En pocas palabras: Javier J. Jaspe
Washington D.C.
The 2024 National Book Festival was held in the
nation’s capital at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday,
August 24, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Several programs were livestreamed, and video
of all talks can be viewed online after the Festival’s conclusion.
EN: https://www.loc.gov/events/2024-national-book-festival/
Una lista completa de los autores que participaron en
el Festival Nacional del Libro de 2024
(FNL2024) puede verse
EN: https://www.loc.gov/events/2024-national-book-festival/authors/
La serie que continuamos hoy se refiere a escritores de origen
latino que participaron en el FNL2024. Su objeto no consiste en realizar un
análisis de su obra, sino el de publicar material encontrado en Internet
relacionado con la misma y sus autores. Los textos de Internet se transcribirán
en itálicas, en español o inglés, según sea el caso, con indicación de su
fuente. Esta tercera entrega se refiere a J.C. Cervantes Veamos:
J.C. Cervantes (a.k.a. Jennifer Cervantes)
EN: https://www.loc.gov/events/2024-national-book-festival/authors/item/n2009053703/j-c-cervantes/
J.C. Cervantes is The New York Times bestselling author of
the “Storm Runner” series. Her middle grade and young adult books have been
published in more than 12 countries as well as appeared on many best of book
lists. In 2023, Cervantes received a New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence
in the Arts. Her first book, “Tortilla Sun,” received a New Mexico Book Award
and Zia Book Award. Her latest middle grade fantasy novel, “The Daggers of
Ire,” is featured at the 2024 National Book Festival.
Selected Works at the Library of Congress
Entrevista
en el FNL2024:
J.C. Cervantes and
Zetta Elliott: Questing for Peace in Fantasy Worlds
Video
EN: https://www.loc.gov/events/2024-national-book-festival/schedule/item/webcast-11487/
Website
del autor:
Biography
in the author’s Website:
EN: https://jccervantes.com/about/
J.C. is a New York Times best-selling
author. Her books for children, young adults, and adults have been published in
more than twelve countries and have appeared on national lists, including the
American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble’s Best Young
Reader Books, as well as Amazon’s, Apple’s, and Audible’s Best Books of the
Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New
Mexico Book Award and the NM Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
She currently
resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family and spoiled pups, but keeps
part of her heart in Southern California, where she was born and raised. When
she isn’t writing, she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all
corners of the world.
Her work is
represented by Holly Root at Root Literary.
Media Kit (Books) in the author’s Website:
EN: https://jccervantes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/JC-Cervantes-Media-Kit-11722.pdf
Reprtajes/Entrevistas
Author
J.C. Cervante’s Love Letter to New Mexico
The best
selling author draws inspiration from her heritage, magical women and Rocky
Balboa
Jan. 06,
2021 Updated Aug. 06, 2024
By
Steve Gleydura
EN: https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/blog/post/author-j-c-cervantes-shadow-runner/
Author
J.C. Cervantes and her novel, Shadow Crosser. Photograph by Wendy Ewing
J.C. CERVANTES DIDN’T KNOW she was writing
a book when she began Tortilla Sun. Her
youngest daughter just wanted a story about her teddy bear. The self-proclaimed
bibliophile had never written fiction, but her story eventually grew into the
enchanting tale of 12-year-old Izzy’s summer with her Nana in a New Mexico
village. “Tortilla Sun became a love
letter to New Mexico,” says the Las Cruces mother of three girls. Although her
first novel received much acclaim, it took eight years before her second, The
Storm Runner, was released by Disney Hyperion. The final
installment in that Zane Obispo trilogy of Mayan myth, The
Shadow Crosser, debuted in September, and Cervantes continues
to spin her magic. She has read a script for a Storm
Runner pilot on Apple TV, and three novels—Flirting with Fate, The Mirror: Fractured Past,
and Throne of Sand—are slated for
release in 2022.
