I was born and
raised in California's San Joaquin Valley. I grew up with aunts, uncles
and grandparents nearby and consider myself truly American because my
heritage is part Spanish, Mexican, Basque, Italian and Oklahoman. My
grandparents on my mother's side came to the U.S. from Mexico in the
1930's. I am the oldest of three sisters and the oldest of twenty-three
cousins on my mother's side, so many of my childhood memories revolve
around big, noisy family gatherings. Today I live about 30 miles north
of San Diego, California — the town is called Leucadia — with
my husband, my four children and our dogs Buster and Barney. Our house
is six blocks from the Pacific Ocean and with four teenagers coming
and going with volleyballs, beach towels and surfboards, my house is
still pretty noisy!
Growing up, I spent many long, hot valley summers riding my bike
to the library. The library became my favorite hang out because my
family didn't have a swimming pool and the library was air-conditioned.
That's how I got hooked on reading and books. After college, I knew
that I wanted to work in a profession that had something to do with
books, and so I became a teacher. A friend encouraged me to write
a book myself, and that's when I discovered what I really wanted to
do with my life. Today, I am a full-time writer and I still spend
a lot of time at the library. When I start a new book, if it is nonfiction
or historical fiction, the first thing I do is go to the library for
research.
When I actually start writing, there's really no mysterious secret.
I sit at my computer and I just type a first draft. My first draft
isn't very well written, but it gives me a jumping off place. By the
time one of my stories becomes a book though, I have usually rewritten
it somewhere between 20–30 times. I have written books for adults,
picture books for children, and recently I completed my first novel
for older students. I also write for children in Japan through a Japanese
publisher. Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I want to make sure children
everywhere are excited about reading, so I visit schools and go to
conferences to speak about reading and literacy. I want kids to be
hooked on reading and books, like I was.
