Interview with Maria Virginia-- the Queen of Water (20 years later)!

Maria Virginia Farinango (aka the Queen of Water)

 Hello dear readers!

You may not realize that I sneakily add stuff to my website all the time... sometime it's buried deep in pages within pages... and getting to it is kind of like spelunking.  Here's one such item:  an interview with Maria Virginia Farinango, my good friend and co-author of The Queen of Water.

How has Ecuadorian society changed since your childhood?

MV: There have been many positive changes. Today in Ecuador, in general, indigenous people are able to get an education. Otavaleno (Quichua) indigenous people have become more famous in the world. Through playing music and selling crafts, they have become very successful, financially speaking. There are even indigenous doctors and lawyers now, too. There are still some indigenous girl servants, but far fewer, and they are paid better and treated better now. They are considered more human.

Maria's husband, Tino (in checked shirt)-- amazing musician.  In their front yard.

What changes still need to be made in Ecuadorian society?

MV: There should be better educational opportunities and a wider, more open-minded perspective. I'm able to get a different perspective during my travels in Colorado. Sometimes, when I meet people who learn that I'm indigenous, they say something like, "Me too, I'm indigenous! My great-great grandmother was Native American!" I see that they greatly value being indigenous. Through education and travel, we open our minds and learn to value other people, especially indigenous people.

 Maria Virginia and her Colorado friends

What messages do you hope people will take from your story?

MV: The idea that you have your life or situation because you decided to be there-- you can decide: Today is a new day, yesterday has passed. Today I'll begin anew. God gave us the power to choose, good or bad, and to overcome obstacles.

What happened after the story ends?

MV: I became involved in social and academic activities, and community development work in my village. I won more competitions similar to the Queen competition in the book, and I was voted class president. I also competed in running events, and did public speaking on topics like education. I dabbled in TV and radio programs, too. Then I got married to my husband Tino, who is also indigenous-- he's an Andean musician. I began college, then had a baby and devoted time to my family and craft shows. Now, after the long break, I'm completing my degree in psychology.

 

Maria Virginia  at her high school graduation

 Tell us about your life now, 20 years after the book ends.

MV: I feel very happy! I have a wonderful life. Although I don't have many material possessions, I have the love of my husband, my child, and God. We have a good relationship, which is a treasure to me. I love traveling and learning. I'm grateful that I've had many successes in my life. I live in Otavalo now, where I study and work, and I try to come to Colorado every fall. (NOTE: YOU CAN MEET MARIA THIS SEPTEMBER 2011 IN FT COLLINS AND LOVELAND.  SEE HERE FOR DETAILS!)

Maria and her husband Tino (checked shirt)  dancing at a party in their yard in Otavalo

Tell us about your experiences being a mother. How did your childhood experiences affect your relationship with your son and husband?

MV: Being a mother and wife is wonderful. I feel I can say thank you after all the difficult things I've experienced that make me appreciate my life now. I was unhappy during the hard times, but that was how I learned to appreciate what I have now.

feeding chickens with her son at his paternal grandparents' house

You can read the rest of the interview here!

Thanks for reading!  I hope that you northern Colorado folks can come meet Maria in person this fall!!


xo,
Laura

Queen Cover Art... behind the scenes!

Hello dear readers!

I thought it might be interesting to do a post on the cover art for The Queen of Water.  Many readers have been excited to discover that this is a photo of Maria Virginia herself on the cover. Here's the scoop on how that came to be...

During the 6-year process of writing the book, we had plenty of time to imagine what the cover might look like.  I thought it would be good to incorporate a photo of Maria Virginia as a teen, to remind readers that this is a true story, that Virginia is a real person.  We did have  a few wonderful photos that were taken over 15 years ago by photographers of a French magazine for a feature article on a Queen competition in Otavalo (Maria Virginia doesn't remember which mag and doesn't have a copy of the mag-- only the photos.) Here's one of the photos, which was used in an Otavalo newspaper article from years ago:

Maria Virginia envisioned a book cover that somehow incorporated the gorgeous Andean landscape-- she saw the cover as vibrant and colorful. (Earlier on, she'd come up with the title A Dream in the Andes-- Un Sueno en los Andes-- which we decided to change at a later stage).

