Gabriela Arellano on Luz Del Mes Spotlight Interview by Maritza Martinez
Mejia
Welcome Gabriela to Spotlight Interview! Tell me:
Q1.What makes you proud to be a writer in The United States coming
from Argentina?
I believe that being a published author is a
good reason to feel proud, regardless if you publish in your native country or
abroad. Publishing a book is very hard work, as you know, whether you do it
through a publishing house or through an independent publishing platform.
I moved to the States when I was quite grown up, a 33-year-old woman.
So English is definitely my "second language". But my children’s book
“Kena The Good Hyena” was written in both English and Spanish. Living and publishing abroad raises the
question: "Who is my real target audience?" I wanted to write a
children’s book that would transcend cultural barriers and be a book that families
with young children could enjoy both in my home country of Argentina as well as
in my new home in the United States.
They say “necessity is the mother
of invention”, and what first inspired me was indeed born out of necessity.
Living in an English-speaking country, 90% of the literature available is
written in English, perhaps even more for children. I would spend hours in
bookstores trying to find quality books in Spanish for my 5-year-old, who we
raise in a bilingual environment. But there was not much out there, and what I
found wasn't particularly appropriate: it was either too basic -images of
common objects with labels in Spanish at the bottom- or it was too complex for
my daughter's Spanish level. There was nothing in the market that targeted the
in-between, an intermediate-level Spanish-English bilingual book targeted to
the 1rst-5th grade level. So, I decided to write a book for her
myself. I always wanted to be a writer, after all, and this was my perfect
chance!The subject of the first book in the Kena series is “friendship and competition”. I have to confess that the inspiration for this was a bit autobiographic. When I was in first grade, I'd stay inside the classroom during recess to get ahead of my classmates and make the prettiest, more astonishing drawings. I still remember the teacher trying to persuade me that friendship was just as important as my schoolwork.
Q3. Do you come up with
your title before or after you write the manuscript?
You know, writing in two
languages at the same time has its particular demands. You need to twist and
tweak as you go. If you change anything in the Spanish draft (and you want the
translation to stay loyal to the original), you have to go over the English
draft again and modify it. The title grew organically from this process so that
it would work in both languages with an equal effect (as everything else in the
book).
Q4. What is your
favorite writing style?
What I appreciate most of all in
writing style is simplicity. I author several blogs (both in English and
Spanish) with topics ranging from Marketing and Technology to Politics and
Travel. Usually what drives me to pick up a pen and write is when I come across
a complex subject I think I can simplify for my readers.
Q5. What is your promotion
strategy to promote your children book?
Good question. I wish I could
give you a great answer, but this is my first book and I don’t have a formula
yet! I think Social Media is going to play the biggest part: “Kena the Good
Hyena” has a Facebook page that’s already garnered 1200+ likes. I’ve joined
more than 80 Facebook Reading Clubs and I am doing some promotion in them. Of
course, I am also using Twitter and even Google+. Now I'm reaching out to
influential bloggers like yourself. You’ll see me attending book fairs with my
pile of books and little stand. It
certainly is a lot of effort!
Q6. Para los padres hispanos que consejo les podrías dar para mantener el
español en casa y promover la literatura bilingüe.
Es muy difícil, los niños escuchan televisión, juegan con la computadora,
están con sus maestras 7 horas al día, y todo eso en inglés. Mi hija sabe mucho
más castellano de lo que ella misma cree. Pienso que, como padres hispanos, es
fundamental que trabajemos en el orgullo cultural. Creo que nuestros niños en
muchas ocasiones de-li-ve-ra-da-men-te evitan el Español por ser un lenguaje minoritario,
no siempre asociado al éxito, no siempre vinculado a la excelencia. Hagamos del
español un lenguaje hermoso, rico e intelectualmente contundente, y los niños
van a esforzarse por dominarlo.
Gracias por tu tiempo,
¡Gracias a vos!
Thank you for your time to answer this
question for LuzDelMes Spotlight Interview.
To visit Gabriela Arellano:
Ser el Mejor - Being the Best
Spanish; https://youtu.be/PvuAlMU9TaY
English: https://youtu.be/rEgBVrFjGnM
Book Trailer: Animated
version of the first title of the series of books KENA THE GOOD HYENA/ KENA LA
HIENA BUENA. Illustrated series of bilingual books English/Spanish for children
5-10 years old.
Thank you for your visits!
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