Raynelda Calderon grew up in the Dominican Republic, on a healthy diet of romance novels, comic strips, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s books, and the strict watch of her mother. She has a doctorate in leadership in higher education and works as a public librarian.
As a librarian, working with children inspires her to write about the accomplishments of Hispanics in history. She hopes to inspire young readers to follow their passions.
Raynelda lives in New York with an untamed Shih Tzu, Toby, and a much attached Chihuahua, Maya. She spends her free time thinking (and drafting) about books to write, or painting, crocheting, or crying over abused dogs.
Her latest book is Little Giants: 10 Hispanic Women Who Made History.
You can visit her website at rayneldacalderon.com. Connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.
Can you tell us what your book is about?
“Little Giants: 10 Hispanic Women Who Made History” is a short collection of biographies about Hispanic women and the impact they made in the world. Some of the women featured in this book are iconic figures such as ballet dancer Alicia Alonso; others are less known heroines such as indigenous leader Dolores Cacuango,
founder of the first bilingual school in Ecuador. The book comes with a section of activities that educators, parents and librarians can utilize.
Why did you write your book?
Since I am a librarian and work with children, I was looking for a book about the lives of notable Hispanic women for Women History Month but found none! In finding nothing of the sort, I decided to take on the project of writing one herself. As Hispanic, I think it is important that our children learn about the contributions of our own people through history.
Is it hard to publish a nonfiction book?
I think it is hard to publish any kind of book. The publishing process of fiction and nonfiction is still the same (ISBN, LOC number, etc.). In terms of writing, nonfiction is a lot easier for me! I wrote my first “semi nonfiction autobiography” as I call it, “¿Por quĆ© estoy gorda?” back in 2010. I guess the genre stuck with me.
Have you suffered from writer’s block and what do you do to get back on track?
I have that everyday. It’s like, I get inspired to write at three in the morning, but I am also VERY sleepy… so by the next day my inspiration is gone. Usually I just distract myself with other things (painting, crocheting…) to give my mind a rest. I also take notes of anything that comes to mind to develop it further later on. Other times I just force myself to write and while I’m at it, that block goes away.
What would you do with an extra hour today if you could do anything you wanted?
Ha ha ha! Sleep! (As if I don’t sleep enough
already!)
