Meet Cynthia De La Torre

We were lucky to catch up with Cynthia De La Torre recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cynthia, 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?

I knew I wanted to write and illustrate stories since I was 7 years old. It started with an assignment at school, where we had to write and illustrate our very own picture book. It was the most amazing experience. For once, I felt like a had a voice. I fell in love with books and storytelling right there and then. However, throughout the years, I began to notice that none of the characters (in the books that were available) looked like me or my family. And they didn’t share our cultural background. At the time, I thought it was because people like myself didn’t have noteworthy stories. It was a very sad way to grow up. Once I was old enough to realize that this exclusion of our stories was intentional and rooted in racism, I knew I had to be part of the change. I didn’t want other kids, from underrepresented groups, to grow up feeling like their stories and their being didn’t matter. It was then, that the reason for my stories really solidified.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a children’s author and illustrator. I primarily work in cut paper art. It is an art style that is very much rooted in my Mexican culture. I love telling stories that teach people about my Mexican culture and my Mexican American experience. I remember our yearly trips to Mexico to visit family and looking forward to hearing ghost stories told from our elders. It was such a thrill and I knew I couldn’t be the only child who loved being scared, just a little bit. I absolutely love ghost stories and hope to make them accessible for young children.
I have always loved telling stories and making art. However, I never imagined that I would take this career path, because I had never met an author and/or illustrator. It didn’t seem like a realistic career. But throughout my life, any chance I had, I always made art and told stories.
Once I had my first son, in 2015, I decided to write and illustrate a picture book for him. I wanted to show him how much I loved him and that was the best way I knew how. I spent hours obsessively working on the book. It was then I knew I had to follow this path. I knew that if I did anything else, I would be miserable. I kept my dream a secret for a long time because I worried others would tell me that it was too big of a dream. But eventually, I couldn’t keep it secret any longer. After I confessed to my husband and family my big scary secret, I felt like I could finally breathe. They all reacted very positively and told me they knew I was meant to lead a creative life.
For years, I worked on my craft and studied and practiced as much as I could. I knew making my dream a reality would require a lot of work. I joined SCBWI and began attending critique group meetings and posting my art online. It wasn’t until 2020 that my wonderful agent found my work and eventually offered me representation. And three years later, after many rejections, I finally received an offer for my debut picture book titled FLOWERS FOR TIA LUZ MARIA. It’s a book that I both wrote and illustrated and it is coming out in the summer of 2026. The book is being published by Quill Tree an imprint of Harper Collins.
I am working on other projects and hope to sell many more books to share with the world.

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?

In the publishing world there is so much rejection. Some days are tougher than others. But I have definitely grown a thicker skin and learned to let it go. If someone says no, that’s okay, I just need one person to say yes. I think three things that have helped me keep going, in spite of all the rejections, are 1) knowing my why; 2) creating because I love it and would do it regardless of whether or not it leads to success; and 3) joining a community of other authors and illustrators in order to find support.

For anyone starting out in the publishing world, they should be aware that there will likely be a ton of rejection; however, that should not deter them from following their dreams. Instead, they should use that rejection as fuel to keep improving and keep growing. They should study the authors and illustrators whose work they admire and see what it is about their work that makes them so special. And overall, they should do it because they love it and because life would not be as fulfilling if they weren’t creating.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I am a mom of 3 young kids. My oldest, Sebastian, is 10, my daughter, Elena, is 7, and my youngest, Leonardo, is 5. As you can imagine, I have a limited amount of independent work time to work on my books and projects. Juggling being a full time mom, homemaker, and working from home can be quite overwhelming at times. I’ve found that what works for me is being outdoors. I walk to take my oldest two kids to school, and use my electric tricycle to take my youngest to school and pick them all up from school. Making that change has been life changing. I get some exercise, some fresh air, and often times when I’m outdoors, I find inspiration for future projects or I figure out how to resolve any creative issues that may arise.
I often chat with my kids on our walk and find inspiration in the stories they tell me. It’s a great time to spend some quality time and find out how they are doing and the things that matter to them.
I think it’s important to find a healthy outlet, it will be different for all of us. But I do think that spending time outdoors and getting exercise are great ways to recharge our creative batteries.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cynthiadelatorre.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynthiagdelatorre/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000227056408&mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cynthiadelatorre1113
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cynthia.de.la.torre