After getting the contract and turning in our final revision, we were really eager to see what Delacorte came up with... (Typically, with my book cover process, the design dept comes up with something and then sends it to my editor, who sends it to me, for my feedback.  They also show the cover idea to the sales team and other editors in-house to get their opinions. Different publishing houses seem to have varying degrees of author input in the cover design.)

Anyway, flashback to before we even got the contract: A few years ago, Maria Virginia was in town, and about to return to Ecuador in a couple days.  As a last-minute favor, our friend Ken Burgess (photographer by hobby at the time) set up a few lights and a white drape in his living room and took a bunch of shots that we intended to use as future author photos (for promotional purposes-- back flap of the book kind of pics)...  *if* we ever got a contract for the book, of course (little did we know we had many more revisions ahead of us!)

Here's one I really like:

Isn't she radiant?! Her secret to youthful skin is taking only cold showers, which I'm way too wimpy to do (thus the lines that fan out from the corners of my eyes... too many steaming hot showers)! 

So here's the photo that I almost didn't send our editor because it didn't look very author-photo-ey... I decided to add it at the last minute because I loved how introspective Maria Virginia looked.

It was a complete surprise to us when our editor emailed us this cover soon after:

They touched up her face just a bit-- "powdered" her skin and plumped up her cheek to make her look more like a teen than a 30-something woman.   She felt a little shy at first at the idea of having her photo on the cover-- she hesitantly asked if I was sure people would want to buy the book with her face on it.  I assured her, yes!

Later, my editor mentioned that the design dept had originally planned on having an original painting (which they'd commissioned) on the cover.  When the talented artist, Fabian Negrin, completed it, they felt that although it was very beautiful, it was unfortunately too young-looking for The Queen of Water, which is geared toward older young adults and adults.

Here's the mock-up they did (and yes, they Frenchified my last name and got the word order wrong and forgot to include Maria Virginia's name... which is *no biggie*, as Lil Dude would say, since it was just a draft.)

I also appreciated the beauty of the cover, but agreed that it looked younger than the intended audience.  Also, the girl's outfit doesn't reflect Maria Virginia's indigenous Quichua clothing, which is important in the story, since it relates to her identity issues. We would've wanted to be sure that the girl's clothing on the cover accurately represented the culturally-specific clothing that Maria Virginia and other Otavalena Quichua women wear-- solid white blouse with wide lace ruffle around the neck and forearms of the blouse, a ring of flowered embroidery below the lace of the neck, gold bead necklaces and coral-colored bead bracelets.  If you go to Otavalo, you'll see that although there are slight variations on the smaller details, that women stick very closely to the basic clothing that you see Maria Virginia wearing here:

See how the colors of the embroidered flowers, the faja (waist wrap) color, and the lace texture/pattern vary, but the other elements are basically the same? (Oh, and the anaco (wrap-around skirt) color can vary-- either dark blue or black).  Women often add a fachalina-- a cream or black wool wrap-- knotted over their shoulder and/or folded on their head.


                     Me, Maria Virginia, and Alex (*before* the anaco unraveled!)

As a sidenote, Maria Virginia dressed me up in an outfit like this for a night on the town in Otavalo (an outing which ended with my anaco accidentally unraveled, pooled at my feet, as I stood in my underwear in a restaurant... not my best moment!) Extreme embarrassment aside, it was actually a really interesting "research" experience-- it helped me feel more "inside" Maria Virginia's body as we wrote the scenes involving anacos. You can read about it here!

xo

Laura  * P.S.  I also want to add that the reason for featuring my name first was a purely practical one-- a decision that Maria Virginia and I made together after thorough discussions.  We felt that since there were already many English-speaking readers who were familiar with my name, that it would be simplest to put my name first. That way, in bookstores and libraries, the book would be alphabetized near my other books, and my reader base would be alerted to the book release.  Maria Virginia's goal (which I share) has always been to have our book reach as many readers as possible, and we agreed that having my name first would facilitate this.  We're hoping that this book will be translated to Spanish and available in Latin America (where there's little, if any, name recognition of me and my books at this point). If the translation happens, we'll push to have Maria Virginia's name first on the cover of a Latin American edition. I just wanted to clear that up, since I honestly feel weird about having my name first when it's a story that she actually lived through.  Okay, thanks for reading!

