LVBT Guest Post: Walking on a Rainbow: "How I Became a Children’s Book Author" By Mayra Calvani

Today, as part of BronzeWord's Latino Virtual Book Tour, I turn my blog over to author Mayra Calvani. Welcome, Mayra....

Walking on a Rainbow: "How I Became a Children’s Book Author"

I used to think writing children’s books was boring. Writing for those demanding, whining creatures? Are you kidding? Not for me. No thanks.



That was a few years ago.




Now, nothing fills me with more joy and excitement than writing a picture book or a novel for tweens. Writing for children is like stepping into a fresh, magical, innocent, marvelous world of color and words. Writing for children is, in fact, like walking on a rainbow.

So how did the change happen?



Easy. I had children.



I recently read an interesting post by another children’s author about how in order to write good children’s stories, one must know children. Of course, as always, there are exceptions to the rule, but in general, I find this observation to be true. This doesn’t necessarily mean that one must have children in order to write great children’s stories, but it does mean that one must interact with them, know their fears, fantasies, dreams. In sum, one must have a clear idea of what goes on inside their little heads and hearts.



In my case, having children brought out a tender, gentler part of me to the surface, a part I didn’t know I had. Suddenly, as I read to my little daughter every night, picture books, with their beautiful and evocative illustrations, became very appealing to me. I don’t remember when the exact moment happened, the moment when I thought, ‘I want to write a children’s book.’ But I do know I went from extreme to extreme: from chilling horror to sweet picture books. Two very different worlds, but I’m able to switch from one to the other without much problem. On the contrary, each one serves as a refreshing break from the other. So I may work on a lovable children’s story in the morning, and dive into a disturbing werewolf scene in the afternoon. It’s fun, like having split personalities, without the crazy element (or at least, I hope so!).



So far, I’ve got four picture books out: The Magic Violin, Crash, Chocalín (Spanish edition) and Humberto the Bookworm Hamster. Two more are in the illustrating stages and will be published next year. I also have a middle-grade novel and about ten more picture book manuscripts doing the agent/publisher roundup.

The world of children’s book publishing is extremely competitive, to say the least. It takes hard work, dedication, perseverance and commitment to become a published author. I know the stakes, but once you step into that magical rainbow, there’s no turning back.



*****

Mayra Calvani is a multi-genre author, reviewer, dog lover, and animal advocate. She loves writing for children and adults. She’s a regular contributor to Blogcritics Magazine and Suite101 and the Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com. Visit Mayra at MayrasSecretBookcase.

You can pick up any one of Mayra's books:

I welcome all who stop in to leave comment for a chance to win one ebook copy of your choice (Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, Embraced by the Shadows, or Sunstruck).

Next stop for Mayra on this Latino Virtual Book Tour is @ Christina Rodriguez blog on Wednesday, September 16.

Be sure to stop in then to continue on this tour. Eso es...pa que lo disfruten!