An Interview with Author Rachel S. Hobbs

Congratulations to winner Angela Dose! Although the giveaway is now closed, I hope you will still enjoy the post!

I've always loved a good fractured fairy tale -- a retelling of a classic fairy tale but with a unique twist in one or more elements of the original story. I'm so happy to have author Rachel S. Hobbs here with us today to talk about her debut picture book, a fractured fairy tale Tango Red Riding Hood, illustrated by Carolina Vázquez and just released by Gnome Road Publishing. 

In this fresh, bilingual take on Little Red Riding Hood, a young tango-loving Argentine girl name Moni sets out to deliver some scrumptious alfajores to her Abuela. As she dances through the forest, she encounters a wolf playing tango music on his bandoneón! It might seem like the perfect pairing of two characters passionate about the tango, but hilarity soon ensues once Moni and the wolf start communicating (or trying to communicate) through speech instead of music and dance. 

A blend of two cultures (as 

Rachel was born to a Californian father and Argentine mother), this book would be great

 for English or Spanish learners, or for anyone who just wants to read a fun story with an Argentine twist!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!! Stick around after the interview for a chance to win a crocheted rose (inspired by a scene in the book) and a 20-minute ask-me-anything phone call or Zoom with Rachel! 

So happy to have you here with us today, Rachel! And congratulations on your debut picture book! 

Thank you so much for having me! I feel honored, and I'm excited to share my thoughts with a dance-minded community!

How are you feeling? Have you been doing anything special to celebrate?

I love food, so that's how I've been celebrating! We made some Argentine food recently, and I also plan on making alfajores (the treat mentioned in the book) for my author visits. Don't get me wrong, though. I don't enjoy cooking or baking, but I really wanted to share something I love with others!

As for how I'm feeling, that's a tricky question to answer! I'm extremely grateful that people can have this personal piece of me in their hands to enjoy what I enjoy. I'm so happy when friends show me photos of themselves holding my book. I'm also really anxious, but that's part of my mental health issues. My adrenaline has been really high. I've learning a lot about self-soothing and self-compassion, so I think that will get me back on track!

Yes, self-soothing and self-compassion are so important, and I hope you feel more balanced soon. I also struggle with self-soothing when I am anxious or overwhelmed, and have found that meditation and LOTS of alone time are so helpful, at least for me. Oh, and so is dance!

Speaking of dance, how did you come up with the idea for this tango-themed story?

That's a great question! I was listening to a lot of audiobooks at the time, and I was listening to the last book of Stephanie Garber's Caraval series (young adult). If I remember correctly, the main character was going to a ball, and just as she started dancing with someone, I found myself wishing it was tango. It wasn't! But that made me reflect on my love of tango, and how I grew up with it as part of my culture, but my peers didn't. I wished for a way I could introduce it to kids, and I immediately started coming up with the verses Moni sings in the book, to the tune of "El Choclo."

So dance was really the impetus for writing this book! I originally used more dance words to convey how Moni was moving through the forest. I wanted to show that dancing was always on her mind. Those words didn't make revisions, but I still used words like twirled, whirled, swayed, and of course, tango-specific words, along with actual tango dance steps!

I love the color palette and expressive faces of all the characters in this book. What was it like having Carolina Vázquez as the illustrator? 

I feel like the luckiest person alive that she was the illustrator! Her palette in the book is vibrant and bold, which is absolutely reflective of tango itself. I think the faces are as expressive as the dance! She added such amazing Argentine-specific touches to the illustrations that I didn't imagine, like the half-hood-half poncho, the other Argentine snacks and drinks, and the mixture of a North American and South American wolf. She is so brilliant and talented!

As a debut picture book author, was there anything that surprised you about the publication process?

I have learned so much through the years from SCBWI conferences, books, and classes, so not a lot surprised me, except that I couldn't have dreamed that someone else (the publisher/editor) could envision what I envisioned and loved it the way I had hoped. Finding someone who really understands your manuscript is a more beautiful experience than I had dreamed of. It's hard to get rejections, but those aren't the people you would want to work with on your manuscript. It is worth it to find "the one."

So happy that you found "the one" to share your vision for this amazingly multi-layered book. What are you hoping young readers will take away from it? And what are you working on next?

I'm hoping young readers will learn a new dance and new music. I'm also hoping they will see how they, too, can infuse their culture into new or familiar stories. And I also want them to know that when you learn a new language it's normal to make mistakes! I have made language mistakes -- both using a Spanish word that I didn't understand was Spanish in talking to English-only friends (realizing I said "the wrong thing") and confusing two Spanish words when I was telling someone a recipe, which would have made a non-edible food! It's something I can laugh about now, and I hope that people will accept that mistakes will happen and that it will be ok. That's how we learn!

As for what I'm working on...another way of sharing my culture! It involves food and it may or may not be a retelling...

Thanks again for having me -- this was fun! Now let's dance.

Thank YOU for being here, Rachel, and for offering a very generous giveaway. And yes, let's dance. As Abuela says in Tango Red Riding Hood, "Magical things happen when you dance!"  

GIVEAWAY TIME!! Leave a comment for a chance to win a 20-minute ask-me-anything session with Rachel, plus this BEAUTIFUL rose she crocheted just for you (pattern by @kati.crafts). And don't forget to leave an email address or social media handle so we can reach you if you win. The giveaway will close on Thursday, September 28th, at 11:59 pm EST. Best of luck!