By guest blogger: Lisa's Kids' Book Reviews
Rarely, a dream or goal comes true easily and
effortlessly, without delay, problems arising or hurdles needing to
be jumped. It is far more common, however, that you have to overcome
many obstacles and suffer much pain before achieving any meaningful
goal.
The bigger your dreams, the tougher your
challenge, the more ambitious your goals, the more likely it is that
you will face difficulties on your way towards it.
When this happened to Maritza Martinez Mejia, what
did she do? She persisted and struggled and succeeded.
It depended a lot on her attitude. Past
experiences aided her to navigate against trials and contributed
toward climbing over hurdles, knocking down walls, and bringing
herself to a place of accomplishment. The one thing she did not have
is a stubborn unwillingness to give up.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
Maritza Martinez Mejia is a bilingual
substitute teacher. She was born in Colombia, but moved to the United
States and currently lives in Florida with her husband and two
teenage children.
Having graduated from Universidad Mayor
de Cundinamarca in Commerce and Foreign Language, she later obtained
a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities with a Certificate in Women's
Studies from Florida Atlantic University.
In addition to being a bilingual
substitute teacher, an author, a wife and mom, she also translates
books from English to Spanish for fellow authors.
Much further in her quest for succeeding
as an author, Mrs. Mejia was invited to participate in a radio
interview with Rick Waid. Once you begin listening to this hour long
show you'll be able to hear to her beautiful voice as she discusses a
little about her childhood, her book titled Hazel Eyes, among other
interesting topics.
This is a lively and interesting show and
is an opportunity to gain another aspect into the life of this
talented author. One interesting fact you'll learn by tuning in is
that Mrs. Mejia is an only child. Growing up she was alone, but one
particular year a cousin came for an extended visit. She remembers
having to share things with her, which was something she was not
accustomed to doing. After a year her cousin left, she truly realized
just what their time together meant to her. The interview can be
found at http://www.luzdelmes.com/ldm.php?ldm=interviews.
Personally, one of the reasons Mrs. Mejia
writes is to inspire others to be better persons.
MRS. MEJIA'S PHILOSOPHY ON WRITING:
“Moving
from Bogotá, Colombia to the United States 20 years ago gave me the
opportunity to become a writer. I published my first book and
memoir in 2010, Hazel Eyes, and continued with a collection of
bilingual children books titled Lessons for Living, first is Vanilla
and Chocolate published in 2012 (concerning tolerance and acceptance)
and the second is Grandma’s Treasure published in 2014 (concerning
appreciation), and most recently released a new book of poetry
titled, Poems, Thoughts and More published in 2015 by MRB Publishing.
I've
never felt inspired by anyone in particular to write. At a young age
I started writing letters to relatives, then sending poems to friends
during my teenage years, and as a mother I began penning children's
stories to teach my kids morals. Later in life, I decided to write my
memoir to leave as a legacy to family and friends.
While
writing my memoir, my mother passed away. I decided to finish the
book and make it public. I delayed this project for a long while,
though this sad and unexpected situation triggered my becoming a
published author.
I
found writing to be a challenge; needing time to research, write, and
edit. What I used to my advantage is taking the opportunity to meet
new people at reading festivals, signing sessions, and social media
to promote my writing.
Selecting
a title for writing projects occurs differently for many authors. My
memoir started without a title. It wasn't until the last chapters of
the story were written that I came up with a name. However, the
bilingual children's book collection started with a name since the
creation of the stories. I believe the title depends on the project;
it may come after you develop a theme, characters, setting, or plot.
I never have a problem finding a title for my stories; it comes as
part of the writing process.
My
writing process started as a means to share my thoughts and journey
of faith. I never thought about becoming a published author. My most
rewarding experience is finishing a project, publishing the book, and
obtaining positive insights from readers. When I receive a good
review or comment on my author page or Facebook pages it is a
rewarding experience, but I am also ready for critics as a positive
experience to grow in my writing style.
I
found while finishing up my Bachelor's Degree I decided to take a
creative writing class to improve my writing skills. It turned out to
be a negative experience. The professor was not open to my writing
style. It was too childish for a college class to have a student
writing children's stories. It was hard to achieve a good grade in
the class, and her comments about my poems, or stories were always
rude, but when I shared my pain with my writer’s group, they all
had experienced the same situation with their professors. I took it
in a nice way after that and went forward.
In
my publishing journey I have enjoyed reading my children's books to
students during reading sessions, reading festivals, or when I was
invited as a guest speaker to public schools for young author events.
When I look at the faces of those children, I remember the reason I
wrote the stories to begin with and the importance of bringing back
moral values to young children in this complicated world. I enjoy
their honest critiques and beautiful compliments.
Once,
I was presenting my memoir and heard the comment “I am sick of
memoirs.” I was surprised, it was an honest comment, at the same
time, it was an unexpected impact on my writing effort. Rejection is
one negative experience in my publishing journey that I try to turn
around as a good outcome.
Perseverance
and practice is the advice I give to anyone wishing to write. It is
necessary to have patience in this writing world of competition, but
practice makes it perfect. It is important to keep writing to polish
writing skills and style. It is also important to explore new genres
to expand in knowledge.
It’s
difficult to mention just one author in particular who I love to read
since there all kind of genres in both English and Spanish, but I
would say Karen Kingsbury is my favorite author. She knows how to
lead readers to enjoy her stories and adds in the character’s
thoughts which make you cry and laugh at the same time. She knows how
to manage her writing skills with style.”
MARITZA MARTINEZ MEJIA'S BOOKS:
Mrs.
Mejia's main focus is on inspirational stories and supernatural
events she has experienced. She writes them to inspire teenagers and
adults to live an enlighten life. Her bilingual children's books she
hopes to reach not only the Hispanic community, but also to use
English as a universal language to reach other ethnicities, bringing
her series, Lesson for Living as a moral for everyday life.
The
Lessons for Living collection include her publications titled,
Vanilla and Chocolate/Vainilla y Chocolate (2012) and Grandma's
Treasure/El Tesoro de la Abuela (2014). Her first poetry book has
recently been released titled, Poems, Thoughts and More (2015) by WRB
Publishing.
Mrs.
Mejia has translated from English into Spanish Temporary Permanence
by Yashi Nozawa, The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid by Janet
Balletta, and Hazel Eyes as Ojos Avellaneda.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND AWARDS:
For
her active participation and service to the community, Mrs. Mejia is
the recipient of the "Crystal Apple Award 2006."
She
has published her memoir "Hazel Eyes" in 2010 and won the
FAU Treasure Coast Poetry Contest Spring 2010.
And
most recently for her two books, Vanilla and Chocolate/Vainilla y
Chocolate (2012) and Grandma's Treasure/El Tesoro de la Abuela (2014)
were awarded the Readers' Favorite Five Stars award 2015.
WHERE TO LEARN MORE OR CONTACT
THIS AUTHOR:
