Happy Thursday Critters! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season! Today, we have an interview picture book author Jess Hernandez. Her debut book, FIRST DAY OF UNICORN SCHOOL, illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum, releases with Capstone on January 1, 2021. I love that this book is a fresh take on a first day of school book— but with unicorns! It’s sure to be a big hit so make sure to check it out!
Without further ado, please welcome Jess Hernandez!
Where do you live?
I live in a little town in Western Washington. I grew up here, left, moved around, and wound up coming back.
When did you know you wanted to write picture books?
Growing up, I always liked writing, but I didn’t think I could make it a career. I’m diabetic, so health insurance was slightly more important than artistic fulfillment. But I grew to love picture books during my grad work in librarianship. There’s so much room for creativity within such a small space. When I got to a place in my life where I knew health insurance was taken care of, I let myself follow my passion.
Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?
My first attempt at writing for publication was a memoir. I worked on it for three years, then queried for another year. I racked up 140 rejections before I trunked it. I was devastated. So much time and work and agony for nothing!
I wasn’t sure I could commit myself to a longer work like that again, so I turned to picture books. With two kids at home, it was what I read most anyway. I found a critique partner, read all the new picture books I could get my hands on, and followed writers on Twitter. Most of all, I kept writing and querying and getting better. But each time an agent requested more work, they would like this manuscript but not that one. It was super discouraging.
Eventually another writer noticed my pitch on Pitmad and invited me to be in their critique group. That was the turning point for me. I found my people. I kept writing and querying, but I knew my stuff was leveling up. There were more agent requests, but still more rejections. I felt like I was going to spend my life being good, but not quite good enough.
I decided to query the unicorn book to every agent on my list and then trunk it. One of those agents was Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency. I almost didn’t send her the unicorn query because she so seldom takes on picture book authors. Plus, she’s repped some really IMPORTANT BOOKS (New York Times Bestseller and multi-award winner Dear Martin by Nic Stone, for example) and I didn’t think she’d like my silly story about a donkey with imposter syndrome. But she was on my list, so I sent it any way. Two months later, she emailed asking to set up a call.
Even then, it was still a struggle. In the 18 months I’d spent querying the book, the market was flooded with unicorn stories. Every rejection we got from editors was some version of “nice, but we’ve already got one.” I was content to shelve it until unicorns stopped being the picture book version of YA vampire novels, but Rena was convinced it was different enough to sell. And thank heavens, she was right.
Can you share a bit about your process?
My story ideas always come in chunks – there’s a character but no story. A mood but nothing else. I try to stay open to these story blips and write them down as they come. Sometimes it takes years for the rest of the story to materialize, but it’s almost always worth the wait. Once it comes, I can usually draft the whole picture book in one go. With longer things, I write scenes out of order as they come to me and try to connect the dots later.
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
I take a walk, talk to my kids, or take a shower. Sometimes I need those quiet moments to let my brain do its thing and come up with whatever crazy idea or plot hole solution it wants. Other times, interacting with my kids really helps me get on their level and see the world through new eyes.
Anything you can’t live without while you write?
I’m all about those cheap composition notebooks you get on sale in September. Every stupid idea, every plot hole fix, every genius line I have to write before I forget it goes in the notebook. It’s a mess and nobody would understand it but me, but I can’t function without it.
Any authors and/or illustrators who inspire you?
There are SO MANY. Jacqueline Woodson is a genius and every single one of her books has changed my life in some way. I love Ame Dyckman’s work. She’s so effortlessly funny and has such a quirky way of looking at the world. I’m also a huge fan of Tara Lazar, both of her books and the work she does to lift other authors. Yuyi Morales is super talented. Julie Falatko is another that I really respect. She’s super funny and real. Traci Sorell’s books are all really poetic and beautiful. There’s more but I’ll stop there.
Dream project to work on?
I would love to branch out and try writing middle grade and YA. Right now, the one I’m dying to do is a middle grade about a group of girls having a sleepover when a crop circle appears in the field next door – something that actually happened in my town when I was 13.
Tell us about your debut book.
FIRST DAY OF UNICORN SCHOOL is the story of Milly, a donkey with dreams of attending the prestigious unicorn school. With a few creative photos in her application, she’s accepted and must make it through the school without anyone realizing what she really is: a donkey in a party hat.
What’s up next for you?
I have two picture books on sub right now, and I’m drafting a picture book about a little girl with sensory processing disorder who is obsessed with pirates. I also have an adult SFF short story coming out in the anthology DON’T TOUCH THAT!: An Anthology of Parenthood in Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Jaymee Goh.
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
I love Princess Bride (though I wish Buttercup’s character wasn’t interchangeable with a lamp).
Huge thank you to Jess for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congrats on all your success!
JESS HERNANDEZ is a writer, librarian, teacher and all-around word girl. When not being used as a human canvas for baby food art, she writes books for kids. Her debut book, FIRST DAY OF UNICORN SCHOOL, illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum, comes out in Spring 2021 from Capstone. Sometimes she writes essays, poems, and short stories for grown-ups, too. Jess lives in a very small, very LOUD house in Washington with her husband, their three children, a blind Labrador, and seven chickens.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about Jess or her work, visit her online, or follow her on social media:
Twitter @FinkHernandez
ORDER THIS BOOK To order a copy of FIRST DAY OF UNICORN SCHOOL, click here.
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