I am not one of those writers who knew as a child she wanted to write. I was going to be a ballerina, but I gave that up because imitating Alicia Alonso, the prima ballerina and founder of the National Ballet of Cuba, I fell and broke my arm, too dangerous a profession my four-year-old self believed.

When my family came to the United States from Cuba, I thought about being an interpreter at the United Nations because I spoke Spanish, English, and was studying French. But that entailed leaving sunny California and moving to New York. Snow is only for skiing. Then I decided to become a teacher, a profession I truly love.

It wasn’t until my daughter was born I decided to become a children’s book writer. At the time, I couldn’t find bilingual books that were written well so I decided to write my own just for her. I took a class at a local college in writing and illustrating books. I loved the class and was determined to write children’s books. I joined SCBWI and a critique group. I published some pieces in children’s magazines and a couple of books. Then I stopped writing, my job as a teacher became very demanding and life got in the way. Three years ago, I started writing full time.

When I am not writing, I’m reading or taking long walks throughout different neighborhoods. I stop to admire whatever catches my fancy, a beautiful flower, a spider web, a house being built. Sometimes I cook Cuban food, after all my idea of comfort food is black beans and rice, with fried plantains on the side.