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Hey, hey, this month we’re celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15, 2025). We wanted to highlight two amazing authors that, if you aren’t already familiar with them, put them on your to-be-read list (now!). Check out the interview with Jasmine Paulino, debut author of The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez, and Los Monstrous author Diana Lopez as we talk books, inspiration, and so much more.

Hi Jasminne! Thank you so much for hanging out with us here at the Mixed-Up Files. Congratulations on your debut novel! Let’s get into it!

Jasmine Paulino

Your debut novel, The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez is in verse. How did you know you wanted to tell this story in verse? Do you write a lot of poetry? 

I’m a poet first. I write poems when I journal. That said, my story ideas usually start out as poems. Alex’s character development lived in a poetry space. This wasn’t planned. I naturally fell into playing with rhythm and white space when I thought about him and how he should live on the page. So, when I found myself with more than a handful of poems, I knew that I had a story to tell AND that it was one that could only be told in verse.

When the story was still in that nebulous stage, what spoke to you first, the story or the character?

This is a great question. Alex spoke to me first. There’s so much that lives inside of this character. He embodies parts of me. There’s also a huge heart string attached to my son (who spent most of elementary/middle school years in self-contained classrooms). And so, after years of dedicating journal entries to all of this, I got to a point where I knew it all needed to live somewhere else. I started seeing it as a story that could help young people (and the adults around them) understand a different lived experience.

Did your story change much from the first draft to the completed novel?

It didn’t. I think that because this story started with Alex’s heart at the forefront of it all, I was able to move through draft and revision stages with direction. Granted, my editor (Matthew Phipps) was instrumental in helping me stay the course throughout the revision process. With him, I learned to let go of poems that weren’t serving Alex and his journey. I’m so grateful for his partnership!

What do you hope young readers will take away from your novel?

I hope young readers will learn to trust themselves more. I hope they’ll feel encouraged to approach the adults around them with the seedlings of hope and wonder that they carry in their hearts. I want young people to know that their dreams matter and are worth fighting for.

This is your debut novel. Tell us, what was your process of writing the book and getting your book deal?

I started writing this story during my time at Lesley University’s MFA program. I was in my third semester (summer 2022) when I reached a point of “I’ve got to get this character and feelings out of my head.” Sara Farizan, who is wonderful, was my mentor. She nudged me to keep working through the draft when I thought I couldn’t. And then, in my fourth semester (January 2023), I revised that draft with Cynthia Plat, who I often call my “MFA Mamá.” In April 2023, I was ready to start querying. I then signed with the amazing Michaela Whatnall in June. I will always remember my call with them. They saw Alex’s heart from the very beginning. They believed in him AND me. I’ll always treasure this. We worked on another revision of the story before going out on submission. By the late fall of 2023, Alex and I found a home in Putnam Readers with my amazing editor, Matthew Phipps. Honestly, I look back on this time, and the journey to where I am now, and it all still feels surreal. I feel privileged to be in a place of sharing a story so near and dear to me with readers everywhere.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? What or who inspired you?

I’ve always loved writing. As a child, I often wrote letters to “el universo.” I’d leave my questions and dreams in letters that I’d then hide all over my room. Writing has always helped me work through situations. As far as inspiration goes, I didn’t find stories that helped me connect meaningfully with books until much later in life. And by that, I mean, it took me taking a course during my undergraduate career (Images of Latinas at Skidmore College) for me to realize that there were in fact stories with characters who shared my background. Reading Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Esmeralda Santiago’s When I Was Puerto Rican, Christina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban, and Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, changed me. Later, as a parent, I discovered authors who helped my children connect with literature in a way that I didn’t as a child. I watched them fall in love with Meg Medina, Jason Reynolds, Jerry Craft, and Pablo Cartaya. And I knew then, that if I were ever in a position to have a book out in the world, I’d want it to hug young readers.

What keeps you writing? The “why” of it all. Why do you write?