G'night again!

xo,

Laura

Bookbrowse Feature

Hey everyone,

Just want to say hi! I'm sick with a cold now (as is Lil Dude), so we're both taking it easy today. I'm feeling a little guilty for letting him watch back to back Toy Story and Toy Story 2 videos, but honestly, it's the only way I've found to keep him resting.  He's this bottomless well of crazy energy, even when he's sick and coughing up a storm and needs to sit still.

I've done some fun school visits the past couple weeks-- two were focused on Star in the Forest, and if I get photos passed along, I'll post them here.  I love hearing all the ways in which kids connect with that book-- it's really moving.  And it's so inspiring to see the cool activities the teachers plan for the students... one of the most exciting things for an author is to see creative writing and art projects that stem from their story. Thanks, Columbine and Irish Elementary Schools!

Tamara Smith (an author and agent-mate of mine) did a wonderful feature of The Queen of Water on Book Browse.  Here's an excerpt:

This book pulls no punches. It does not sugar-coat María
Virginia's experiences as a servant for a middle class
mestizo family. She is dealt a cruel hand, and Laura Resau
deftly writes about the details of her abuse - both physical
and emotional - and her dreams of escaping her situation.
Not easy stuff to read. But Laura also lyrically writes
about Virginia's courage and determination - to learn to
read, to understand science, to leave her abusive situation,
to become the person she is meant to become - and the
ways in which she slowly achieves these goals. An
amazing story.


Tamara's article also discusses the collaborative nature of this book (between me and Maria Virginia Farinango)... this was one of the most rewarding aspects of writing the book.

Thank you, Tamara!


You can read more here.

Time to check on Lil Dude and have more tea with lots of honey... wish me a speedy recovery!

xo,
Laura

Starred Publishers Weekly review for Queen!

 Maria Virginia Farinango (my co-author and me... happy!!)

Hey guys,

Nice news to start off my week: The Queen of Water just got its *third* starred review-- this one from Publishers Weekly!  I'm over the moon!

* This compelling collaboration between Resau (The Ruby Notebook) and Farinango--who met while Resau was teaching English at a community college--is based on Farinango's tumultuous upbringing in Ecuador as part of an indígena (indigenous) family, forced to live under the thumb of the mestizos (the Spanish upper class). As is common for indígena girls her age, Virginia is sent to live with a wealthy mestizo couple--in her case, Niño Carlitos and his wife, Doctorita--and she babysits their children and serves as their maid for eight years. While the living conditions are an improvement over her family's small farm, she endures physical and verbal abuse and is denied an education. 

Narrating in a singular, authentic voice, Virginia dreams of escape, but her broken identity leaves her directionless. Along the way, though, she employs her imagination, persistence, and hard-won wisdom to recover her strength and freedom. The authors' candid narrative richly depicts Virginia's passage from a childhood filled with demoralization to a young woman who sees her life through new eyes. Ages 12–up.

 Yay!  So happy about this... I didn't even know what starred reviews meant before my first book came out... Basically, it's a system for recognizing the book as having exceptional merit... and the happy consequence is that librarians, book sellers, teachers, and people in the publishing industry pay more attention to the book.... which ultimately gets the book into the hands of more readers... and this, as a writer, is one of my biggest goals... to connect with as many readers as I can.

Okay, I have to wade my way through the heaps of emails that have been building up since I left for Michigan.  I'm in the midst of planning lots of author visits (virtual and actual) with schools and libraries in Colorado-- Broomfield, Boulder, Fort Collins, Basalt, Grand Junction, and more...

