I grew up in a small, Southern town (we didn’t have a McDonald’s until I was about 10) and I did a lot of reading up in my treehouse during those years. Not that it was that much of a “treehouse” because it was just a big piece of wood up in a dogwood tree, but my friends and I had a great time sitting up there and spying on the neighbors. Then when I was in high school I moved to the big city — Miami. Miami was very different than my hometown, but I learned to love it just as much and now, that’s the city I call home.
- What kind of student were you?
I was always a very good student and education was extremely important in my family. In fact, if I brought home an A, my father would sometimes ask me why not an A+!
- What were your favorite things to do when you were young?
When I was young I loved to read, swim, ride my bike (I would do this for hours with my friends), and roller skate.
- What books were favorites as a child?
I loved to read Nancy Drew mysteries, Archie comic books, and one of my favorite books (which they made me read in school) was A WRINKLE IN TIME.
- What advice do you have for aspiring young readers and writers?
Read as much as you can and read all types of books. You never know what will become a new favorite and every book can teach you something.
- Where do you get your ideas?
My ideas can come from anywhere. Sometimes, like with THE RED UMBRELLA, it’s a story that I’ve grown up hearing. Other times, it comes from something I heard about or found on the internet. It can even start with a painting, which is how the book I’m working on, A THUNDEROUS WHISPER (due out in 2011/2012), came to be. A THUNDEROUS WHISPER is about two kids caught in Hitler’s bombing of the Basque city of Guernica, and it all started because I wanted to know more about Pablo Picasso’s painting called Guernica.
- Do you write everyday? If so, for how long?
No, I try to write three to four days a week, but it gets hard between juggling my life as a full-time mom and part-time attorney.
- Have you ever thrown a manuscript away?
I don’t throw away any manuscripts but they certainly get “put away”. Sometimes a character or scene from a manuscript I’ve buried in my desk pops up in something new— it’s like getting a visit from an old friend.
- Favorite or least favorite vegetable?
Favorite veggie has to be potatoes (hello—French fries, potato chips, hash browns, mashed, baked, au gratin I can go on and on.)
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Read “A Peek at Christina Gonzalez’ Office” HERE.