Exclusive Excerpt from Lilliam Rivera's 'Tiny Threads'

Fashion-obsessed Samara finally has the life she’s always dreamed of: A high-powered job with legendary designer Antonio Mota. A new home in sunny California, far away from those drab Jersey winters. And an intriguing love interest, Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota’s fashion line. But it’s not long before Samara’s dream life begins to turn into a living nightmare as Mota’s big fashion show approaches and the pressure on her turns crushing. Perhaps that’s why she begins hearing voices in her room at night—and seeing strange things that can’t be explained away by stress or anxiety or the number of drinks she’s been consuming...

Samara loves to work in the archives. The room has become her second office, a place she can take a temporary breather from work drama. No Antonio screaming her name with urgency, every small thing a catastrophe to be fixed by her.

Alone, she can write and be inspired by the clothes themselves.

And play.

She pulls out a beaded sleeveless garment with a fringed skirt. The gown is meant to depict the horrors of war, to make the wearer appear to be bleeding. She undresses, locates the zipper, and climbs in. As Samara adjusts the skirt, something pokes her. A needle perhaps, or a clothing tag documenting its placement in Antonio’s timeline. She tugs at the fabric and tries to find the culprit.

“Ouch.”

Samara quickly takes the dress off to find a long scratch on her right hip. A bubble of blood emerges. Samara presses down on the injury with her thumb. In her underwear, she flips the garment inside out, looking for any loose pins. Goose bumps cover her bare legs. Samara walks under the ceiling’s light fixture to take a closer look.

There it is. A lone pin sticks out, but there’s something else. Inside the gown Samara finds a black thread sewn along a seam. A word is stitched with a letter P prominent. She starts to decipher the other letters, trying to guess what word they form.

“Piedad,” she says loudly. The letters are uneven and child-like, stitched by someone with little skill. The thread on the stitches is definitely not the same one used on the rest of the gown. She repeats the name again. “Piedad.”

Antonio has never mentioned a Piedad when he talks about his family history. It’s only ever been about Ramona and the fierce warrior figure she was. Samara pulls another dress from the same period. It takes her a while but finally, she locates the name again. Piedad. She pulls out another blouse and there it is, the name hidden under a pocket. And in a pair of slacks. And a skirt. Antonio is going to have a fit when he finds out how his archives are being ruined. Who did this?

“Someone’s getting fucked,” she says.

As she puts her clothes back on, she remembers how she was the last person to visit the archives last night. She’d examined some of the same pieces and found nothing wrong with the clothes then. Thinking it through, the only workers who would have had the opportunity to slip into the archive and do this without being seen would be the seamstresses.

Samara opens the red door and stares out to the women hunched over their sewing machines. Half of them are working on fulfilling current orders. Others concentrate on samples Antonio wants made for the February show. There’s no way Samara will take the blame for destroying the archives. No, this will not land in her lap, but she must proceed delicately. She can’t just start accusing her co-workers.

Samara leaves the Library and returns to her office to think through her options. While answering emails, she considers what course of action to take. Should she go straight to Antonio or confront the seamstresses first? Samara takes her chances on the latter.

Excerpt from Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera, copyright © 2024. Used by permission of Del Rey, an imprint of Random House Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Photo credit: JJ Geiger

Lilliam Rivera is a MacDowell fellow, a screenwriter, and an award-winning author of nine works of fiction: a forthcoming horror book, four young adult novels, three middle grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpré Honor, been featured on NPR, New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, and multiple “best of” lists. Her novel Never Look Back is slated for an Amazon movie adaptation.

Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Elle, to name a few. Lilliam has also written for the episodic podcast series Love in Gravity, which was recently nominated for a GLAAD.

Her short fiction and personal essays have appeared in various literary journals and publications including Tin House, New York Times, Buzzfeed Books, and The Washington Post. She has been a featured speaker in countless schools and book festivals throughout the United States and is on faculty at Hamline University and University of Nevada, Reno.

A Bronx, New York native, Lilliam currently lives in Los Angeles.

Meet Brenda Miller, Writers Mentorship Program 2020 Mentee

Brenda S. Miller was one of our Writers Mentorship Program’s very first mentees! In 2020, she joined the class under the mentorship of Christina Diaz Gonzalez, focusing on a picture book project, TOO MANY TORTILLAS. She shared with us that the “mentorship with the amazing Christina Diaz Gonzalez came at a pivotal time in my life and in my writing career.” Since the WMP, Brenda has continued to work on this evolving project and is now represented by Michelle Hauck of Storm Literary Agency. Read on to learn more about TOO MANY TORTILLAS and her life as a writer!

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TOO MANY TORTILLAS: Marigold and her mother couldn’t be more different; Marigold likes pastels and quiet activities like reading and drawing and Mama likes bright colors and loud, loud, loud. And when Mama gets together with her extended family, she becomes a different person. That’s why Marigold dreads the upcoming Thanksgiving trip to visit the Figueroa clan for three whole days. Some many tías and tíos, not to mention primos, she can’t remember all their names or find a way to fit in. But when her school assignment is to interview three family members—and Mama won’t butt out—Marigold knows this will be the worst trip of her life.

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What inspires you to write?

I think we all have something to offer the world. For me, I’ve always felt a little different, like I could never find my place. I aim to write books that I hope will help kids know they’re not alone if they think differently or don’t fit neatly into society’s boxes.

Do you have a writing ritual?

