Notable children’s author Alexandra Diaz shared insight into the writing process with middle school students from throughout the school district during a special Zoom online class session. Nearly 100 students participated in the event.
Diaz is an award-winning Latina children’s author who publishes in both English and Spanish. Her book The Only Road was featured in the OSD Battle of the Books competition last year. She also authored the books Good Girls Don’t Lie, The Crossroads, Of all the Stupid Things and Santiago’s Road Home.
“I love getting to meet authors, even if I've never read their books, so this visit was really cool for me,” said Reeves Middle School student Hazel Tomita. “And as an aspiring author myself, her advice on writing really helped. I placed a hold on The Only Road a few hours after her visit and am so excited to read it after meeting Alexandra Diaz and hearing the story behind each character.”
Mary Mathis, teacher librarian at Washington Middle School, arranged the author visit earlier this month so that students could learn more about the writing process from a published author. Diaz spoke about her experience and then opened up the meeting to answer questions from the students.
“When I first signed up, I was expecting an author to come and talk about a book, and maybe answer one or two questions. It was so much more than that,” said Washington Middle School student Sophia Singleton. “Alexandra Diaz is an amazing and kind person who answered every question honestly and in great detail. She made me laugh through the whole thing, and I'm so glad I went.”
Diaz said the OSD students were a pleasure to meet with. “I enjoy making that personal connection with the youths, and becoming their friend, because that's what I would have wanted when I was younger,” she said. “It helps greatly that they were interested and enthusiastic. I'll remember our author visit fondly. You have a great group there.