|
I feel like I came out of the womb interested in mythology. When I
was a kid, I devoured D’Aulaires’
Book of Greek Myths. |
|
My grandmother would tell these stories of the god of death. I
think that’s the one she knew best—stories of Xib’alb’a and what the
underworld represented to this ancient civilization. |
|
I was terrified. When you’re a kid, you’re
scared, but you want them to keep going. |
|
They’re ancestral stories that are carried in the blood
and bones. |
|
I remember going to the library in third grade and asking for
Mayan and Mesoamerican mythology because my grandmother used to tell me these
tales. They said, “We don’t have anything.” I remember thinking, It’s not an important topic, because
it’s not in a book. |
|
My family is from northern New Mexico for as many
generations as we can go back, but this was all Mexico. |
|
For my grandmother and grandfather, Spanish was their first
language. My mom used to tell me that she was embarrassed by that. |
|
I grew up in southern California, very close to the Mexico
border. I was always so proud of my Mexican heritage. But my father’s Anglo.
His mother was French. |
|
I can remember feeling very torn between cultures and not feeling
like I belonged anywhere. I think you see that in Izzy’s story. |
|
The rejections made it very difficult to find
any peace around writing. I would try to pray away the seed that had been
planted in my heart to write, because I wanted to be happy. |
|
It was even more difficult because we got so close, so
often. |
|
I learned a lot about how to pick yourself up, dust yourself off,
and keep going. I have stubborn hope. |
|
I have always been a huge Rocky fan. |
|
I feel like I came out of the womb interested in mythology. When I
was a kid, I devoured D’Aulaires’
Book of Greek Myths. |
|
My grandmother would tell these stories of the god of death. I
think that’s the one she knew best—stories of Xib’alb’a and what the
underworld represented to this ancient civilization. |
|
I was terrified. When you’re a kid, you’re
scared, but you want them to keep going. |
|
They’re ancestral stories that are carried in the blood
and bones. |
|
I remember going to the library in third grade and asking for
Mayan and Mesoamerican mythology because my grandmother used to tell me these
tales. They said, “We don’t have anything.” I remember thinking, It’s not an important topic, because
it’s not in a book. |
|
My family is from northern New Mexico for as many
generations as we can go back, but this was all Mexico. |
|
For my grandmother and grandfather, Spanish was their first
language. My mom used to tell me that she was embarrassed by that. |
|
I grew up in southern California, very close to the Mexico
border. I was always so proud of my Mexican heritage. But my father’s Anglo.
His mother was French. |
|
I can remember feeling very torn between cultures and not feeling
like I belonged anywhere. I think you see that in Izzy’s story. |
|
The rejections made it very difficult to find
any peace around writing. I would try to pray away the seed that had been
planted in my heart to write, because I wanted to be happy. |
|
It was even more difficult because we got so close, so
often. |
|
I learned a lot about how to pick yourself up, dust yourself off,
and keep going. I have stubborn hope. |
|
I have always been a huge Rocky fan. |
/////////////////////////
At the Heart of It All. How J.C. Cervantes
Honored Her Writing Spirit and Became a Bestselling Author
February 28, 2023
I’m thrilled to share my Q&A with J.C. Cervantes. J.C.
and I first crossed paths 10 years ago, when she had already published one
middle grade novel and was looking to advance her career. We worked together on
a few different partial manuscripts that didn’t quite progress—but then, in
2017, she landed a book deal with Rick Riordan Presents. Today, J.C. is the New York
Times bestselling
author of several middle grade and young adult novels, and her adult debut is
releasing in May.
You published your first book, a middle grade novel called TORTILLA SUN, back in 2010 with Chronicle Books. Could you tell us a little about this novel and what inspired you to write it?
This book is my love letter to New Mexico, the Land of
Enchantment that inspired me in so many ways, from the breathtaking landscape
to the beautifully diverse cultures; there really is no place like it. But the truest
inspiration came from my youngest daughter who asked me to write her a story
while she was at school. That’s exactly what I thought I was doing until the
story expanded beyond scope, and I realized that just maybe I was writing a
book.
