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MEET SYLVIA MENDOZA
By Bonnie O'Brian

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

I loved Nancy Drew mysteries, Beverly Cleary and the Encyclopedia Brown books. As I made my way through our little library in a San Diego suburb, I ventured into the paranormal. Maybe that explains why I love Stephen King to this day. He’s one of my favorite fiction writers.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby?As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

In high school I took every writing class that was available including Creative Writing and Journalism. I won a couple of essay contests and represented my school for a history essay I’d written. At home, I almost always kept a diary and wrote lots of poetry.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

I knew I was going to be a writer in the 5 th grade when I got my first assignment to write a book report. Imagine—being assigned a book and being able to write about it!! Life was good and just. I also had the most wonderful English teacher in the 10 th grade—Mrs. McPhee—an adult outside my family who actually believed in me and my writing. That was huge! In my yearbook that year (which I carry with me when I visit schools), she wrote: “I want an autographed copy of your first book” (among other nice things). That was motivation and heartwarming. Even today, when writing times get tough or the creative spirit isn’t there, I go back and read that entry and try to believe that things will work out. 

When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)

Yes! I wanted to get a degree in Journalism, which I did—from the University of Southern California. The Society of Professional Journalists Student Chapter cited me as the Outstanding Graduate in Journalism, an honor I’ve never taken lightly. The journalists that have come from USC are phenomenal.

Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?

I make my living as a freelance writer. I love to write for magazines and currently write a parenting column for Siempre Mujer magazine, a Spanish language magazine (although I submit my articles in English) and love to write profiles and feature stories on inspirational people, especially women.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

The Book of LatinaWomen: 150 Vidas of Passion, Strength and Success is here, in the 2007 California High School Collections! That’s an incredible accomplishment—to be recognized when there are thousands of incredible California authors covering important subjects! The Book of Latina Women also won first place in the general biography category in a national communications contest sponsored by the National Federation of Press Women. I’ve also been taped by C-Span’s Book TV when I spoke at Sonoma State University to celebrate the strong and inspirational women in the book.

What are you working on now?

When do you expect to start submitting it to publishers? I’m working on an empowerment book for teen Latinas. If my agent and I could only get it into the hands of a supportive and visionary publisher.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

I write every day and try to juggle between magazine article assignments, fine-tuning a non-fiction proposal and a novel I hope to finish by my birthday, March 2007. I’m at my computer by 5:00 a.m. and start with my novel, waiting for creative energy to hit me. Coffee helps me focus. . .

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

I want them to know that writing is fun but it takes work. I like to urge them to write for themselves and forget about grammar sometimes just to let their creative juices flow. I want them to believe that if they can read and write well, they will be able to do anything. I want them to believe that being a good writer doesn’t have anything to do with age. I can’t imagine a life without writing--little do they know that it connects us to each other, to history and to the future.