Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Maritere Rodriguez Bellas

I’m so excited that we will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Maritere Rodriguez Bellas, an award-winning author and bilingual parenting mentor and expert.

Me: Welcome Maritere and thank you for taking the time to chat with me about your writing journey. I think it’s great that you write stories that highlight your language and the Latinx culture. I’m a retired Bilingual/ESL teacher, and it always seemed like there weren’t enough books to celebrate the Latinx culture. I can’t wait to hear more about your stories!

So, do you have any special plans for Hispanic Heritage Month? Or are there any activities that you participate in related to this time of year?

Maritere: For me every day is Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month. I usually do book related events and speaking engagements. This year, starting September 18th and for the next seven weeks, I am hosting an IG Live Hispanic Heritage Month Series every week with Latino mom entrepreneurs from different Latin American countries including Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, México and Venezuela. It is also the 10^th anniversary of my first book, Raising Bilingual Children, published in English and in Spanish by Simon and Schuster in 2014. I am going to do some posts about it during the month and a host a giveaway to celebrate.

Me: Hispanic Heritage Month begins at the end of the summer and takes us into fall. Do you have a favorite season?

Maritere: I grew up in Puerto Rico. I am a spring and summer girl!

Me: How long have you been writing?

Maritere: Since 1995. I started with a weekly column in La Opinión newspaper in LA. Then came Exito Chicago and magazines like Ser Padres (still around today!), Healthy Kids en Español, HipLatina, Siempre Mujer and other online magazines. Until my first parents’ book in 2014.

Me: I really connected with your book I Have a Secret/Tengo un Secreto. It brought back memories from when I taught bilingual kindergarten. What or who inspired you to write this book?

Maritere: I Have a Secret/Tengo un Secreto is a bilingual children’s book for ages 4-8. I wanted to write a story that would highlight language and culture, with my late brother as the main character. To honor him. He grew up in Puerto Rico and was a strong advocate of Spanish.

Me: I think it’s beautiful that the story honors your brother. Tell me a little bit about this book’s journey to publication, were there any bumps and bruises along the way, obstacles you had to overcome, aha-moments? You can share the good, bad, ugly lol, or not.

Maritere: From beginning to end, the book took about three years to get published. It was my second bilingual children’s book, and the idea for the book came to me after talking to parent groups and finding out that when kids are being raised with Spanish and they start school, they don’t want to speak Spanish anymore. It is very common and something that frustrates parents. Children don’t want to feel different or be criticized, judged or shamed by speaking a different language. I wanted to write a story that would foster and instill language pride in children. Yet, the road to publication was not easy. Not having a literary agent, it was hard to find a publisher that would be interested. In 2019, I found an indie publisher that said yes, and now the book is four years-old, and we are celebrating with a hard cover edition!

Me: What is one piece of advice you can give to writers who are just starting out, or who are still in the query trenches?

Maritere: I am still in the query trenches…. It is a long process. One has to smile… and keep smiling, keep the faith.

Me: What are your plans for the future? Writing or otherwise, traveling, hobbies, etc.

Maritere: My next bilingual children’s book is being released in 2025 by a popular indie publisher. And I am bound and determined to sign with a literary agent by the end of this year! That was my goal in late 2023, and why I have been writing like crazy for the last nine months.

Me: That’s a great goal, I hope you find the perfect literary agent, and they will be happy to have you! I’d love for you to share a recipe with me, I have a collection of recipes from friends and family that goes back many years. I would love to include yours, as well as share it with my readers.

In my book, Arroz con Pollo and Apple Pie: Raising Bicultural Children, I shared my recipe for arroz con pollo.

Maritere’s Arroz con Pollo

2 ½ lbs of chicken, drumsticks, breasts, thighs with skin

2-4 Tbsp of sofrito* (sorry, I eye ball it..)

3 cups of long grain rice (I prefer Uncle Ben’s)

1 Tbsp Spanish alcaparrado* (a mixture of olives, red peppers, capers)

3-4 Tbsp of tomato sauce

5 cups of chicken broth (For fluffier rice, less water)

1 cup of peas

1 4oz can of pimientos morrones, sliced. (soft red peppers)*

1-3 big cooking spoons of olive oil

2 Tbls of Sazón Goya powder Culantro y Achiote*

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with adobo (a dried rub by Goya found in Latin markets) and wash with juice of 1-2 lemons

In a deep pot (caldero grande, like Le Creuset type) sautée olive oil, chicken and sautée for a few minutes, until brown in both sides. Take chicken out and set aside. Add sofrito and sautée for a few minutes. Add chicken back in and sautée some more. Add rice and blend in. Add tomato sauce, alcaparrado, achiote powder and chicken broth. Move around a bit. Let it boil and don’t touch again until the liquid is dried. Cover and change temp to low for about 20-25 min. If rice and or chicken is not cook then, add a bit of water and cover and cook for another 5 min. Turn off, add peas and pimientos morrones and set aside until time to serve. Serves 4 people.