I generally write out first drafts in a notebook. I’m definitely a pantser, and writing by hand (with one of my favorite special pens) keeps my ideas flowing better. When I’m working on edits, I like to have some tea or coffee to sip. I often have a live concert or Zelda soundscapes playing on another screen to keep my energy up.

How or when did you realize you wanted to write middle grade and picture books?

I’ve been drawn to children’s books since I was a kid, naturally. But it was when I began having children of my own that I revisited old favorites and discovered new favorites. I love picture books because they can tell stories in such innovative and engaging ways. But my sweet spot is middle grade—maybe because I’ll forever be an awkward 12-year-old! Fun fact: My first middle grade novel, the one I worked on during my Latinx in Publishing mentorship, actually started out as a picture book, but the story kept whispering in my ear that it had more to say.

What are your favorite genres to read? Do you have any literary heroes?

I read so many things—from writing craft books to poetry to literary to non-fiction to novels. I especially love contemporary, sci-fi, adventure, books where kids have to work together to solve something or fight The Big Bad. Literary heroes? Ursula K. Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Donna Barba Higuera (to name just a few), and my fellow #MGPies who are the best middle grade writing group around.

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Brenda S. Miller writes middle grade and picture books. She grew up in New Mexico, a state that still has a strong pull on her considering she set her first middle grade novel there. In Iowa, she studied English and philosophy and in California, she honed her skills as a professional writer. She has written two full-length books of poetry—ABC* and At the Intersection of Scripture and Normal—and has had poems published in Mid-America Poetry Review and Phoebe, among others.

She is a 2023 Las Musas Hermana with Madrina Kim Baker and a previous mentee in the Latinx in Publishing program with mentor Christina Diaz Gonzalez. She is an active member of the #MGPies writing group and SCBWI and volunteers for WriteGirl. She currently works as a writer at the University of Southern California. One of her favorite things to do is to find typos in the wild. She lives in Los Angeles with her spouse, three book-loving kids, an adventurous cat, a huge dog, and two frogs.

WMP Showcase Vanessa Micale

Vanessa Micale was our Writers Mentorship Program's 2023 Adult Non-Fiction Mentee.

The Latinx in Publishing Writers Mentorship Showcase series features excerpts by our Class of 2023 mentees from the projects they’ve developed with the guidance of their mentors.

The LxP Writers Mentorship Program is an annual volunteer-based initiative that offers the opportunity for unpublished and/or unagented writers who identify as Latinx (mentees) to strengthen their craft, gain first-hand industry knowledge, and expand their professional connections through work with experienced published authors (mentors).

Below is an excerpt from one of our 2023 mentees, Vanessa Micale:

Mateo swept up to Sol’s side. She caught her breath. The seal winked and dove out of sight. Mateo asked if Sol would like to sit on his shoulders. She nodded yes. He lifted her up. The wet seaweed slapped the back of his knees as they walked. The sky was fire red, bruise purple, pink.

Back at home, they ate spaghetti quietly. It was a dark night, with a sliver of moon, a spray of stars.

“How do you say seal in Spanish?”

“Foca or lobo marino.” Mateo scraped their plates into the trash, his back to his daughter as the suds cleansed the plate of oil, as the water, too hot, scalded his skin.

“Did you notice the foca’s eyes?” Sol stared into her father’s back.

At first, he heard “Did you notice the fucker’s eyes?” and so he smiled at her Spanglish before he reoriented to her question.

“They were abuela’s ojos.” Sol closed her eyes and felt the presence of her abuela. Mateo remembered his mother’s eyes, how brown they were, the color of mud and coffee.

He tucked Sol into bed. He stared into the blackness of his room for hours.

Their two weeks together passed too quickly. Each day was very much like the last. The sand, the waves, Sol. His skin toasted to warm almond under the sun. He covered Sol in sun block. She ran to the shore. Now she knew to stay close by or her father would become wild eyed and sad.

When he took her to the airport, he felt a giant ball in this throat. She cried and draped her thin little arms around his neck and said “I miss you too much Daddy. Can you come with me?”

“Not now, mi amor. I’ll come visit soon.” The flight attendant came and took Sol’s hand.

Sol wiped her tears with her sleeve and walked onto the plane and turned around three times. Airports would forever be a place to be brave in, to pretend you felt nothing, to go numb and just get on the plane. Airports were for going away or coming back and always meant leaving someone on the other end.

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Vanessa Micale is a multidisciplinary artist based in Portland, Oregon. She is a mixed Uruguayan American who creates across monikers and mediums as a poet, writer, singer-songwriter and performer. Their Pushcart nominated work appears in The Hopper, Roxane Gay’s The Audacity and more. Vanessa holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Randolph College as a Blackburn Fellow. She has received support from Latinx in Publishing, Anaphora Arts and VONA. Vanessa is a somatic practitioner, facilitator and founder of Poderosa Voz.

website: https://www.vanessamicale.com

IG: @elle_bosque

Author Q&A: 'The Beautiful Game' by Yamile Saied Méndez

Yamile Saied Méndez thrusts readers into action from the very start of her forthcoming middle grade novel, The Beautiful Game. Valeria “Magic” Salomón – star player of the Overlords – is playing in a State Cup game. 

And the 13-year-old is determined to win. So Valeria decides to sidestep a play her coach (and Argentine grandfather) planned and try things her way. “I stomped my foot, pulverizing Coach’s order under the spikes of my pink cleats.”

One of Valeria’s teammates whispers, “You got it, Magic.” 

She nods. The same teammate moves out of the way at the last minute for her to take the shot. And Valeria does. GOOOOALLLLL!!!!!!!

“I ran and ran and ran, fighting the impulse to take my jersey off and swing it in the air like the boys did,” she narrates. “The ref would card me if I showed my sports bra, even if it was mainly for decoration right now.”

Valeria is the only girl on her all-boys team, which isn’t really an issue until something happens to her later at the State Cup semifinal. She gets her first period, during that game. The following day, Valeria overhears her grandfather-coach and members of her team discussing moving forward without her. If she stays, the Overlords wouldn’t be able to play in a tournament. Girl players have their own tournament.

The news shakes Valeria to her core, and angers her. She soon finds herself without a team, and at increasing odds with her grandfather. Her home is also struggling with a recent death in the family. 

But with the support of her grandmother and best friend, Valeria rises up and decides to try to join a team she’s long ignored: an all-girls team known as The Amazons. Can Valeria find her place on her new team and learn to play like a girl?

For Méndez – author of the Pura Belpré Award-winning Furia – The Beautiful Game is a heartfelt novel that interweaves many themes of family, perseverance, and second chances.

Writers Mentorship Program mentee Amaris Castillo sat down with Méndez, her 2023 middle grade mentor, to discuss The Beautiful Game – out now from Algonquin Young Readers.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo (AC): Congratulations on The Beautiful Game. I know you’re a lifelong lover of fútbol. What inspired you to write this story?

Yamile Saied Méndez (YSM): It was a very long and winded way to The Beautiful Game. When I was starting to learn how to become a writer, I took an SCBWI intensive with a very famous editor who had edited some of my favorite books. For an in-class assignment I had the image of this girl who was swinging a baseball bat. But she wasn’t a baseball player. I knew that. She was swinging the bat, and she just had this attitude. I remember sharing that piece of writing during that class, and everybody liked it very much. Nothing came of it. 

But the following summer, I was already doing my master’s and I was in the first group that went to a residency in Bath, England. It was also a generative workshop, so I had been excited that I didn’t have to plan anything beforehand. But I knew we were going to have to be writing on the spot. And I remembered this girl with a bat. 

The teachers were Martine Leavitt and Tim Wynne-Jones, who were incredible and gave us guidelines for something on the spot. And I remembered this character, and I had Valeria swinging the bat at a birthday party, to bust the piñata. Her character was just fully formed. I remember during the week of the workshop, we had to expand that scene. And Martine and Tim were telling us we had to put our character in the worst situation we could imagine. And I knew Valeria was an athlete, and so what is the worst thing that could happen to her? And then one thought went to the other, and I’m like, Oh, if she’s playing in an all-boy team, the worst thing could be for her to get her period in the middle of the game. The story just unfolded from that. The Beautiful Game was my creative thesis for my master’s. So during the semester, I worked under Jane Kurtz, who was my advisor. She was so in love with the character that it made me excited every month to submit more pages to her. And that’s how I wrote the whole first draft that year.

AC: Your main character, Valeria “Magic” Salomón, is the star of the Overlords, the top boys’ team in Utah. There’s a reason she’s called Magic. You begin the book by placing her in a boys’ team, which can bring interesting dynamics. What made you want to do that?

YSM: I’m very involved in children’s sports. All my children have played – boys and girls. Up until the teenage years, it’s not uncommon to see co-ed teams. As children get older, you see fewer and fewer girls. My son is 12 and, in his very last game last year, there was a girl on the rival team. So up until that age, you will still see a girl or two. It never is a problem until the teenage years when, if there is not a girls team available, they have to quit. That’s what happens in a lot of small schools or small towns that don’t have girls sports available. If they’re lucky, they can switch to an all-girl team. But then there are other complications, where some of the other girl teams have been playing together for a few years already, and then the newcomer has to make her place and earn her spot. That’s what happens to Valeria. So my inspiration was real life, and things that I see two or three times a week on the soccer pitch.

AC: Valeria’s abuelo is her coach. He’s raising Magic with his wife – Valeria’s abuela, Lita. Abuelo is super rough around the edges. The relationship between Magic and her grandfather can be difficult at times. What was it like depicting this kind of relationship on the page?

YSM: It was fun [Laughs]. I loved it. They are the same person. They’re both stubborn and opinionated, but they love each other so much. It’s just that they show love in different ways. 

The grandpa is an old-style coach. Many readers, or older readers, will recognize this character because that tough love from coaches wasn’t uncommon. Even during the Olympics, there was this huge talk about how the gymnastics program in the U.S. used to be super strict. Yes, they won a lot of medals, but to the detriment of the mental health of the girls. Now that the style of coaching has changed, we still have beautiful results with the cherry on top of having Olympic gold medalists who have good mental health. 

I wanted to show how her grandpa was one of the remnants of that old style of coaching, and how other generations would have taken it. But not Valeria, who is Gen Alpha. She’s not going to put up with her grandpa’s behavior, so she’s going to talk back. I saw some criticism about that, and I’m happy that it created some conversation on how young people are not going to put up with the treatment that older generations put up with.

AC: During the State Cup semifinal, Valeria gets her period for the first time. It is a big moment, literally on the field. This is not the first time you’ve written about periods. Can you talk about what it was like to set up this pivotal scene in the book? Because Valeria’s period also sets off a sequence of events.

