Q & A with Sandra Lopez

A big Books on the House welcome to author Sandra Lopez!  She’s stopped by to answer a few questions and give away copies of her new release, Beyond the Garden.

ENTER TO WIN a copy of Sandra’s book, Beyond the Gardens.

Learn more about Sandra at her web site.

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BotH:

Sandra, welcome to Books on the House!  When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Sandra:

For me, being a writer was not part of the plan. I’ve always had a deep admiration for writers since I was two, and I always thought you had to have been born with a natural talent for it. I never thought that I could be a writer. It was just impossible and unthinkable. So I kept on reading instead. I didn’t discover the works of Latino writing until I read Sandra Cisnero’s The House on Mango Street (one of my favorite books, BTW) in college. Then I went to on to the works of Luis Rodriguez and Gary Soto and many others. It was at that time that I realized I was only reading about Latinos that were either assimilating to American life as an illegal immigrant or trying to survive in a Los Angeles gang. What about the young Latina that just wants to go to school? That’s how I came to writing Esperanza. Of course, my intention was not to get it published. I was just going to leave it on the shelf and let it collect dust forever. But I thought: Why not? Send out some letters and see what happens. After about 30 rejection letters, I was about to give up on the whole thing; then I got a call from the editor at Floricanto Press. “Send us your manuscript,” they said. So I did. Then four months later, I was offered a contract. Two and half years later, Esperanza: A Latina Story was a published paperback. And all this happended WHILE I was still in college.

BotH:

Your novel, Beyond the Gardens, continues the story of Esperanza from your first
novel.  How do you describe Esperanza?

Sandra:

Esperanza is a precocious and intelligent young kid, who is blind to her own potential. However, she is very ambitious in her studies. All she wants to do is go to school and learn everything she can. Her dream is to be an animator and “work for Bugs Bunny,” as she describes. But she figures that because she is a Latina coming from a poor Mexican barrio, her destiny lies in the fast-food industry. To her own surprise, she gets accepted to the Atkins Art Institute in Los Angeles. And that’s pretty much where Beyond the Gardens is all about. It’s about her adventures at that college. There, she meets new friends and learns many fascinating things about the different phases throughout art history. Many of her old friends from the first book re-appear in the sequel. One of which is her best friend, Carlos, who has suddenly decided to pursue her romantically. But then she also meets a good-looking mechanic, who also shows interest in her. What’s a girl to do? Beyond the Gardens is a tale of young lady in search of independance, a life, and a future.

BotH:

Will you continue Esperanza’s story with a third book?

Sandra:

I think her story is just about done. She pretty much has found what she was looking for and is living her life as we speak.

BotH:

Do your books have themes that are particularly powerful or important to you?

Sandra:

I write books with only one audience in mind: ME. I write my stories that have an interest to me, and those would be stories that have true-to-life characters made of flesh and bone and that take me on wild journey in their tale. I want to be able to touch, feel, taste, smell everything that is going on. Books should pull you in and captivate you ’til the end. And if a book makes me laugh, all the better.

BotH:

Who is the ideal reader for this book?  Is it YA or adult?  And what do you hope
readers will come away with after they’ve finished reading Beyond the Gardens?

Sandra:

It is a YA novel, and what’s so great about this book is that anybody can read it. I’ve had adults read this book and tell me that it just brought them back to their teen years and made them recall their own fears and ambitions at that young age. What I hope people get from reading my book is a fun, hearty read. I want them to laugh, cry, and be entertained by my work. And if they learn something along the way, then so be it.

BotH:

I love to discover interesting things about authors, so here goes.  If you could share a meal with a fictional character, who would you choose?

Sandra:

Jake. He and I can hang out and talk about books and music all day. Plus, he’s soooo hot (like Jensen Ackels hot.)

BotH:

It’s great to have you here, Sandra!  Best of luck to you.

Sandra:

Thanks! For more info, please check out my website at www.sandra-lopez.com