*Sofrito- a mixture of onions, garlic, green peppers, cilantro leaves: In a blender, crush 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 3-4 garlic pieces, 4 Tbsp cilantro leaves. (Can omit cilantro leaves. Can use culantrillo leaf, if you can find at Latin market) Can be made ahead and frozen and defrosted before using.

* Alcaparrado bottle is found in Latin markets

* Sazón Goya packets found in Latin markets

*Pimientos morrones found in Latin markets

Me: Thanks for taking time out of your very busy schedule. It’s always fun getting to know writing friends! Have fun hosting the IG Live Hispanic Heritage Month Series, I know you’ll enjoy chatting with the Latino mom entrepreneurs. And, the recipe for Arroz con Pollo looks delicioso!

Maritere: You’re very welcome, thanks for letting me be a part of your blog.

You can contact Maritere here:

Celebrating the Back to School/Harvest Moon Season with Ronni Diamondstein

I’m so excited that we will be celebrating the Back to School / Harvest Moon season with Ronni Diamondstein, the author of Jackie and the Books She Loved.

Me: Welcome Ronni and thank you for taking the time to chat with me about your writing journey. I can’t believe it’s already back to school time! Where has the summer gone? Well, I do look forward to cooler days, and of course, hearing all about your wonderful book and getting to know you more. So, tell me, you have any special plans for the fall?

Ronni: Thank you for having me on your blog, Pat. The fall is always a fun time and I’m looking forward to attending the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival on Saturday, September 28^th. It’s a spectacular event. I have been involved with the festival as a volunteer since it started in 2013 as well as a board member. I’ll be signing copies of my picture book biography JACKIE AND THE BOOKS SHE LOVED. There will be over 160 authors and illustrators and lots of activities for kids. I’m looking forward to a special celebration of my book’s birthday on November 7^th, and I’ll be having a book signing on Small Business Saturday, November 30^th at Susan Lawrence in Chappaqua. Check out my website for all that information and to sign up for my newsletter on my website. www.ronnidiamondstein.com

Me: How long have you been writing?

Ronni: I have been writing since I was a child. I wrote stories and wrote for my high school newspaper. As a school librarian I was surrounded by books and had many ideas for books of my own. I plugged away, participated in writing workshops and was fortunate to have an Op Ed published in The New York Times that got me accepted into the Breadloaf Writers Conference. I wrote for some magazines when I lived in the Netherlands and when I came back to the States continued to write.

Me: What or who inspired you to write this book?

Ronni: JACKIE AND THE BOOKS SHE LOVED is my debut picture book biography and it truly was a labor of love. I was eight years old when John F. Kennedy was inaugurated. I remember Jackie, especially how she led the country in mourning her husband. I was always interested in her style and admired her for becoming a book editor. After she passed away, I had an idea for a novel about her and started researching her and talking to people who knew her. I started to interview people who knew her. When I was talking to Margot Datz, the illustrator of Carly Simon’s children’s books that Jackie edited, she suggested that I write a children’s book. I have an extensive library of books about Jackie and the Kennedys. I first wrote a long chapter book that got no traction and then about five years ago I thought a book about how reading and writing were a thread through her life. I knew that picture books bios were a great genre and began to work on this book.

Me: Tell me a little bit about this book’s journey to publication, were there any bumps and bruises along the way, obstacles you had to overcome, aha-moments? You can share the good, bad, ugly lol, or not.

Ronni: At first, I sent JACKIE AND THE BOOKS SHE LOVED to editors and agents I knew and got rejections. Finally in 2021, I signed with Lary Rosenblatt and Barbara Stewart of 22 Media Works. I did lots of revisions of it before it was sent out and it didn’t take long for Sky Pony Press to acquire it. I was thrilled. It was a pleasure to work with my editor Nicole Frail. We were very much in sync during this process. I was very lucky to have a say in the illustrator. I was shown samples of Bats Langley’s work. In addition to giving illustrations notes, because I have so many books about Jackie with lots of pictures, Bats and I collaborated a lot. I attended the Sotheby’s auction preview of Jackie’s possessions and have the catalog that has photographs of the interior of her Fifth Avenue apartment. For example, on the cover of JACKIE AND THE BOOKS SHE LOVED there is a horse statute. Jackie had a statue like that on her piano. There are many details throughout the book like that. One day Bats wanted to know about Jackie’s favorite birthday cake was. I had a book called Cooking with Madam in my collection, so I sent him pictures of Jackie’s birthday cake that you’ll find in our book. It was a marvelous collaboration! I also had a say in the endpaper design. I love quotes and had many of Jackie’s quotes about books that I wanted included in the book so I suggested we use them on the endpapers. And I also knew her personal stationery was Smythson powder blue, so that was the color we chose for the endpapers. I always felt I had a voice and that it was heard.