YSM: There are some clues of what’s going to happen beforehand, and I’m hoping my readers – who will hopefully be a little more savvy – will catch the clues that everybody can get except for Valeria. Because she is in denial that she’s going to get her period. Some people in earlier reviews were like, Oh, it was a little dramatic. How could she not know? But this was very intentional. I wanted to show that Valeria was just not paying attention to her body, not paying attention to the clues. Of course the period caught her by surprise, but because she hadn’t been in touch with herself and aware of what was happening… 

I also wanted to put a little bit of emphasis on how the first period experience doesn’t have to be dramatic, or traumatic. The experience is way better when there is information, when children know what a period is all about. Because when we have knowledge, we have the power. Even if we cannot stop it, we can control the situation… I wanted to show how having knowledge is a way for young people to have power over their experience. It doesn’t have to be horrible. It doesn’t have to be super terrible.

AC: In your book there’s also a theme about a kind of estrangement between a daughter and her father. Valeria’s dad is a bit absent from her life. As a reader, it was heartbreaking to read from Valeria’s perspective. What message were you hoping to send by including this in The Beautiful Game?

YSM: I wanted to show how different families can be, because Valeria is being raised by her grandparents. Her biological dad was a teenage dad and he is part of her life, but he’s still learning how to be a dad. But he lives out of state, so it’s complicated. And although Valeria has this very sometimes even toxic relationship with her grandpa, he is the present father in her life. 

I wanted to show that families are complicated, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t love. And as long as there’s love and there’s a desire by all parties to form a relationship, that’s a good start. It doesn’t mean that all has to happen at once.

“The experience is way better when there is information, when children know what a period is all about. Because when we have knowledge, we have the power. Even if we cannot stop it, we can control the situation… I wanted to show how having knowledge is a way for young people to have power over their experience.”

AC: I want to talk about Valeria joining a girls’ team. Her love of the game thrusts her into this completely new environment, where she’s one of many girls – and not the only girl. What were you intentional about in piecing together Valeria’s experience on a girls’ team? Were there aspects of being on a girls’ team that you wanted to show?

YSM: I wanted to show that camaraderie and that funniness and all the emotions that exist in a girls team. Boys are emotional. I have seen this in my own kids’ teams. But they hold their emotions together, like their tears. Girls laugh and cry when they miss a goal, and they cry when they score, and they’re happy. It’s so beautiful to see them show the full spectrum of emotions, and I wanted to show that. I wanted to give Valeria the space to be able to show her emotions. 

In the boy’s team, she’s the best player. And it’s not because she is the girl, or in detriment of being a girl; she’s just the most talented player in that team. When she goes to the girls team, she sees and admires the other girls who play as well. I wanted her to be a little bit insecure, not because of her gender, again, but because of her skills. I wanted her to learn how to play in a team – not to be the individual star. To learn that soccer is a team sport, after all. And so I wanted to show that sometimes girls are pitted against each other. They compete for everything in the world. I feel like society also pits girls and women against each other, and I wanted my character to learn that she’s stronger not when she’s competing with her peers, but when she is collaborating with them. When she is part of the team. So I hope that shows.

AC: It does. What are you hoping readers take away from The Beautiful Game?

YSM: I hope that they have space to talk about uncomfortable topics, like getting your period, growing up, and the other things that come along with growing up. It’s all (about) the social drama. It’s how we change as human beings. 

I hope that, when they close the book, they have the feeling that playing a sport is fun. That’s the main reason human beings play sports: because it’s fun. That’s why I watch them, because I have fun. They give people the opportunity to stretch themselves and achieve things that seem impossible. I think that’s something that we saw at the Olympics, how the world loves to come together to cheer for people who are achieving their dreams. 

And I also hope that they are inspired. Again, it sounds like a cliche and maybe a little cheesy, but I hope that when they close the book, they’re inspired to go and fight for their own dreams… At the end of the day, The Beautiful Game is life itself, more than the sport. And I hope that they’re just excited to live their lives.

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Yamile Saied Méndez is the author of many books for young readers and adults, including Furia, a Reese’s YA Book Club selection and the 2021 Inaugural Pura Belpré Young Adult Gold Medalist, Where Are You From?, Shaking Up the House, and the Horse Country series, among others. She was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, but has lived most of her life in a lovely valley surrounded by mountains in Utah. She’s a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults program, and a founding member of Las Musas, a marketing collective of Latine writers. Connect with her at yamilesmendez.com or on Instagram @yamilesmendez.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.

Author Q&A: ‘In the Groves’ by Andrea Cruz Floren

Orange groves have long been a part of Clara’s family ever since her Abuelo came to this country. Her relatives in California are full of stories about it. During her yearly summer stay there with her parents, Clara hears tales of magic, mischief, and monstruos among the groves.

But Abuelo says the groves are no place for their visitor. Clara wouldn’t know, because she’s never been there. And she doesn’t want to be considered a visitor. “A visitor is a tourist, a stranger,” she thinks to herself. “I’m familia!”

So one day while everyone packs for a trip to the beach, Clara decides to sneak into Abuelo’s pickup truck. Soon she’s finally where she’s always wanted to be: the groves. What she finds before her is a magical citrus kingdom.

In the Groves centers on the adventure that awaits for Clara and her grandfather. Out now from Penguin Workshop, this tenderhearted debut picture book by Andrea Cruz Floren is largely inspired by the author’s own family history. Cruz Floren grew up in South Dakota, far from her family in California. Her grandfather tended to orange groves.