(If I owe you an email, don't worry, it'll be coming soon... my apologies!)  Thanks for reading and keeping in touch-- I'm grateful!

xo
Laura

Back from Michigan!

Hello everyone!

Just got back from author visits to Lansing and Ann Arbor, where I had a blast with students from Haslett High, Greenhills School, the International Book club at the East Lansing Library, and the folks at Ann Arbor Library... I loved meeting so many cool teachers and students and librarians and writers and readers... such a treat! 

I also went to my dad's retirement party in Grand Rapids... Lil Dude was with me, which made things extra wild and crazy (he has so much energy he literally bounces off walls).  He was great on the plane ride, but I still feel utterly exhausted at the moment... I'd like to sleep about 20 hours...

More good news has been coming in about Star in the Forest... the latest is that it's an Americas Award Commended Book!  I love the Americas Award... Red Glass was a winner a few years ago, and What the Moon Saw was an honor book.  You can read more about the award here.

I also found out that Star in the Forest is currently a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in the Juvenile category, and The Ruby Notebook is a finalist in the Young Adult Category... yay! Thank you, Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book! 



So excited to go to Aspen again with Lil Dude and Ian for the awards ceremony in June... and the best part is that I'll get to be with my talented, fun friends who are also finalists:

Amy Kathleen Ryan for Zen and Xander (YA, another Fort Collins author and good friend!)

Todd Mitchell for The Secret to Lying (YA--  yet another Fort Collins author and good friend!)

Nancy Bo Flood  for Warriors in the Crossfire (Juvenile, she's one of the brilliant authors behind The Pirate Tree blog!)

Congrats everyone!  I can't wait to cheer each other on in Aspen...

I also wanted to let you know that The Pirate Tree (mentioned above)-- a wonderful new blog about social justice and children's literature-- is featuring The Queen of Water this week. There's a thoughtful review/article on domestic slavery and The Queen of Water and an interview with me... And next week it will be featuring Star in the Forest!  A huge thank you to Lyn Miller-Lachmann and Nancy Bo Flood for their work on this incredible blog (and for their important books)!

Hmmm... I feel like there's more news, but my brain isn't cooperating now... I'll try to remember and write more soon!  Hope everyone's enjoying springtime!

xo,
Laura

Good news

Hey everyone!

I've been busy, busy, busy!  Just got my latest revision of THE JADE NOTEBOOK into my editor-- whew!  The release date is Feb 2012 (and a giant *thank you* to all of you who've been enthusiastically asking me about it...)

I'm in Michigan now, doing author visits to libraries and schools in Ann Arbor and East Lansing... fun, fun, fun!  I'm especially excited because these are the first presentations in which I'll focus on THE QUEEN OF WATER!  Speaking of Queen, here are some links to great reviews:

The Denver Post, which calls the book "tremendously potent" and told with "grace and complexity." Read more here.  I did an interview with the reviewer, Claire Martin, a few years ago, for another book.  She's actually been to the Otavalo region of Ecuador (the region the book is set)-- very cool!)

Scene Magazine-- which gives a really thoughtful analysis:

"The Queen of Water is at once depressing and inspirational, savage and innocent, and is all the more poignant since it is based on the true story of Farinango’s upbringing. The first-person narrative creates an intimacy between Virginia and the reader; it is a glimpse into the personal diary of a blossoming and resilient young woman."  Read more here.

Okay, I have to go now... my Lil Dude wants me to watch him ride his bike around the track in the school down the block.  *proud mama moment... Lil Dude just turned four and he's already a master at riding a bike without training wheels... he's actually been doing it since he was 3 1/2!*

(Okay, sorry, that's it for now....  bye!)

xo, more soon,
Laura

Interviews and articles for Queen!

Hi dear readers!

I've been doing some interviews in anticipation of the release of THE QUEEN OF WATER (tomorrow, March 8!)

Lyn Miller-Lachmann (author of the great Gringolandia) did this interesting article and interview with me for her "Waging Peace" Column for the Times Union blog.

