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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET SANDRA ALONZO
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| Sandra Alonzo |
Here’s how my day goes. First I get up and get dressed. Then I feed our four dogs. Next I feed my three horses. If there’s no ice or snow on the ground, I shovel all the manure into a wheelbarrow. Sometimes I listen to music on my MP3 player while I’m working. It’s a good time for thinking. I often think about the books I’m working on. After I dump the manure, guess who gets fed next? ME! Then I write. Sometimes I write a lot. Sometimes it’s hard to stop!
Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, as a teenager, or both?
I loved to write when I was a child. A friend of our family gave a book to me called The Scribble-in Book. I still have it. When I was seven, my second grade teacher assigned poetry projects to our class. Here is my first poem:
When I go to bed
And put down my head
The fairies come
And begin to hum.
And when all is done,
Away they run.
At the age of ten I submitted a story about two cats to Humpty Dumpty Magazine. The editors were nice enough to write a long, encouraging letter back. I kept writing. When I was fourteen I wrote a novel. The novel was about a surfer girl named Jill. I charged my friends ten cents to read this book.
What was your favorite thing to do when you were a child?
When I was almost seven my parents surprised at Christmas by giving me a very special gift. It was a kind, gentle, and spunky horse! My family lived in the mountains where there were lots of dirt roads. I used to ride up and down steep hills to reach a place where the road flattened out. The horse would gallop down the long stretch. She was fast, like the wind. I leaned against her neck and we flew. Maybe those rides are what inspired me to write the title poem in my book, GALLOP-O-GALLOP.
What really triggers your imagination?
Being awake triggers my imagination. It never stops! Ideas and scenes and characters always run around inside my head. When I was in school my active mind used to get me into trouble. I often daydreamed about exciting things rather than listening to the teacher. Sometimes I would doodle creative scenes on my paper instead of taking notes or copying the spelling words. On multiple choice tests I often got low scores. But essay questions were different. I usually did great. I could write on and on about almost any topic. I’m glad I have a creative imagination. That’s where I get my ideas.
What was your first job when you graduated from college?
My first job after college was to be an exchange teacher for the Sister Cities Program. I went to Guadalajara, Mexico and taught at two schools. One was a private high school and the other was a public elementary school for boys. I will never forget the experience! When I returned from Mexico I started my teaching career with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Do you like to include humor in your stories? Or adventure? Or magic?
My first book, GALLOP-O-GALLOP, is a poetry collection with twenty-one poems about horses. Each poem tells a story. Some of the poems are humorous, like Appaloosa, Rappaloosa and The Sneeze. Some of the poems are adventurous, like Night Ride and The Trail. Some of the poems are informative, such as The Birth and Color Scheme. And some of the poems are magical, like Bedtime Book and Sleigh Ride.
What book are you working on now?
The book I’m working on now is called GORDO GOMEZ AND THE SUPER STRANGE SUPERHERO. In this story Fourth Grader Gordo Gomez wants to be just like his favorite superhero, Bandito de la Noche. When Gordo gets the opportunity to become an assistant for a real superhero, he gets involved in many humorous and challenging adventures. I really enjoy Gordo as a character. I think that kids will love him, too.