“I just remember the groves being this place that everybody in the family would talk about,” she told Latinx in Publishing. “It had this air of mystery around it. Tall tales of these big things that happened there. And as a little girl, it sounded like this fantastic place to be.”

Cruz Floren spoke with Latinx in Publishing about her family history, what it was like to write In the Groves, and more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo: Congratulations on your debut book, In the Groves. I understand your story was inspired by your own family’s history with orange groves. Can you tell us more about that?

Andrea Cruz Floren (ACF): My mother’s side of the family is originally from Mexico. My great-grandparents came over in the 20s. My grandmother actually was migratory; she went back and forth for a while until she finally stayed in California. And it was her father – my great-grandfather – who started working in the orange groves way back in the 20s. Later on when her and my grandfather got together, my grandfather learned the trade and then he started working in the orange groves. Over the decades, many of my family members either worked in the groves, worked in the packing houses, and worked as pickers. Because at that time in California, the groves were a booming industry. That’s what a lot of migrant and immigrant workers could do in California for work. 

My grandfather continued (working) all the way up until the late 80s, early 90s. So he was still doing it when I was a little girl. I just remember the groves being this place that everybody in the family would talk about. It had this air of mystery around it. Tall tales of these big things that happened there. And as a little girl, it sounded like this fantastic place to be. We grew up in the Midwest so, as a visitor, they would want to show us what they thought were the really interesting things in California. That was like the beach or, if we saved up money, Disneyland. And I always just really wanted to see these orange groves, and I never got to. I lost my grandfather several years back, and he and the groves have always stuck with me. He was such a vibrant, joyful person. His outlook on life was a big impression on me, and I just felt like it was a story that needed to be told.

AC: Your main character, Clara, visits her extended family in California. Everyone lives there but her, and when she is with them, her abuelo always wants to take him to all the places he thinks she wants to see. It made me think about how children find joy in places adults may not think. And this is definitely a theme that runs through the whole story. What was it like to try to depict this on the page?

ACF: For me it was really emotional, because I never did get to see them. I actually interviewed a lot of family members that had been to the groves and it was so interesting because, in their child’s mind, it was this place. There’s my grandfather doing manual labor, and then he would stop and make the kids a sword out of a stick, or make them some other little fun things. And they would be running around, capturing snakes, dodging cougars – doing pretty dangerous things. [Laughs] But in their minds, it was always like the best day ever. It was really emotional that I didn’t get that experience. 

When I was a little girl, we were the only family that lived out in the Midwest. Everybody else was in California. Because of that, it was really emotional to be able to combine all these family stories and think about what my child’s mind would have seen, had I been able to go to the groves. I wish I could have told my grandfather what an important and special place that actually is to our family.

“ I just remember the groves being this place that everybody in the family would talk about. It had this air of mystery around it. Tall tales of these big things that happened there. And as a little girl, it sounded like this fantastic place to be.”

AC: When Clara sneaks into her abuelo’s truck and ends up in the orange groves with him, her first impression is that it’s a “magical citrus kingdom.” The orange groves obviously carry its own meaning and weight in the story and for her family. As you wrote this book, what meaning did the orange groves carry for you? And did that meaning change?

ACF: I think maybe it didn’t necessarily change, but it became deeper. For me, it’s a layered meaning. On the one hand, for a child, these places that – like you said – adults think are workaday or boring, are really imaginative places in the child’s mind. And I just wanted to honor that. 

And as I wrote the book, it just became so clear to me what a privilege it was to share this story in the world. It’s something that my grandfather did every day because he had to, because it’s what put food on the table, it’s what gave opportunities. It wasn’t easy work and now, all these years later, here I am with a college degree – getting to write a picture book about it. And there’s something really bittersweet about that.

AC: This is your debut picture book, but you have experience in commercial and editorial illustration work. How did you decide how to approach the illustrations for your book?

ACF: A lot of people in my family are self-taught, kind of scrappy people. I am actually pretty self-taught. I worked in design and advertising for over 20 years, but I don’t have a Master of Fine Art. A lot of that is things I’ve picked up along the way. And when I knew I wanted to transition towards children’s books, I was really nervous about putting myself out there on the page. 

I would love to explore more traditional media in the future, but because of my background, I’m very comfortable with digital media. So I did a combination, where I did a lot of exploration on the side: I did a lot of painting and sketching and colored pencil work – just painting textures and shapes. Then I got experimental and combined it with digital media and tried to make it a blend of the two worlds, which I realized is pretty fitting to who I am. I’m a blend of so many things, and it’s fitting that my art kind of matches myself. I’ve always felt like I’ve been in between cultures, in between worlds, in between writing and drawing.

AC: What are you hoping readers take away from In the Groves?

ACF: It’s one of those stories I talked about with my editor. It works on multiple levels, and I really hope readers are able to grasp a little bit of each of those levels. I think on the surface, it’s definitely some magical realism and an adventure. Is it true? Is it not? What happened? What didn’t? There’s that kind of fun and adventure side of it.

And then running underneath it is definitely a story about belonging. For kids who are either not from this country, or maybe of a mixed background, or maybe they live far from where their cultural roots are – I think there’s a story in there about you do have a place in your lineage. And you do belong. 

There’s another line running through there about honoring your family stories, and honoring the idea of oral storytelling. That is an important historical tool for many cultures. I wanted to honor that, and honor the hard work of my family and so many other marginalized communities that do this kind of work and don’t get to have that be seen on the page as an honorable and beautiful job.

