Nikki & Muze – I was reading the synopsis for your book and was intrigued by the inner struggle that your character faces. It’s also interesting that she is confronted by the same cultural problems in the fantasy world. Can you give us some information about how you came up with this idea and what sort of problems she deals with in the story?
Kim –As a bilingual teacher in the later ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, I saw a lot with my second language students. I taught in a LA county school district, close to East LA. I also was researching my own family history at this time. I was bothered how each year my students would draw themselves blond, blue-eyed, and fair skinned. I was also a graduate student at Ca State Fullerton in Bilingual/Bicultural studies, so I would ask my professors about this issue. I learned a lot.
Lupe wants to be like the popular kids in her school. She’s embarrassed of her grandmother’s tales of a land similar to her ancestor’s. Even while she’s in Ixtumea, she struggles against the realization that maybe her grandmother was right.
Nikki & Muze – You mention on your website that you’ve done genealogical research. I’ve done a bit of that myself and it is interesting to find out about our ancestors. Are there some interesting details that you found out about your relative?
Kim – Wow. Yes, I did. I remember as a seventeen-year-old my aunt Kay telling me that my great-grandmother was Mexican. My grandmother denied it and told me that she’d been adopted by a Mexican family. I couldn’t get that story out of my head. When I moved to Southern California after I graduated from college, I wanted to know the truth. I found a family member who had written the history of my family. The Colton public library had this featured in their history section of local authors. The librarian gave me some information and I contacted the author, who I found out was my mother’s aunt’s husband. He verified what my aunt Kay had told me. I also went to Olvera Street and found the marriage license at the same church where my great-grandparents were married. The marriage license had a wealth of information.
Kim –As a bilingual teacher in the later ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, I saw a lot with my second language students. I taught in a LA county school district, close to East LA. I also was researching my own family history at this time. I was bothered how each year my students would draw themselves blond, blue-eyed, and fair skinned. I was also a graduate student at Ca State Fullerton in Bilingual/Bicultural studies, so I would ask my professors about this issue. I learned a lot.
Lupe wants to be like the popular kids in her school. She’s embarrassed of her grandmother’s tales of a land similar to her ancestor’s. Even while she’s in Ixtumea, she struggles against the realization that maybe her grandmother was right.
Nikki & Muze – You mention on your website that you’ve done genealogical research. I’ve done a bit of that myself and it is interesting to find out about our ancestors. Are there some interesting details that you found out about your relative?
Kim – Wow. Yes, I did. I remember as a seventeen-year-old my aunt Kay telling me that my great-grandmother was Mexican. My grandmother denied it and told me that she’d been adopted by a Mexican family. I couldn’t get that story out of my head. When I moved to Southern California after I graduated from college, I wanted to know the truth. I found a family member who had written the history of my family. The Colton public library had this featured in their history section of local authors. The librarian gave me some information and I contacted the author, who I found out was my mother’s aunt’s husband. He verified what my aunt Kay had told me. I also went to Olvera Street and found the marriage license at the same church where my great-grandparents were married. The marriage license had a wealth of information.
Another place that really helped was SHHAR-Society of Historical Hispanic Ancestral Research. Mimi Lozano helped me find the family name Acuña and some history of the first Acuña who came to America.
Nikki & Muze - Why did you pick the setting you used in your story?
Kim – I taught second language learners in Tustin. I wanted to show the contrasts in different cultures. There were schools in Tustin that had newer computers in each classroom plus other updated materials. While there were schools (like the one I taught at) that struggled to get newer materials. More than once I questioned this. Hopefully the last bond has helped with the improvements in the schools.
Nikki & Muze - What does the setting add to the story? What does the setting add for your main character?
Kim – The parallel world of Ixtumea adds the richness of the culture. Also it helps Lupe to see what her grandmother had been trying to teach her all along—that she had a culture to be proud of.
Nikki & Muze - Could you write the same story in a different setting?
Kim – I could see doing something similar with an Indian teen going to the mystical parallel world of Indian mythology. Or other teens going to parallel worlds of their own cultural backgrounds. It would be fun to do research on some of these mythologies.
Nikki & Muze - Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting? Or, did you create the setting from scratch?
Kim – I based my setting on a combination of different ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. The Mayan and the Incan. I made up some of the setting, for example the humungous spider web that separates our world from Ixtumea.
Nikki & Muze - What would we see? What sort of people are there? If we were traveling to your setting, what should we bring with us? For visitors, what do they need to know to visit your setting?
Kim – If you went to Ixtumea you will overwhelmed by the beauty. Also seeing the temples and pyramids painted in their vivid colors would take your breath away. Go to the open marketplace and see all the different food, clothing, weapons, and other things for sale. Most of the people will be friendly. Um, maybe except a few like Mulek, who don’t take kindly to other world visitors. If you’re squeamish about spiders, well, you’ll have to leave that fear back in our world. Spiders are protectors. And you have to go and see the Spider Goddess’s humungous web. Maybe one of Ixchel’s maidens can show you the khipu tapestries too.
You can visit Kim's website at http://www.kim-baccellia.com/ and her blog at kbaccellia.livejournal.com.
1 comment:
Good luck with your Virtual Book Tour Kim! What a great way to promote Earrings!
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