Welcome Janet to Spotlight Interview! Tell me:
Q1.What makes you proud to be a writer from
The United States?
A1. It makes me proud to be a writer from the United States because my
parents were immigrants to this country who worked hard to provide a better
life for our family than they had while growing up in their countries. My
parents were strong advocates for education and eventually I became an
elementary school teacher. Since I am bilingual, my first teaching job was a
K-2 ESOLTeacher. In my role as a bilingual teacher, I encourage students to
read and write often so they too can develop a passion for reading and writing
bilingual and multicultural literature.
Q2. What or who inspired you to write The
Legend of the Colombian Mermaid?
A2. I was inspired to write this book by my
mother, Judith, who was from Colombia and a devoted Catholic. She shared the
legend of the mermaid with our family every Easter, and it quickly became my
favorite bedtime story. What I realized later in life is that, not only the
story entertaining, but it teaches a valuable lesson on family values,
traditions, and Colombian culture. One day, I was helping my daughter with a
book report on Colombia and we could not find any books on Colombia in the
Queens library in New York. This further inspired me to write the story in
order to preserve it and share it with the future generation of readers. I also
wanted to pass the legend down to my children and grandchildren so they could
learn more about their ancestry and Hispanic culture.
Q3. Do you come up with your title
before or after you write the manuscript?
A3. I always referred to the story as the
legend of the mermaid because that's how I remember my mother telling it. When
I became serious about writing the story I did some research and discovered the
story had never been published in the United States. The Legend of the
Colombian Mermaid is the title I felt was most appropriate because it's where
the legend originated. Folktales and
legends are fascinating to both adults and young children as they are
instinctively curious to learn why people or places are famous. My second children's book is titled, The
Legend of Roberto Cofresi – A Puerto Rican Hero, which is about a famous pirate
from Puerto Rico.
Q4. Why do you prefer to write Legends?
A4 As
an educator in the classroom, I found children could easily relate to stories
based on traditional folktales and legends because they are often familiar with
the stories. I also noticed using
stories children could associate with had soothing and calming effects on the
ESOL children because they welcomed the familiarity in a world where many
things are brand new for them. To this end, I found the children were more
engaged, made meaningful connections, and identified themselves with the
characters in the stories. It's also a way of integrating the Hispanic culture
into the curriculum for enrichment purposes.
Q5. What is your promotion strategy to
promote your children book?
A5.
I have used several strategies to promote my
books. My initial strategy was hiring a promotional company which reviewed and
featured my mermaid book on their website and blog. I also use social media to
self-promote the books in different groups on Facebook, Twitter, and my own
website. Since the mermaid book is seasonal, I try to increase promotions just
before Easter on social media. Recently, I created free learning activities to
go along with the books and they are available on my personal website
Janetballetta.com. Other strategies include translating the book into Spanish
so there are two versions of it and entering the books for awards such as the
International Latino Book Award the mermaid book won last year. Another
strategy is offering accessories for the books such bracelets and dolls to
accompany the books for the holidays. Finally, I attend several annual book
exposition events such as the local library Book Fair, Family Reading Festival,
and the Catholic Council of Women Conference.
Thank you for taking he time to answer these
questions for LuzDelMes Spotlight Interview.
Janet Balletta's Books:
Legends to teach obedience, generosity and love.
