In today’s Author Spotlight, Jo Hackl chats with Alexandra Diaz, the award winning author of multiple books, including The Only Road (Pura Belpré Honor and Américas Award), The Crossroads (New Mexico’s Great Read at the National Book Festival), Santiago’s Road Home (ALA Notable Children’s Books), and Farewell Cuba, mi isla (recipient of two starred reviews), all of which she translated into Spanish with her mother. Her current book, Camp Big Top, was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard. An overactive imagination had her making up stories at an early age and led to getting an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University. The daughter of Cuban refugees, she is a native Spanish speaker who currently lives in Santa Fe, NM.
All about the book:
Four kids overcome challenges and form a strong friendship while trying to save their circus camp from closing in this new coming-of-age story.
Mario has been banished, to circus camp of all places, after stealing his parents’ credit card.
Luna is an aerial artist, but her body seems to have grown curvier overnight, making it harder to perform on the silks.
Ricky is destined to be a stilt-walking star, but his attention span keeps him from safely learning the basics.
Betina has a natural talent for clowning comedy, so long as no one is watching her.
When the landlord threatens to close down Camp Big Top forever, these four kids must join forces to save it. But first, they will have to build trust in each other… and in themselves.
The Background of Camp Big Top
JH: You are not only a writer, but also a certified aerial instructor and circus coach. Can you tell us what drew you to this field?
AD: Coming from a life-long desire to fly, I have always been fascinated by circus arts, thinking that the people who performed them were the epitome of “cool.” Yet for the longest time, I didn’t think I could ever be that “cool.” I was too big, and too tall, and too heavy. People said so. There was a local circus where I live. I drove two different kids I was babysitting to their classes and I still thought it was inaccessible to me. I didn’t have the time or the money. Still, I watched from the wings, secretly wishing I could do these things too until I decided that was enough. I was always going to be too big and too poor so I might as well do it anyway. Without the pressure of seeking stardom and fame (which never interested me), I learned to do “cool” things for myself with my “too” whatever body. I have come as close as I will probably get to flying and it’s great up here.
JH: How did your experience in circus training inspire Camp Big Top?
AD: A few years after joining the circus world, I was asked to teach some classes and that led to teaching regularly. Years of teaching circus camp and school programs and seeing the dynamics that take place in the circus world led to great inspiration. The circus world quickly became my home. A place where I belonged and more importantly, could be myself. This is the book I would have loved to have read as a youth and I’m so pleased I was able to write it as an adult. How could I not write about this world I know and love? The best part is that everything my characters do are things real kids can learn to do for themselves.
The Characters
JH: Camp Big Top features a diverse cast of characters who must come together to save the camp. How did you go about creating the characters?
AD: The characters were already there when I started writing this version. The initial idea was for a picture book. After a bazillion drafts and rewrites that never got sent out, I thought it would make a great chapter book series where each kid had to overcome a personal challenge (like smelly feet insecurity) and a circus challenge (performing acrobatics barefooted). I had a pretty good idea of who my characters were and what each book would be about. When my editor asked me what middle grade I was working on next, I easily adapted the chapter book series idea into a middle grade. I had been thinking about these characters so much already, that aging them to middle school age just meant maturing their desires and insecurities.
JH: To which character do you most relate?
AD: There is a part of me in each of my characters and things that each has experienced that have happened to me. In general, I would say that I relate most to Luna and Ricky. Luna’s body positivity journey is definitely something that strikes a chord though, I admit, she’s much more accepting of her curves than I am of mine. Ricky is the love-child of my neuro-divergent brain. So many of his thought-tangents are thoughts I’ve had. He’s just a lot more optimistic than I am. With all of them, it’s nice to know that my characters handle their inherited traits better than me.
JH: Did any character surprise you at any point while you were writing the book?
AD: Mario surprised me and himself all the time. He has this indifferent air to hide his insecurities but he does care and just wants to be accepted. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t mind when the dogs slobber on him: the pups love him regardless and he needed that.
Themes and Scenes
JH: Your book masterfully balances humor and serious subjects such as family relationships, economic pressures, body positivity, neurodivergence, and the sense of feeling invisible. How did you go about finding the balance between seriousness and humor?
