondering what story belongs to it. Other times, I already know exactly what I want a child to feel at the end of the book and I work backward from there.
I also read everything aloud while I’m writing because children’s books are meant to be read aloud. If I stumble over a sentence or it doesn’t sound natural when I say it, I know I need to change it.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve always loved books that seem simple at first but actually carry something much deeper underneath.
I love The Little Prince for that reason. You can read it as a child and then read it again years later and suddenly understand things you didn’t understand before.
I’ve also always appreciated Dr. Seuss because he could take huge ideas and make them playful and memorable for children. Books such as Charlotte’s Web and other classics that deal with friendship, love, courage, imagination, and loss have stayed with me too.
But I would say that my biggest influences aren’t only authors. My grandma and grandpa, my childhood, becoming a mother, traveling, Filipino culture, the people I have met, difficult moments in my life, happy moments, and even ordinary conversations have probably shaped my writing more than anything else.
Sometimes life gives you the story before you even realize you’re going to write it.
What are you working on now?
I always laugh when someone asks me this because there is never just one answer. I have several children’s books and manuscripts at different stages right now. Some are centered around kindness and emotional literacy, while others are about identity, family, imagination, culture, and everyday things children experience and wonder about.
One thing I’m becoming much more intentional about is not feeling like I have to publish every manuscript immediately.
I founded World Love Press and I’m very proud of what I’ve been able to create independently, but one of my next goals is also traditional publishing. I would love to find the right literary agent and eventually the right traditional publishing home for some of my future stories.
So now I’m learning to ask myself, “Is this a World Love Press book, or is this a manuscript I want to hold onto and query?” That is a new mindset for me and honestly an exciting one.
I’m also writing outside of children’s books and exploring longer stories and other creative projects. I love storytelling in many different forms, so I don’t think I’ll ever stay inside just one little box.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For me, nothing has been better than genuinely connecting with people.
Of course I use social media, my website, interviews, and online promotion. Those things absolutely matter. But I’ve noticed that people connect differently when they meet you, hear why you wrote the book, or understand the story behind the story.
Some of my favorite experiences have come from author events, bookstores, schools, cultural events, community organizations, book donations, and simply talking with parents and children.
I don’t really enjoy constantly saying, “Buy my book.” I would much rather explain why I wrote something and let someone decide whether that story belongs in their family.
Instagram has also been a wonderful way for me to share not only my books but my life, travel, creativity, events, and the person behind the author. My personal website is iammonaliza.com.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The biggest thing I would say is to actually finish the book before getting overwhelmed by everything that comes after it.
People can get so caught up thinking about publishers, Amazon, ISBNs, marketing, social media, reviews, awards, agents, and everything else that they never actually finish the story they wanted to tell.
Get the story out of your head and onto the page, then learn everything else as you go.
You do not have to know everything when you begin. I definitely didn’t. Ask questions, find good editors, listen to constructive criticism, and learn the difference between helpful feedback and somebody simply wanting you to write the book they would have written.
Most importantly, don’t compare your beginning to somebody else’s middle because everyone’s path looks different.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One idea that has really stayed with me is that your biggest competition should be the person you were yesterday.
I believe very strongly in a me versus me mindset. I don’t want to spend my life watching what everyone else is doing and deciding whether I’m successful based on their accomplishments.
I would rather ask myself, “Am I growing? Am I learning? Am I doing better than I did before? Am I still proud of the person I am becoming?”
I also believe something very simple that I try to live by: When you do what’s right, everything will be good. Maybe not immediately and maybe not exactly how you expected, but doing the right thing gives you something very important, which is peace with yourself.
What are you reading now?
My reading habits are honestly all over the place. I can be reading a children’s picture book one minute, an article about psychology or culture the next, then something about travel, history, emotional development, or somebody’s life story.
I still read a lot of picture books because I’m fascinated by how much can be communicated with so few words. Writing a picture book may look simple from the outside, but every sentence has to earn its place.
I’m always paying attention to pacing, page turns, how a story makes me feel, and especially how it ends. And then there is the pile of books I keep saying I’m going to finish. That pile and I have an understanding.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to grow in a way that feels meaningful rather than just trying to produce more and more.
I’m incredibly grateful for what independent publishing has allowed me to do. World Love Press gave me the freedom to create stories I believed in and put them into the world without waiting for someone else to say yes.
But I also have another dream now, and I would really love to traditionally publish some of my future work.
I would love to experience what it is like to work with a literary agent, editor, and traditional publishing team and see how far one of my stories could travel through that world.
I don’t see it as choosing one path over another. I see myself continuing World Love Press while also hopefully becoming traditionally published. Some stories may belong with my own press, and others may be meant for another home.
I also want to keep expanding beyond children’s books. There are stories I want to tell for adults too, and I’m allowing myself to explore where that takes me.
I think the exciting part is that I still don’t know exactly what the next ten years of my writing life will look like, and I actually like that.
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?
Okay, this question is stressful because now I’m apparently committing to four books for the rest of my island life. 🙂
I would bring The Little Prince because I could probably read it a hundred times and still find something new in it.
I’d bring Charlotte’s Web because I love what it says about friendship, loyalty, love, and letting go.
I’d probably bring The Alchemist because if I’m stranded on a desert island, I’m definitely going to need something philosophical convincing me that this is somehow part of my journey.
And for my fourth choice, I’m cheating a little and bringing a giant blank journal because knowing me, if I’m stranded on an island long enough, eventually I’m going to think, “Well, I might as well turn this into a book.” 🙂
Author Websites and Profiles
Mona Liza Santos Amazon Profile
Mona Liza Santos’s Social Media Links
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