I write because it’s my daily vitamin. Even the work that doesn’t make it beyond the pages of my journal, matters. It helps keep me centered. Furthermore, I’m especially grateful to be in this place of writing stories for young people. I love the way in which children dream big. In a world that moves so quickly, taking my time with our youngest-most vulnerable age group, is something that I prioritize. Sometimes it’s my children. They’ll say things, ask me questions, that make me think about where they are in life. Other times it’s my students and their curiosity. I’ll think about moments shared with them as I’m moving through the day. This is usually how I land on ideas for stories. Knowing that I’m able to write stories that have the potential of helping children feel seen is incredibly motivating.

What’s next for you? What other projects are you working on? 

I’m currently working on some picture book and middle-grade stories. They’re going through their life cycle. They were poems first, and now they’re something else. This also keeps me writing. I know these projects have heart, and I’m excited to see them through their stages of development.

Your website bio says that you are a teacher. What do you teach, and how does it inspire your writing?

Yes! I teach Spanish to third, fourth, and fifth graders. I LOVE my students. Their enthusiasm and questions are a constant source of inspiration. I want to write stories that make them go “awww,” stories that make them laugh, stories that will give them a deeper/richer understanding of our world.

Bonus Question: If you could travel to outer space and could only bring one item, what would it be? 

I’d probably bring my grandmother’s photo albums. My grandmother was a gifted storyteller. Growing up, we’d often look through her albums together. I loved the way she’d caption each picture. Sometimes when I’m feeling stuck in my writing (or even when I need a break from a busy day), I’ll let myself look through her albums. This always grounds me.

Hi Diana, thanks so much for joining us at the Mixed Up Files Blog! We’re happy to have you! So, let’s talk books and writing!

Dian Lopez

You have a new book coming out just in time for Halloween! Los Monstrous: Ava and the Owl-Witch. It’s the last book in Los Monstrous series. What was the nugget of the idea that made you excited to begin this series? Did you always know it was going to be a trilogy? Or do you think down the road, there may be more books?

I was initially inspired by the stories I heard as a child. The Los Monstruos series takes common legends of South Texas—La Llorona, the dancing diablo, and La Lechuza—and asks a “what if” question. What if these monstruos had children? What is it like to be the child of a monster, and how would this child deal with the mixed emotions that come from loving a parent who is feared by the town? This is the central question that each book explores, and it was so much fun to see the various ways los monstruos reconciled with their families and with the community. From the beginning, I imagined a trilogy with each book focused on a different monstruo. Though I’m not writing another book for the series right now, I’m keeping my imagination open to more stories from these characters. I just love them so much!

You’ve written in various genres, how did you decide to write Los Monstrous series for middle grade instead of YA? 

I always saw this as a middle-grade book. For me, the focus was clearly the parent/child relationship, and while this can be explored at all audience levels, I felt it would be especially meaningful for middle-grade readers because that’s when many of us have a big “aha” moment and realize that our parents don’t know everything. They make mistakes. They come with all the strengths and flaws of being human. This humanness is at the core of each monstruo I introduce in the series.

What was your research process for each book? How familiar were you with the folklore before you began?

I had firsthand knowledge of the folklore in the sense that these are the stories I heard growing up. I can’t even remember the first time I heard about La Llorona or El Cucuy. But I still needed to do research because, like all folktales, there are variations and details that change over time. A lot of my research was just talking to people, asking them to share the versions they heard. Then, there’s the research you don’t initially realize you’ll need. For Ava and the Owl Witch, I needed to learn about owls, and not just how owls are portrayed in folklore (many cultures feature owls in their mythology and lore), but also the biology, the diet, the habitats, and the behaviors of owls. They are so fascinating, and this book gave me a chance to share what I’ve learned by using the perspective of an owl.

When did you know you wanted to write professionally? Is there a book from your childhood that inspired you to be a writer? If so, which one and why?