AD: No idea! I don’t try to be funny and I certainly didn’t edit thinking that I had to add more humor. My best guess is that it’s part of how my brain works and how it popcorns and goes in random directions. I have been known to laugh out loud at something I thought of (much to the puzzlement of surrounding people). It’s nice to know that not only can I entertain myself, my humor comes across on the page as well.
JH: If you could drop yourself into one scene from the book, which would you choose—and why?
AD: I love the dress rehearsal and the show. I think it brings back those feelings of being an outsider who has finally been allowed to be one of the “cool” kids. Being backstage and privy to all the offstage drama and happenings the audience doesn’t know or see is just as much fun as the show itself. I think it’s part of being a writer—that desire to explore and observe things from all angles.
Writing for Middle Grade Readers
JH: What draws you to writing for middle-grade readers?
AD: I never stopped reading middle grade and young adult, and writing for children and teens has always been my desired genre. I feel it’s a world I know and understand (and remember from my childhood so therefore can relate to it better). Most books written for adults bore me so I see it unlikely that I would want to write for that audience. I like the fast pace of children’s books and the common themes—friendship, acceptance, and empowerment—are topics I’ll never grow out of.
JH: Were there any books you loved growing up that influenced your storytelling?
AD: My early writing was definitely influenced by Babysitters’ Club, Sweet Valley, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, though I wished it was more like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. But even then, there were aspects to all those writing styles and formats that never resonated with me and I knew I wouldn’t write that way. In order to grow as a writer, I had to make my writing my own.
Writing Craft
JH: Did this book begin with a character, a plot idea, or your irresistible title?
AD: For this book, it was definitely plot, quickly followed by characters. The title was all my agent’s idea!
JH: Were there any scenes that were especially fun—or especially difficult—to write?
AD: I love Ricky’s introduction to the circus world and his enthusiasm for everything circus related. I likewise really felt sorry for him when things didn’t work out as he planned. Luna’s issues with her parent weren’t particularly difficult to write per se, but they did bring up feelings of resentment and judgment that were surprisingly real despite not having gone through the same arguments.
JH: How long did it take from the first spark of the idea to the finished manuscript?
AD: Hard to say. It was a multi-incarnation picture book for several years. Then it was an idea with notes for a chapter book series. Even when it became a middle grade novel, the publication date was moved back several months. During that time it felt like it was taking ages. As a middle grade book, I think it took about two and a half years
JH: What was the biggest revision you made to the story during the editing process?
AD: Probably making the circus terms and moves less circus-nerdy and more universal for a non-circus reader to understand. The reader didn’t need to know the exact position of a hand or foot to get the general gist of what was happening.
JH: What advice would you give to writers trying to write for middle-grade readers?
AD: Try to remember what it was like at that age and put yourself into the shoes of your characters. What were you feelings? How did you act? What deductions/assumptions did you falsely make? That said, it’s also important to remember that unless you’re writing a memoir, your characters aren’t you so they have to make their own mistakes and have their own character arcs.
What’s Next
JH: What projects are you currently working on?
AD: I always have several things on the go with ideas for many more. I’m excited to see what comes to play next!
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Lightning Round:
JH: No interview is complete without a lightning round, so here we go:
Favorite place to write:
On my sofa, in my pajamas.
Plotter or pantser?
Neither and both. There isn’t a label that describes my style.
If you were not a writer, what might you do for a living?
Teach circus arts (oh, wait. That’s what I already do)!
Favorite musical group or artist:
It depends on my mood. Joan Jett, ABBA, Beatles, Def Leppard, Beauty and the Beast (animated version) soundtrack
Favorite fictional hero:
Cassie Logan or Charlotte Doyle
Favorite fictional villain:
Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Favorite childhood TV show:
Full House
What is the best writing advice you have ever received?
If you want to read the story, write it.
What advice would you give to other writers?
If writing is what you’re passionate about, do it regardless of what everyone else tells you.
Jo: Thanks for chatting with us, Alexandra!
As a classroom teacher, I am always looking for new ways to reach readers. Here at From the Mixed-Up Files, our 
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