Here's the beginning of her article:

"For the next two weeks, my “Waging Peace” columns will focus on the plight of workers, particularly child laborers, throughout the world. This week’s column takes us to Ecuador, a country where for five centuries the indigenous people have faced systematic discrimination and exploitation at the hands of large landowners and the country’s political, economic, and social elite. Laura Resau, an anthropologist who lived and worked throughout Latin America before becoming an award-winning author of novels for young people, is most recently the co-author of The Queen of Water, a fictionalized account of her collaborator, María Virginia Farinango’s, life as a child domestic worker..."

Read more here.  In the interview, I discuss why we decided to fictionalize the book, how I met Maria Virginia, the cycle of domestic violence, and more...

Another interview is up today over at Children's Publishing Blog. (Just go to the link and scroll down a little).  This interview focuses on my writing/publishing journey, with advice to writers.

And another interview focuses on my creative space-- my little silver trailer.  You can read about it on Jenn Bertman's blog here.

Finally, there's a very wonderful and thoughtful blog review of Queen on the SLJ blog, A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy (don't you love the name?!)  Check it out here.

Thanks for reading!  Tomorrow THE QUEEN OF WATER will be officially released! Yay! Maria Virginia and I are so excited!   You can get it in bookstores, or on indiebound or amazon.

And if you live near me, please come to my release party this Saturday!

Saturday, March 12, 6:00 pm, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins

The Queen of Water Signing and Chatting - Come one, come all! Join me to celebrate the book release!

Hope you like our book!!!

xo,
Laura

Teatime and *Stars*!

Hi dear readers!

I'm here in winter wonderland, having a spot o' tea (as Lil Dude calls it) and feeling happy about *more* good Queen of Water news... a second starred review, this one from Booklist! 

* "A moving, lyrical novel that will particularly resonate with teens caught between cultures." 
-- ALA Booklist

And we have official word that Queen is a Junior Library Guild selection... hooray! Maria Virginia and I are so, so grateful that all these nice things are happening with Queen... each bit of recognition helps get the book into the hands of more readers.

In the midst of this excitement of preparing for the book's release, I'm also waiting (nervously) for revision notes from my editor on The Jade Notebook.  And I'm still trying desperately to catch up with all the (very patient) friends I neglected over the last few months of being completely absorbed in finishing the manuscript.  (Sorry!)  Tea n cake times with Lil Dude have become more frequent... bright, warm spots in wintertime...
 

Mmmm....

Yummm....

Hip hip cheerio! (as Lil Dude says...)

Wherever you are, I hope you're staying warm and cozy...

xo
Laura

*Starred* Kirkus review for THE QUEEN OF WATER!

Hey guys,

So, after seven years (I started this book in 2004!), The Queen of Water will soon become a reality.... on March 8th, just over a month away!  Maria Virginia (my co-author) and I have been doing lots of happy-dancing (her in Ecuador, me here in Colorado)... not to mention LOTS of happy squealing over the phone...  The reviews have been lovely, lovely, lovely!  This book is very special to me for so many reasons (which I'm going to write about and add to my website soon).  For now I'll just say that Maria Virginia and I are incredibly grateful that the story feels special to readers, too.

Here's an excerpt of the ***starred*** review from Kirkus Reviews, which calls the book "riveting.":


"Bright spots of humor and warmth are woven throughout, and readers will agonize for Virginia while seething at her tormentors. The complexities of class and ethnicity within Ecuadorian society are explained seamlessly within the context of the first-person narrative, and a glossary and pronunciation guide further help to plunge readers into the novel's world.  By turns heartbreaking, infuriating and ultimately inspiring. (Fiction. 13 & up)"

Thank you thank you thank you!!!  (You can read the whole review here.)

And there's more!  VOYA calls the book "a richly described coming-of-age story set in a culture both foreign and familiar... by turns, shocking and funny."

I'm so glad these reviews mention the humor... I really love this aspect of Maria Virginia's story, too.  She was an incredibly spunky girl (and still is!), and she found all kinds of creative and funny ways to resist her oppressors.  And although she went through very rough times, she wasn't a victim, not at all... her girlhood was indeed inspiring.