Oh, those were challenging years filled with rejection but also growth. I learned how to write in a different way. I learned the industry more fully, but mostly I learned that my spirit needed writing and that no matter what, I would continue the artist’s journey. The Rick Riordan imprint was an example of serendipity. When my agent reached out to see if I might have anything to submit as a proposal, I told her I had the beginnings of something, and truly that’s all it was—a few notes jotted down in a Word doc stashed in a “maybe” folder. After some polishing, she submitted the first three chapters and a synopsis. We got a call the next day. It was a dream come true. And I will be forever grateful to my editor, Stephanie Lurie, and Rick for launching my writing career.
When TORTILLA SUN first sold, you had a different literary agent from your current agent. Could you share anything about what it was like to part ways with one agent and then sign with someone new? There was a time when writers stayed with the same agent throughout their writing careers (in the same way workers used to stay with the same company). Would you say that it’s become more common for writers to find new representation at different points in their career?
I think it is so incredibly common to part ways with your agent, and writers do so for myriad reasons. For me, it was a professional decision based on what I wanted my career to look like in five, ten years. But it’s a tough process. First you have to part ways (which I did amicably) and only then can you begin to query other agents, so it can feel like a step back, but you have to trust your gut and just keep moving forward, knowing that your art will find its place.
For several years, you focused on middle grade fiction. Then, in 2022, you released your first young adult novel, FLIRTING WITH FATE, and you have another young adult novel, ALWAYS ISN’T FOREVER, coming out this summer. Your adult novel, THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA, is publishing this spring. And the second book in your middle grade duology, DAWN OF THE JAGUAR, is due out this fall. Is it tricky to now write for three different age groups and audiences? To have so many books release in the same year?
At the heart of it all, I’m a storyteller. Of course, there are conventions within each category, but at the end of the day I want to write a great story. Does that make it easy? Absolutely not, but shifting from MG to YA to adult was never a “strategic” move. When ideas come to me, I begin to peel back the layers organically regardless of genre or age category and then I let them develop as they wish. I think anytime you have more than one book a year it can be emotionally and sometimes physically taxing, but it’s also such a blessing to bring these stories to life with such amazing editors and houses.
I had NO IDEA it was going to be a series, never mind one that would inspire a spin-off duology. Thank God. Had I known I had all those books to write in front of me I would have panicked. With that said, writing a trilogy was the hardest thing I have done to date. I was intentional in not writing a single plot with a single villain across the series, so that made it even more challenging to create a throughline across the trilogy. You wouldn’t believe the things I forgot between books. Yes, even character names.
You’ve also contributed to anthologies, including THE CURSED CARNIVAL, to which several of your fellow Rick Riordan Presents authors contributed as well. Do you communicate with these and other authors often? Do you think it’s important for every writer to be part of a writing community?
I adore my RRP colleagues. They are some of the brightest, most creative minds I know. I have definitely developed strong friendships with some as well as others in the industry. And while that kind of support is important, it’s also okay if you prefer to go it alone. It’s also important to note that support can also come from people who aren’t in the industry and every journey is different.
Are you working on any new writing projects at the moment? Or do you have your hands full publishing and promoting your current novels?
I have TWO exciting projects that I am working on that I can’t talk about yet, but let’s just say, they are my favorite brands of writing (and magic). I cannot wait to share more!
Can you share any advice to writers in the query trenches who have yet to land an agent or book deal?
When I was in the trenches, when I was facing rejection, I wanted to give up. I wanted to want anything but writing. But here’s the deal. My stubborn spirit wouldn’t let me, and that desire wasn’t only about publishing a book as much as it was my need to create, and to ultimately share my work with an audience. I waited years for the right opportunity and now, looking back, I would have waited longer because this journey has been remarkable and uplifting and challenging in so many ways. My advice would be to focus on you, your heart, and the stories that are planted there. Don’t empower the fear—give it a seat at the table, realizing that it will always be there but that doesn’t mean we have to give it an authoritative voice.
