Meet Arlene Abundis

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Arlene Abundis . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Arlene below.

Hi Arlene , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Thank you immensely for having me—it’s truly an honor and joy. The following quote by one of my favorite authors truly embodies how I found my purpose.

All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. ~Toni Morrison

After staying home for over a decade to be the full-time caregiver of my children, I decided to go back to college. Initially to finish up my child development degree so I can teach again, but while taking a children’s literature class, I started a blog that connected motherhood and children’s books. Something so powerful ignited within me and a dream was born. Penning my own stories with a desire to not only see my culture and childhood experiences represented in traditional publishing, but heal wounds of never quite belonging.

I became the first in my family to not only write a children’s book but also start therapy and heal generational trauma due to oppression, migration, and diaspora.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My work as a children’s author honors resilience through mental and emotional health. I write for kids who long to belong. To be a mirror that can help make sense of broken pieces, while finding beauty in them—like a kaleidoscope.

My debut picture book, Into the Mighty Sea, illustrated by Cynthia Alonso, is the story of a Cuban American girl named Mariel, who sees her world through colors that represent her emotional state in a social setting. She draws and paints to calm her big feelings, but when her brother rips her art, she must sail through a big sea of color or get lost in the swells. Mariel is a facet of myself as a child and it’s inspired by my journey with social anxiety.

I’ve recently wrapped up my summer bookstore launch events and am looking forward to the fall where I will be focusing on school and library visits.

As a daughter of refugees, I grew up spending the loveliest of days in my local library and the thought of giving my time to children in surrounding communities in a similar situation, fills me with so much emotion.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Determination, persistence, and patience. A writer must learn to navigate seeing rejection as a source of fuel to propel one’s creativity rather than stifling it.

Persevering through the process of reaching your goals while not getting discouraged is key. The years of rejection before that first book deal with HarperCollins arrived, I saw it all as an opportunity to grow in my craft. Even after breaking into the industry, there is still so much rejection to endure at every level. The tricky aspect for me as an author will always be in remaining vulnerable with my art while developing thick skin for the professional subjectivity.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

Connection and community are pivotal in the traditional publishing arena. It’s all about finding your people. In my case, those who connected with my work from a complex psychological Latina perspective and were willing to champion it.

I needed a powerful ocean whose energy could help me sail through waves. From my editor Carolina Ortiz who acquired my story at HarperCollins, to my agent Monica Rodriguez at Context Literary who empowers my career. Also award winning Latina authors, Margarita Engle and Aida Salazar who graciously blurbed my debut book. Lastly and most importantly, Cynthia Alonso who brought our book to life with her powerful art.

Becoming part of Las Musas was also a launching force in building community. A collective of Latinx women writers and illustrators evolving the canon of traditional children’s literature and celebrating diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities. Coming together to support and amplify each other’s voices. Recently, the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival has played an incredible role in amplifying my book in conferences and school visits.

Launching a book requires marketing and publicity strategies which can simultaneously be exhilarating and daunting. Having a team of authors and illustrators in the same journey, like my debut group PB Soar 24, was pivotal. You learn from one another’s experiences while promoting each other’s books and expanding more as a collective.

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