In case you're curious what I've been up to since I handed in my manuscript a couple weeks ago... I've been doing all the fun, relaxing things that I put on hold during that final push to finish: long walks by the river, NIA dancing and yoga (very helpful, since those long hours in front of the computer wreaked havoc on my neck and shoulders), tea parties with my Lil Dude, reading books, watching movies with girlfriends (saw I Love You Phillip Morris (weird and funny) on Friday and plan to see The King's Speech, Black Swan, and Blue Valentine soon).  And, the ultimate in fun-creative-inspiring entertainment... went to the Cirque du Soleil show "Allegria"! Wow, wow, wow! Breath-taking and so worth the money (er, pretty pricey).


If you've read The Ruby Notebook, you know I love this stuff... fire dancing...


 whimsical acrobatics...

and clowns, of course...

Lil Dude was enamored of this "beautiful lady" (singer)... and insisted that we try to talk with her after the show (no go)...

 Okay, now to work on updating the website... Thanks for reading!

xoxo
Laura

Maria Virginia, Mannequin Belly Buttons, and Ruby Reviews...

Hello all!

Just got back from an outing to our very lame local mall (featured on deadmalls.com) with Lil Dude this rainy afternoon.  He's fascinated by mannequins, and was on a mission to look under each one's shirt to confirm that they each had a belly button.  (All of them did, although many were headless.)  He's into belly buttons.  The other day, out of the blue, he said in a very serious voice, "Mommy, all mammals have belly buttons.  If it has a belly button, it's a mammal."

So, other fun stuff... I had a gathering at my house a few days ago in honor of Maria Virginia Farinango, my co-author for The Queen of Water (March 2011).  She's in town now, but will return to Ecuador soon... we wanted to have a little shin dig to show off the gorgeous review copy of Queen and thank everyone who gave us revision help or general moral support!

Here's Maria V with Maria Luisa (Swiss woman who plays Andean music!) and Julie (writer, bilingual educator, and good friend).  Maria is posed with dirty dishes... it's kind of a running joke that she's not allowed to do any cleaning up at my house, but then she always sneaks in the kitchen and does it while I'm blabbing away and drinking wine... (I always wait till the next day (or day after that or after that) to do dishes.)

Maria and the very sweet Flora, who's from Bolivia-- another gorgeous Andean country...

Sarah, from my writing group, with new baby and cute new haircut! She helped with Queen revisions over the past five or so years!

To the left of Sarah is Michelle-- a fourth grade teacher at bilingual school in our neighborhood-- she helped with Queen revisions during our Spanish-speaking focus group.

To the left of Michelle is Margaret-- a friend of Maria's who does amazing international community development volunteer work (with Afghan women and rug-making)

Michelle with one of the adorable three year old boys in attendance (my lil dude was the other one!)  At one point during the party, noticing that his mom, Carrie's lap was occupied (with his baby sister), he made a general request to adults nearby.: "Can I sit in someone's lap please?"  Awww....

 And here's his mom, Carrie, who is in my writing group, and like Sarah, has seen many drafts of The Queen of Water.  (I think she's the one, who at one point during the process of choosing a title for this book, suggested "Maria and the Potatoes", since Maria talked a lot about potatoes in one draft of the book. Hehehe...)  To the right of Carrie is Holly, holding Sarah's baby (I know, babies galore!) Holly is an educator, fluent in Spanish, and was part of our Spanish focus group.

There's MaryLou in the middle... another amazing woman who does lots of international volunteer work. She's involved with the Xucaneb Fund to enable secondary education in a Guatemalan village, a non-profit where I donated 5% of my royalties last year.

Ian (hubbie, with new haircut) and Paul, another bilingual educator who helped us in the Spanish focus group for Queen. Great guy!

As usual, I'll refrain from posting a pic of Lil Dude, but trust me, with every passing day, his curly hair grows wilder and he grows cuter!