J.C. Cervantes, New York Times bestselling author, Rick Riordan Presents, middle grade fiction, young adult fiction
//////////////////////
My Writing And Reading Life: J.C. Cervantes, Author of The Storm Runner
By Guest Posts
The Children’s
Book Review | September 18, 2018
J.C. CERVANTES is the author of Tortilla Sun, which was called “a beautiful and engaging debut” by Kirkus, an “imaginative, yet grounded novel” by Publishers Weekly, and “lean and lightly spiced with evocative metaphor” by School Library Journal. Tortilla Sun was a 2010 New
Voices pick by the American Booksellers Association and it was named to Bank
Street’s 2011 Best Book List. When Jennifer isn’t reading or writing, she is
helping her husband with his gubernatorial campaign.
I
write because …
There
are dragons to slay and hearts to break and journeys to take and because every
time I write I peel back another layer of the universe.
I
read because …
I
love being lost in a million different worlds where anything is possible and
magic still exists.
My
latest published book is …
I
wrote this book because …
Zane
lived in my head for so long and he needed a space to breathe and to live, and
more than that? He needed to defeat the dark.
Best
moment …
Oh
man, this is tough. But if I limit myself to best publishing moment, I’d have
to say when I got the call from my agent that Disney/Rick Riordan Presents
wanted The Storm Runner.
My
special place to write is …
Near
a window where I can see the expansive New Mexico sky
Necessary
writing/creativity tool …
Music
The
person who has been my greatest writing teacher or inspiration …
There
are so many, but my three girls are by far my greatest inspiration.
Currently
reading …
Joseph
Campbell’s The Power of Myth, Keeper of Lost Cities: Exile by Shannon
Messenger, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Favorite
bookshop …
SO
MANY. Every time I travel, I hit up the local book stores and just breathe in
their energy. Growing up, I loved hanging out at Upstart Crow in San Diego.
Such a cool place with a peaceful bayside vibe.
All-time
favorite children’s book I didn’t write …
Walk Two Moons, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Graveyard Book…I know…I know, I’m a terrible rule follower. Who could name
JUST one?
Favorite
illustrator …
There
is so much talent out there it blows me away—mostly because I have zero
artistic skill and greatly admire those who do. I actually love to peruse the
SCBWI online gallery from time to time; it always elevates my own creative
spirit. But of course, I love Irvin Rodriguez’s work.
A
literary character I would like to vacation with …
Sadie
Kane because she’s feisty, has a British accent, and knows a thing or two about
magic and spells which would get us out of any predicament we’d likely get
into.
When I am not reading or writing I am …
Attempting
pilates, hanging with my girls, traveling, or dreaming about reading and
writing.
////////////////////
“The Enchanted Hacienda” Author J.C. Cervantes Teases a Sequel,
Talks Magic, Love and Self-Care
EN: https://booktrib.com/2024/02/14/the-enchanted-hacienda-author-j-c-cervantes-teases-a-sequel/
/////////////////////
J. C. Cervantes explores love and grief in Always Isn’t Forever
By Jessica on
EN: https://www.crackingthecover.com/21656/always-isnt-forever/
/////////////////////
Kirkus Reviews/ Books by J.C. Cervantes
EN: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/jc-cervantes/
////////////////////
Videos/Podcasts:
At Home in Santa Fe with J.C. Cervantes
Abigail
Davidson
EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Tx4i3XuPTE8
Author Stories Podcast Episode 953 | J. C. Cervantes Interview
Hank Garner
EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agqF-Ia4Fg0
J.C.Cervantes Author of THE LORDS OF NIGHT An
Exciting Spin Off From The STORM RUNNER Trilogy
EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We1v1WKvraA
También
puede verse:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16948228.J_C_Cervantes
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