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Andrea Floren grew up in South Dakota, far from her California family. Her grandfather, who tended the orange groves, had a gift for storytelling. He encouraged Andrea to keep writing; she hopes to honor his memory with this debut book. Andrea currently lives in Colorado with her family. Visit her at quietlyfiery.com.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.

Most Anticipated September 2024 Releases

Summer is almost coming to a close and it’s about that time to start thinking of Fall activities. We are looking forward to heading to our local bookstores and libraries to add these highly anticipated titles to our reading lists!

The Chainbreakers by Julian Randall | On Sale September 3

All Violet Moon has ever wanted is to be a Reaper captain like her father. Born on the Tides of the Lost, a magical world beneath the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, Violet has spent her life at her father's side rescuing souls lost in the water.

But when a rescue mission turns to disaster after the arrival of the dreaded Children of the Shark, weaponized ghost-sharks who steal the souls for themselves, her father is seized and pulled down into the darkness of the Depths. With no choice for Violet but to inherit the captain's powers and helm the ship as the next in line, it'll be up to her to save her father--if he even still lives--and stop the Children of the Shark before they devour the world.

Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez | Illustrated by Josie del Castillo | On Sale September 10

Born into a large, close-knit family in Nicaragua, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez grew up surrounded by strong, kind, funny, sensitive, resilient, judgmental, messy, beautiful women. Whether blood relatives or chosen family, these tías and primas fundamentally shaped her view of the world--and so did the labels that were used to talk about them. The tía loca who is shunned for defying gender roles. The pretty prima put on a pedestal for her European features. The matriarch who is the core of her community but hides all her pain.

In Tías and Primas, the follow-up to her acclaimed debut For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, Mojica Rodríguez explores these archetypes. Fearlessly grappling with the effects of intergenerational trauma, centuries of colonization, and sexism, she attempts to heal the pain that is so often embodied in female family lines.

First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe | On Sale September 10

In this deeply moving and lyrical memoir, Hoppe shares an intimate, courageous account of what it means to truly interrupt cycles of harm. During the first year of quarantine, drug overdoses spiked, the highest ever recorded. And Hoppe's cousin was one of them. "I never learned the true history of substance use disorder in my family," Hoppe writes. "People just disappeared." At the time of her cousin's death, she'd been in recovery for nearly four years, but she hadn't told anyone.

In First in the Family, Hoppe shares her journey, the first in her family to do so, and takes the reader on a remarkable investigation of her family's history, the American Dream, and the erasure of BIPOC from recovery institutions and narratives, leaving the reader with an urgent message of hope.

A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories by Mariana Enriquez | Translated by Megan McDowell | On Sale September 17

On the shores of this river, all the birds that fly, drink, perch on branches, and disturb siestas with the demonic squawking of the possessed--all those birds were once women.

Welcome to Argentina and the fascinating, frightening, fantastical imagination of Mariana Enriquez. In twelve spellbinding new stories, Enriquez writes about ordinary people, especially women, whose lives turn inside out when they encounter terror, the surreal, and the supernatural. A neighborhood nuisanced by ghosts, a family whose faces melt away, a faded hotel haunted by a girl who dissolved in the water tank on the roof, a riverbank populated by birds that used to be women--these and other tales illuminate the shadows of contemporary life, where the line between good and evil no longer exists.

Book Review: 'The Curse of the Flores Women' by Angélica Lopes

In the pages of The Curse of The Flores Women by Angelica Lopes, the reader becomes drawn into a tale as old as time. A tale of women fighting to break the limitations of society. Steeped in tradition of their homeland and the pressure of being a woman in a man’s world, we are captivated by the beauty of the story of the Flores women. As the story opens we meet Alicia, who may seem to most as an angst-filled young woman. It is soon revealed that there is something she must fight to overcome. Tradition, self sacrifice, classism, and even the binds of her own female family members’ subordination to men. All of this binds her to a life she does not wish to live. All of the restrictions seem an insurmountable task for Alicia to undertake. Her story would be interesting all on its own, however Lopes crafts it into one that seems to transcend time and space to give us the story of generations of Flores women. One woman starts the story off and it falls into the hands of our current character Alicia, who unbeknownst to her, she now holds in her hands what may seem like an ordinary veil, it is in fact so much more than that. In her hands she now holds the key to what her ancestry withstood so she could become who she is meant to be. 

What starts as the tale of one young woman’s fight to be a nonconformist to society and its patriarchal stances, every facet of this young woman’s life turns into one of discovery, of what the women of her ancestral lineage have coursing through their veins. Courage, strength, and perseverance, which are only some of the wondrous qualities of these women, and that help to fuel their lives. Starting as a way to secretly share her story with others through the folds of some unassuming hand-sewn lace, a generational tale unravels before our eyes. The reader can empathize with these characters as it seems as if many females of today's society are still fighting for basic human rights. Today we are fighting for bodily autonomy and the right to privacy between ourselves and our doctors without fear of breaking a law or facing criminal offense charges. Gone are many traditions of old, and rightfully so because they would not be acceptable in today's society, yet some still rear their ugly and old-fashioned tentacles, making it seem as if we have made little to no progress for the feminist cause.

