Maria J. Andrade, M.F.T., is a licensed therapist author and poet. Her eco-social book for children, Youngen Finds Her Song, was published last year. She is founder of the “Heart Magic” workshops based on her book Heart Magic, Keeping Love Alive & Well. This book focuses on important “Select Principles and Do’s and Don’ts” for sustaining a loving and lasting partnership. She lives in California and has a private counseling practice with her husband Sy Cohn. You can visit her website at www.magicunion.com or at Twitter and Facebook under her name, Maria J. Andrade.
Q: Thank you for this interview, Maria. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?
Last year an eco-social book I wrote for children was published. It is about a small bird who goes on a journey to find her song and learns about “humans” the wonders of nature and our global inheritance. It is entitled, Youngen Finds Her Song. At present, I am on a Virtual Book Tour for my book, Heart Magic, Keeping Love Alive & Well, which is for those interested in creating healthy, loving and enduring partnerships.
Q: What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?
My first book published was a poetry book about dreams, relationship, the shadow and transformation entitled, Singing My Self Home.
Q: For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?
The poems were first published in a California award winning bilingual newspaper, “La Oferta Review” and later in Snakeskin a webzine, Poets Against The War website many other websites. Eventually the poems were collected into a small book for recitals which I did in southern California. I later self-published it with other poems.
Q: How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?
Rejection is a state of mind which I don’t adhere to. Its like a child being called “illegitimate”. There is no such thing. Every child born is legitimate. Who makes these designations and why buy into them?
Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
I accomplished a goal I set for myself to honor thoughts and feelings in print that reflected 40 years of my life. In terms of poems, whenever you read someone’s work, you are in essence breathing with them because you read each line as they said it before it was written, taking in and exhaling as they did. This is what we do when we read something even written one hundred or more years ago. This brings the invisible and visible worlds together in a moment of intimacy.
How I celebrated? I had a poetry recital with natives from my country. It was embraced by my community and like a true celebration. These natives of the Shuar tribe, from the Ecuadorian Amazon, played their flutes as I read my work, which focused on the journey of amnesia and awakening to the body of Gaia which some of my poems focus on.
Q: What was the first thing you did as promotion when you were published for the first time?
Very little. However, with my second book for kids, Youngen Finds Her Song, we promoted primarily to schools. The book comes with a CD, which brings this humorous story about birds and the power of love and friendship to life. In the CD the characters birds, insects speak and there is music and special sound effects. I soon learned that teachers in elementary grades liked the book and CD to inspire literacy in children and those who work with high school students used it to teach allegory in literature. This has been a delight!
I also sent free copies to non-profit organizations that treat children who have serious illnesses, such as the Starlight Foundation and St. Jude’s Research Center. One of my twin sons went through a difficult period as a youngster when he was in intensive care for six weeks and I saw how stories and music helped his recovery. Besides, children are my favorite people.
I wanted to give relief and hope to that generation.
Q: If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?
No.
Q: Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?
I would like to think I have grown and that I will continue to do so. It is true that I have written in a variety of genres. For example, since these three books were published, I wrote a science fiction novelette, a play, which is not yet finished but a novel, which is. So the writing continues to evolve.
Q: Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?
I like to work with POD printers because you print only what is sold and this is important in terms of costs. I have good distributors and this is helpful.
Q: What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?
I think being able to have a dialogue with a larger audience has been interesting. It is kind of what Emily Dickenson said, “I wrote a letter to the world, who never wrote to me.” However, they are now writing to me.
Q: If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?
I love growing things so maybe what my daughter Jill does. She works in conservation and owns Future Forests Nursery in Hawaii where she grows trees.
Q: Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?
I have a victory garden and grow my own vegetables so there is no need to give up anything.
Q: How do you see yourself in ten years?
I hope I will still be writing books that people enjoy reading and that I am still growing vegetables.
Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
Follow your bliss and don’t give up what you love.
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