Diana López
Author of CONFETTI GIRL
Greenwood Library
School Visits
While in Corpus Christi, I also visited middle school students at Martin, Tom Browne, and Odem. Several classes had read my book, and I was delighted to see their sock, cascarones, and dicho projects (see my wacky sock gallery and teacher resource page for some pics). Visiting students in the Corpus area was a special treat. It warmed my heart to hear how many were inspired after meeting an author from their hometown. Here’s a special note I received from Cristina Veliz, a student at Odem: “I never knew someone from Texas, yet alone Corpus, could make something this great. You’re a great inspiration, knowing that you weren't from the biggest city, but you made a big dream happen. So thank you for helping me know that from a small town, big dreams can happen.”
St. Philip’s College
Texas Book Festival
Jill S. Alexander, author of The Sweetheart of Prosper County
Heather Hepler, author of The Cupcake Queen
Jacqueline Kelly, author of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
On October 11th, I joined Larry Decker and Scott Bennet in Corpus Christi to film a book trailer for Confetti Girl. We are so grateful to Dorothea Castanon for letting us film at Greenwood Library where I took a poetry workshop when I was in the third grade. Next spring, the trailer will be presented at Scholastic book fairs around the country!
Latina Mothers & Daughters Conference
Thanks to all the mothers and daughters who attended my workshop called “A Quilt of Words” on October 9th at St. Philip’s College. We cut and pasted brightly colored paper to make quilt squares that the mothers and daughters used to write about a favorite memory they shared. Then we combined the squares and displayed our quilt at a banquet later that evening.
Writing Warriors!
My Hecho en Tejas friends and I met with high school seniors from Goliad at the University of Houston Victoria on October 1st. Many thanks to Macarena Hernandez and the LEAD department at UHV for organizing this wonderful event. Tony Diaz of Nuestra Palabra kicked off the day with a strong message: “Language is Power!” He also shared slide shows and video clips from Latino book fairs featuring Oscar De La Hoya and Edward James Olmos. After lunch, I gave a reading of Confetti Girl. When I finished the first chapter, one of the students asked a very insightful question: “If the story is so sad, then why does it have such a joyful cover?” The only way to answer was to pass out cascarones to make us smile.
Hispanic Heritage Month Continues
On Friday, September 25th, I met school librarians from all over San Antonio at the Library Roundup hosted by Region 20. Many thanks to Pat Anderson of Overlooked Books for helping me promote Confetti Girl and for setting up a panel presentation so that fellow authors David Davis, P. J. Hoover, and I could share classroom ideas. For me, the highlight of this event was meeting Andrea Garcia, the current librarian at Horace Mann Middle School where I taught for nine years and whose students inspired me to write for the middle grade age group. Speaking to Andrea made me remember Mann’s beautiful school building with its red-and-black checkered floor and beautifully landscaped courtyard.
The following day, I joined several local authors at a Hispanic Heritage Month panel hosted by SLHW. Lupe Gonzalez (author of Too Late for Romance) encouraged everyone to “write from the heart” and Bertha Jacobson (contributor to Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery) acknowledged that it takes a community to build a writer. I’d like to add that it also takes a community to build a reader.Hispanic Heritage Month!
Hispanic Heritage Month is here! The celebration began on September 15th at Twig Book Shop in San Antonio. Thanks to my friends and family who stopped by.
I also celebrated in Austin at Book People. I arrived early to enjoy a chat with Cyndi Hughes, who works with the Writers’ League of Texas. The audience included a who’s who of Texan writers: Dagoberto Gilb, Christine Granados, and Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith. Plus, two of my childhood friends came! Many moons ago, we were Baker Broncos, just like Lina.
B&N in San Antonio
We had a full house at Barnes & Noble on July 13th as the Society of Latino Hispanic Writers of San Antonio celebrated its fifth anniversary. For me, it was a wonderful reunion with teacher friends, writer friends, and students. I especially enjoyed meeting all the young girls who came to get a copy of my book. For more about the event, read the SLHW blog.
ALA Conference in Chicago
I spent July 11th at the ALA Conference in Chicago. At the Little Brown booth, we had a great turnout for my book signing. I want to thank all the librarians who stopped by to say hello and pick up a book. You truly understand the dicho, “Los amigos mejores son libros,” to which I add, “A book’s best friend is a librarian.” In the evening, I took cascarones to the Little Brown Books for Young Readers Dinner. We had a great time eating, drinking, sharing stories, and “watching the confetti rain down as colorful and free as our joy.”
Johnson City Writes!
I had a great time in Johnson City on June 18th. I joined Tweed Scott and Mark Mitchell for a Q&A session. Then, everyone enjoyed King Ranch chicken from the Silver K Cafe. In the afternoon, I got to hear all the wonderful voices and stories of the people in my writing workshop group. Here are some pics from the event.
(Photo credits: Glynn Miller)