The Curse of the Flores Women takes the reader through some heart-wrenching moments, but there are still some other joyous times to share as well. The novel will allow you to see some of the trials and tribulations that have plagued women since the beginning of time. This book, even though it is a work of fiction, seems very much able to capture what life as a woman is like, from the past to the present day. The challenges from one era to another may be different, however the struggle is very much the same. Like learning the act of lace-making, its fragile threading, to its intricate and detailed designs, so are the lives of these characters. Women, not just Flores women, faced and continue to face societal pressures, as well as familial boundaries that try to limit the growth of womankind. It is with a whole heart and resounding “yes” that I recommend this book. I feel that as you read the last sentence of the last chapter you will be glad to have read this wonderful work of words. Regardless of your gender, you will walk a way with a better understanding of just what has plagued women and how to be an ally to women. Happy reading.

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Angela “Angie” Ybarra- Soria is a book reviewer, activist, mixed media artist, writer and entrepreneur. An obstacle that may have stood in her way happened in 2013, she suffered 4 brain bleeds and emergency brain surgery, Angela however likes to think of herself as a TBI THRIVER. Angie is a recent graduate of Northeastern Illinois University where she studied Latinx American Studies and Urban Development. Angela has been an advocate for stopping gentrification within brown and Black communities of Chicago. Angela enjoys spending her down time with her grandchildren and introducing them to the sights of the city where she was born and raised. Being of Mexican descent has prompted her to research much about the rich culture of her ancestral heritage. Angela plans to continue her education by pursuing her Masters Degree in Urban Studies to further allow her to better assist communities that have for generations been, or worse, still marginalized.

September 2024 Latinx Releases

Latinx in Publishing is very excited to see so many books coming out this month. So much so, that we changed up our book release post for the month to show you all the exciting new titles. Be sure to click on these titles to learn more and add them to your TBR!

On Sale September 3

On Sale September 10

On Sale September 17

On Sale September 24

On Sale September 30

Book Review: ‘Castle of the Cursed’ by Romina Garber

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber is a young adult contemporary fantasy that surprised me on many levels. The story follows Estela, an 18-year-old girl who’s left in a state of depression and survivor’s guilt after the death of her parents in a New York subway incident. No one believes her when she argues that she saw a strange smoke right after everyone fell dead—everyone but her. When Estela receives a letter from who might be her latest relative alive, an aunt from the fictional town of Oscuro, Spain, she knows this is her chance to uncover the truth behind her parents’ death and unveil the secrets from their past.

Garber took great care of the mental health aspect this story. Throughout the book, Estela is haunted by the death of her parents, the only loved ones she ever knew. The incident broke her until she stopped speaking, and when she arrives at the mysterious La Sombra castle, she starts questioning her sanity when supernatural events chase her every night. In that respect, this is a book of grief and mental health, but ultimately, it’s also a journey of hope and love. 

The fantasy lore is where the book shines the most, and the more I read, the more intrigued I was. This title is dark and gothic and extremely atmospheric, which is sometimes hard to translate into a contemporary setting. However, the deeper you dive into the lore, the more you realize that this book is more than a castle and a sad vampire (which all the girls love, of course). Where most fantasy books dump a lot of information on the reader from the beginning, Castle of the Cursed drops breadcrumbs of lore that you will eagerly devour because like the castle, you’re always hungry for more. Weaved in with the murder mystery and the strange town of Oscuro, everything is executed cleanly. Although I had my theories, that were more or less accurate, Garber kept me guessing until the very end and the whole truth behind the castle was beyond my expectations.

“Romantic, unexpected, and deliciously unsettling, ‘Castle of the Curse’ is a page turner from start to finish. ”

One part that I found particularly interesting was the way Garber incorporated Spanish into the book. Estela was never taught Spanish by her parents, and when she arrives to Spain, she must affront that communication barrier. What’s interesting is that Garber did not translate the Spanish dialogue, and I love that. It puts the non-Spanish speaker reader in Estela’s shoes. Throughout the book, though, Estela starts learning Spanish, which is subtly paired with La Sombra’s past, and the reader embarks in a journey that starts with simple translations from Estela’s part and grows until she has a good grasp of the language.

The romance between Estela and Sebastián is another major plot in this book. At first dark and unnerving, their relationship grows sweet and caring. Theirs is the love story of two broken souls who find comfort in each other. Not a romance in the traditional sense, where you giggle and kick your legs when they kiss, but yes, also that. Despite their circumstances, Estela and Sebastián create a connection that goes beyond attraction. Readers of enemies-to-lovers might enjoy their dynamic, although it doesn’t completely adjust to the trope, instead evolving into a pleasant new direction. 

Romantic, unexpected, and deliciously unsettling, Castle of the Curse is a page turner from start to finish. The delicate mental health representation, the dark, eerie secrets behind La Sombra, the soft romance amidst all things vicious—it all blends into the perfect book for those looking for a stimulating read.

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Dianna Vega is a Dominican assistant editor, fiction writer, and poet based in Florida. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Central Florida. She is a 2024 Periplus Fellow. Her poetry has appeared in Outrageous Fortune and South Dakota Review.

The Story Behind ‘Doña Fela’s Dream’

Monica Brown believes there are many ways to structure a picture book biography. So in her forthcoming book about Felisa Rincón de Gautier, the author chose to begin at a pivotal moment in the life of Puerto Rico’s first female mayor.

“The people of La Perla were scared. The winds blew fiercely, and dark clouds swirled in the sky,” Brown writes. “A tropical storm headed toward the island of Puerto Rico.”

Depicted on the first spread are Rosa Ibarra’s illustrations of people fleeing wooden shacks, the ocean thrashing behind them. Brown wrote that there was only one place they could count on. Soon, a group of La Perla’s residents were at the door of Felisa Rincón de Gautier – who was affectionately known as Doña Fela.