I knew that I enjoyed writing long before I knew I wanted to write professionally. The book that first inspired me was The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I was in the sixth or seventh grade, and I read it without a sense of its historical context. It didn’t matter. All I knew was that a girl and her family were hiding, shut off from the world, but in spite of everything, she had a friend in Kitty, her diary. It seemed like a diary could be a really good friend, so I decided to keep a diary for myself. I’ve been keeping one ever since. Sometimes I write about what’s happening in my life, but my journal also became a place to play with my imagination. It’s like a workbook. The earliest scenes I’ve written are in my journal, and eventually this led to my desire to write stories. On the flight back from my honeymoon, I told my husband, “I want to write.” It was the first time I thought of it as something I could do professionally. I put real effort into learning how to craft stories, and about six years later, published my first book, Sofia’s Saints.

How did being a middle school teacher influence your writing?

I don’t know if I’d be writing for young people if I didn’t have ten years of teaching middle school. I mostly taught English and required that students keep a journal. I read every single entry because I wanted the students to know that what they say matters. Reading their journals gave me a good grasp of the middle-grade voice, not just how they think and speak, but also what preoccupies them. I taught in a school with a 96% Hispanic student population. This was in the 1990s. We didn’t have much access to culturally relevant books. My students would ask me, “Where are the books about us?” I’m writing those books right now and think of them as gifts for my former students, even though they’re all grown up with kids of their own. So here’s a big shout-out and thank you to the Horace Mann Tigers!

Tell us about Coco. How did the adaptation come about? On the flip side, you’ve also had your book adapted for television. What was it like seeing The Choking Game on Lifetime?

When Disney first started working on Coco, they called it Dia de los Muertos and applied for a trademark for that name. This sparked a lot of controversy because dia de los muertos is an actual holiday, something Disney can’t own the rights to. The best thing that happened was that the people at Disney took a moment to reflect and realized they needed to involve people from the community they are portraying. They hired Adrian Molina to work on the Coco screenplay. All the actors are from the Latino community. They even premiered Coco in Mexico before they premiered it in the United States. When it came to the accompanying books, they wanted to hire people who identified as Mexican American. It was just a wonderful coincidence that the editor working on this project was familiar with my book Confetti Girl. When I got the call, I immediately said yes, especially because I was already playing around with the idea for Los Monstruos. Up to that point, all my books had been realistic fiction. Coco gave me an opportunity to learn about writing in the fantasy genre. As for The Choking Game, many books are optioned for film, but very few actually make it to the screen, so I was thrilled when my book got the green light. From the beginning, I understood that books are not the same as movies, and that details in the story would be changed to fit another format and the characteristics of films for the Lifetime Movie Network. I had a chance to meet with Jen Klein, the screenwriter, and I’m very happy with the resulting film. Plus, it’s really cool to see your name in the opening credits.

How did your first children’s book deal for Confetti Girl come about?

I wrote a short story from a girl’s perspective and shared it with my critique group. They convinced me that my short story was really the first chapter of a novel. That’s how Confetti Girl got started. Around the same time, I won a writing fellowship and used the money to attend the Latino Writers Conference in Albuquerque. That’s where I met Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary. When I shared my first three chapters, she said, “I love it! Where’s the rest?” I didn’t have it, but I got to work and sent her the full manuscript when it was ready. Stefanie has done a great job of finding good homes for my books, and I’m happy to say that we’ve been working together for twenty years. To all those aspiring writers out there, take advantage of festivals and conferences when you can. Nothing beats in-person networking.

You were a writing professor for many years. What is the one piece of advice you always share with beginning writers?

Write for yourself first. Write for the joy that comes from crafting a story. Publication can come later. So many times, I meet with beginning writers, and instead of discussing writing, they want to discuss publishing. To me, they are two separate things. Much of my writing isn’t for publication or isn’t accepted for publication, and that’s okay because the writing itself brings me joy.

Bonus Question: If you had to live in one of the towns in your Los Monstrous series, which one would it be and why?

I would live in Tres Leches, Tejas. Specifically, I would spend my days on Main Street, where nearly every shop is a bakery or panadería and where friends gather at El Camarón Dancehall and the Town Square (or, as we learn in Ava and the Owl Witch, the Town Trapezoid). I loved inventing the town of Tres Leches. It’s a fictional place, but in my heart, it’s very real.

Ava and the Owl Witch, the third book in Los Monstrous trilogy, will be published on October 7, 2025, by Kokila/Penguin.