On a different note, here's a little blurb from School Library Journal's nice review of The Ruby Notebook (in their October issue):

"With a hint of mystery, a bit of romance, a touch of travel, and some coming-of-age, this book covers a lot of ground without ever feeling scattered or haphazard. Resau’s robust descriptions give readers a good picture of France and its people... Anyone who enjoys detailed settings and thoughtful narratives will be rewarded with this story." -- SLJ

The Fort Collins Coloradoan also had a lovely review of Ruby today:

"Curl up with this and you'll be sorry when it ends. Resau's easy, heartwarming literary style inserts the reader into the focal setting of the village plaza, making the characters Zeeta hangs out with such as the pigeon man and the elderly binocular lady genuine parts of the scene.  Zeeta juggles a mysterious admirer with her boyfriend and becomes involved in a search for legendary spring waters that offer a coming of age and give Zeeta life lessons on love in all its forms. Highly recommended." – Nancy Hansford 

 
Thanks for reading!

xo
Laura

NYC with Maria Virginia of THE QUEEN OF WATER!

On Broadway with Maria with our book!

Hello everyone!

Maria Virginia (my collaborator for the upcoming book THE QUEEN OF WATER) and I just got back from NYC!  It was her first time there-- she's always wanted to go, and I'm always looking for any excuse to go there, so we planned a three-day trip together.

We decided you could probably fit the entire town of Fort Collins into one of these buildings...

The Random House building is silver and shiny and utterly dazzling.  Last time I was in NYC two years ago, it was rainy, and the top of the building was shrouded in mist.  This time our visit was blue-skied and sunny, so I could see all the way to the top....

We toured Random House Children's Books, met with wonderful people who played parts in creating and promoting our book, had lunch with my editor, Stephanie, some other amazing Random House women, and some fantastic librarians.  We were thrilled to discover that they'd gotten review copies of THE QUEEN OF WATER ahead of time, so they'd all read the book!

 

Maria in Times Square

It was fascinating for us to hear everyone's favorite parts and what they were curious to know more about.  The lunch was at a scrumptious Mexican restaurant that used creative ingredients like jicama and figs.  Mmm.  Maria and I hadn't gotten our own review copies yet, but we sneaked one from the table. ;-)

in front of Random House

Maria's brother-in-law, Jaime, has been in NYC for a few months now, so he invited us to the Ecuadorian section of town (around Roosevelt and 82nd St-- Jackson Heights area). 

One thing I love about NYC is how the neighborhoods are so different... you get on the subway in sky-scraper land of Broadway and emerge, a half hour later, on a street that you might encounter in a South American town, where everyone speaks Spanish, and there are vendors selling helado (ice cream) from coolers and choclos (corn on the cob) on the sidewalks...

Jaime, like Maria's husband, is a talented Andean musician who plays wind instruments like reed pan pipes and wooden flutes. In the mornings, he plays in the subway (if you live in the area, say hola to him for us!)  He also sells jewelry on the street in his neighborhood.  It was interesting for me to meet him in this context, away from his home in the village of San Roque, on the outskirts of Otavalo, in the Andes.  I've spent time with his brothers and sisters and mother in their homes in Ecuador, hung out with their chickens and pigs, wandered around their cornfields, eaten fresh blackberries from their bushes and capulis from their trees, watched the sun set over the mountains with them... That setting couldn't be more different than NYC!

We spent lots of time riding on the subway...  always interesting, but a little exhausting (if, like us, you're fairly clueless and have to have one eye glued to a subway map the whole time).  That fluorescent lighting makes for pretty horrendous photos...

Tired and hot in sickly lights of a subway train

We stayed in Brooklyn, since I have a good friend who lives there.  I've known Amanda since we were about thirteen or fourteen.  Here we are on the steps of her gorgeous brownstone apartment...

I had to be sure to get photos of her neighborhood, since it's where Lil Dude's new favorite books are set (Knufflebunny and Knufflebunny Two by Mo Willems).  Later, when I showed him the pics, he immediately recognized the building as "Trixie's house!"

Thanks for reading!  (And, if you're curious, THE QUEEN OF WATER comes out on March 8, 2011.)

xo,
Laura