Out on Sept. 3 from Little, Brown for Young Readers, Doña Fela’s Dream: The Story of Puerto Rico's First Female Mayor is the inspiring story of a woman who broke barriers on the island and cared deeply about her fellow Puerto Ricans. Doña Fela, known for her devotion to public welfare, died in 1994 at age 97.

Doña Fela’s Dream can be added to the list of picture book biographies Brown has written over the span of her publishing career. The award-winning author described the process behind this book as a collaborative journey. Brown began researching the late political figure after Nikki García (her longtime editor at Little, Brown & Company) shared her passion for Doña Fela’s legacy. “The more I delved into the life of a woman who broke political barriers and embodied compassion and care as the first female mayor of a capital city in the Americas, the more I agreed with Nikki,” Brown said in an email. 

After many conversations, Brown said she agreed to take on the project.

“I want children to believe and know they have a voice in our world,” she added. “As a person deeply concerned about our political systems, I’ve wanted to use my work to shine the light on models of ethical leaders, of activism, of organizing, and justice-oriented citizenship.”

For illustrator Rosa Ibarra, the invitation to join the project was a very pleasant surprise. She received the invitation by email and mistakenly took it for spam. “And then I called them, and it was a real, real thing – to illustrate the book,” Ibarra recalled.

The book’s subject held even greater meaning to the fine artist from Puerto Rico.

“I was so happy,” Ibarra told Latinx in Publishing. “Doña Fela was our neighbor in San Juan.”

As a child, Ibarra remembers seeing Doña Fela surrounded by children and people of all levels of wealth and education. She said the mayor was loved by residents of La Perla, by other politicians and by foreigners. 

Ibarra said Old San Juan used to be a very residential area, unlike the tourist area it’s now known as. She recalls playing outside with other children. Whenever they got thirsty, they’d pay a visit to Doña Fela’s house because it was even closer than their own homes. They’d ask her for water.

““I want children to believe and know they have a voice in our world,” she added. “As a person deeply concerned about our political systems, I’ve wanted to use my work to shine the light on models of ethical leaders, of activism, of organizing, and justice-oriented citizenship.””

“And then she would, so many times, invite us over to have lemonade,” Ibarra said. “And then we’d thank her, and continue playing. That was the kind of woman she was. She was a big woman, tall, and then she had her hair in these big hairstyles. And so for us little, we looked up at her. She was big. Imponente, you know?”

Brown said she and her editor looked at many talented artists, and Ibarra was her first and only choice. “Her art spoke to me because the women depicted in Rosa’s paintings radiate strength, complexity, and grace,” she said. “I was drawn to her lush use of color, her pure and accessible composition, and her use of light to make figures and faces sing.”

Brown added that her late mother was a painter. In an increasingly digitized world, Brown confessed that it is “still a thrill” to work with an artist whose medium is paint-brush, pigment, and canvas. 

Ibarra used oil paint on canvas to render the illustrations for the book. She drew the distinction between illustrator and artist. “It’s fantastic what an illustrator can do. All my respect to the profession,” she said. “Because as artists, we can make whatever we want and that’s it. But an illustrator has to be very specific, and capture the essence of the writer.”

The artist said some images came very clear when she read Brown’s text, such as the storm scene in the beginning of the story. Ibarra said she would submit a sketch to the publisher and they would approve it before she began painting.

In Doña Fela’s Dream, the tall woman with braids in her hair and a flower behind her ear let the residents of La Perla in her home amid the brewing tropical storm. When local officials refused to open a shelter, Doña Fela declared she would do it herself. Others encouraged her to try to become San Juan’s mayor. But at the time, the city had never seen a female mayor. Compounding this was the fact that Doña Fela had been born before women in Puerto Rico were allowed to vote.

“Felisa’s father believed that women had no place in politics and that it was up to the men to solve Puerto Rico’s problems,” Brown writes. “But even as a young girl, Felisa disagreed.”

The rest is, as they say, history.

Brown said she hopes young readers will open the pages of this book and “go on a journey across the island of Puerto Rico and into the mind and heart of a remarkable woman, who persisted despite the limitations of her era—and people saying no.” She hopes young readers believe in their own voice and power.

Ibarra said she hopes those who read Doña Fela’s Dream will become familiar with a Puerto Rican woman who was ahead of her time. “We have famous people out there that not everybody knows about. And so thanks to Monica that Doña Fela will be known,” she said. “Her [Doña Fela’s] commitment to the community is very inspiring.”

Ibarra added that they illustrated only a portion of the cherished politician’s contributions. Doña Fela, she said, did so much more.

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Monica Brown, Ph.D. is the author of many award winning books for children, including Waiting for the Biblioburro and Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald no combina. Her books have received starred reviews, Pura Belpre honors, an NCTE Orbis Pictus honor, Americas Awards, and a Christopher Award. Monica’s books are inspired by her Peruvian and Jewish heritage and her desire to bring diverse stories to children. Monica is a professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches multicultural literature. She lives in Arizona with her husband and two daughters, and she invites you to visit her website at monicabrown.net.

Rosa Ibarra is a fine artist who works in oils, interweaving thick layers of paint to convey the vibration of light and to build texture and design. Born in Puerto Rico, she spent her childhood in Old San Juan. She received a degree of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and exhibits her work in galleries and museums in the United States and abroad. She invites you to visit her online at rosaibarra.com. 

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.