Me: What is one piece of advice you can give to writers who are just starting out, or who are still in the query trenches?

Ronni: I have more than one piece of advice: read and write.

Read lots and lots of books. I was fortunate to have spent my life reading children’s books, starting with my job in college in the children’s room of a library to becoming a teacher and school librarian.

Join writing groups, take writing workshops, find a writing community. Write every day, even it’s your shopping list or in your journal.

Another suggestion I have is to read like a writer. Find mentor texts and analyze how they are constructed and why they are successful.

And read your writing aloud!

Me: What are your plans for the future? Writing or otherwise, traveling, hobbies, etc.

Ronni: I’m working on some manuscripts, and I also have a column, Portraits and Profiles in a local magazine. It’s like Jackie Bouvier’s Inquiring Photographer column that she had, but I work with an artist who does a portrait of the interviewee. The latest question was about books that influenced you as a young person. https://www.theinsidepress.com/what-book-from-your-childhood-had-a-strong-impact-on-you/

I’m always updating my website daily with inspiring quotes about writing. And I have lots of fun activities on the EXTRAS page of my website that kids and teachers and librarians can use. And if you are a dog lover, you’ll love my page MAGGIE MAE’S CORNER about my dog Maggie Mae Pup Reporter, the canine journalist. https://ronnidiamondstein.com

Me: I’d love for you to share a recipe with me, I have a collection of recipes from friends and family that goes back many years. I would love to include yours, as well as share it with my readers.

Ronni: This cake was served at Susan Lawrence in Chappaqua, New York for my National First Ladies Day celebration book signing in April 2024. It was the cake at Jackie’s wedding and served at JFK’s inauguration in 1961.

Jackie’s Wedding Cake (Montilio’s Baking Company)

FOR THE CAKE:

1 1/2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon milk

FOR THE FROSTING AND ASSEMBLY:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
seeds from one vanilla bean pod
1 (12 oz) jar seedless raspberry preserves

FOR THE CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light in color. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, stirring between each addition. In another bowl combine flour, and baking powder. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, then stir in milk.
Line the bottoms of 2 8”-cake tins with parchment paper and grease the sides. Split batter between the pans and bake for 20-22 minutes or until knife inserted in center of each one comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Place in refrigerator until ready to decorate. While cake is cooling work on frosting.

FOR THE FROSTING AND ASSEMBLY:

In a large bowl beat butter with electric mixer until light in color, about 5-8 minutes. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and vanilla extract and seeds to butter. Mix until fully combined. Add remaining sugar and cream and beat again until fluffy.
Using electric mixer incorporate 1/4 cup raspberry preserves into frosting. If desired reserve some plain frosting before mixing raspberry in to create 2 colors of icing to decorate with.
Place first cake on serving dish or platter. Cover with remaining raspberry preserves. Then pipe on a layer of raspberry frosting.
Add second cake on top and cover entire cake in a layer of raspberry frosting. Use a frosting comb to decorate or pipe on rosettes on top using plain or raspberry frosting.

Me: Thanks for taking time out of your very busy schedule. It’s always fun getting to know writing friends! I hope you have a wonderful time at the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival and I look forward to seeing more of your books out in the world. I also can’t wait to bake the cake recipe you shared with us!

Ronni: You’re very welcome, thanks for letting me be a part of your blog.

You can contact Ronni here:

www.ronnidiamondstein.com

Ronni Diamondstein has spent her life surrounded by books and immersed in the world of children’s literature. An avid reader since childhood, libraries, books, and writing have been her life’s work. As a school library media specialist and teacher in the United States and abroad, Ronni has nurtured her students’ creativity by sharing her love of reading with them. She is also a freelance journalist and has published many articles, and her dog Maggie Mae Pup Reporter had a column in a local magazine. She has always been fascinated by Jackie Kennedy’s love of books and her career as an editor and was inspired to tell her story. Ronni lives in Chappaqua, New York, with her toy poodle Maggie Mae.

Links to buy Jackie and the Books She Loved

Personalized signed copies: Scattered Books Chappaqua, NY

Amazon

Bookshop

Barnes and Noble