This week’s Inspirational Mum is I.T engineer and children’s author Cristina Castro. Her book ‘Emma and Matti. Friendship at the Zoo’, is a collaboration with her young daughter, Lena, who wanted to share her mum’s bedtime stories with the world.
Amanda: Hi Cristina! Welcome to our ‘Follow Your Dreams’ blog. Thank you for talking to us today.
Cristina: Thank you for having me!
Amanda: I read your lovely book, ‘Emma and Matti: Friendship at the Zoo’. I loved Matti’s enthusiasm and persistence, and this is something I try to instil in my own children. What inspired the story and how long did it take you to publish it?
Cristina: The original idea of the book belongs to my little daughter Lena. I am Romanian and I live in Basel, Switzerland, with her and my Portuguese husband. Living abroad and coming from another culture, I wanted my daughter to learn to speak my native language. Romanian children’s books are not readily available in Switzerland, and once we ran out of the ones we had, I began to invent stories myself. I chose to invent stories with her two favourite plush toys, a giraffe and an elephant, so they would accompany her on her adventures by day as well as by night. I strived to make them educational and fun. One day, Lena told me about her dream of writing these stories in a book which she could sell to children at the local open-air market. I was amazed that a 5-year-old could have such an entrepreneurial idea and decided to support her in realising it. This is how our story was born. The book took two years to publish, but it was all worth it.
Amanda: That is such a sweet story. And it’s so brilliant that you took her seriously and empowered her to follow her dream! I’m sure you both faced challenges along the way. Can you tell me a bit more about that?
Cristina: Of course. As with any idea, it’s easier in theory than in practice. Before starting the project I did not know anything about writing or commercializing children’s books. We had a dream, a vision, and a story to tell, but we didn’t have any idea how to start. I spent months looking for illustrators, getting quotes and draft sketches of the characters. I was so lucky to find Noor Alshalabi from Jordan, who depicted the characters just like we imagined them: friendly, cute, and kind. Before meeting Noor, I always thought I’d be sitting down with my illustrator going over crayon sketches, but as it turns out, you can achieve all this and more, online. She is so talented! At the moment both Lena and I are exploring different ideas on how to advertise our book. We are learning so much from each experience and we try to do as much as possible together. Each step of the journey is a mother-daughter step and it’s a beautiful experience; we motivate each other and believe in our project.
Amanda: Ah, the fantastic Noor. She’s my illustrator too, and I would be lost without her. You said that each part of the journey is a mother-daughter step. How does being a mum impact your goal-setting and achievement?
Cristina: Being a mum and even more so, a working mum, means I have limited time for additional projects, no matter how special they may be. I use my evening hours to work on our social media posts or projects such as participating in this nice interview.
Amanda: Hahaha, you’re so sweet. What steps do you take to raise your profile?
Cristina: At the moment we are present mostly online on social media, as the current pandemic has made face-to-face meetings impossible. I hope things will change but for now we are focused on building up content, creating great collaborations with others artists and writers on social media, and spreading the word about our little project. In future I hope I can organise a book-reading event with games and prizes. We also have ideas of other great little gatherings where children can enjoy the world of ‘Emma and Matti’ and get to know the characters. Stay tuned!
Amanda: We certainly will! What has helped you along the way?
Cristina: I feel that, for small, heart-driven projects like ours, most people are interested in understanding the drivers behind them. For me personally, it was a way to encourage my daughter in life and incentivize her to put effort into her dreams. She realises now that, within reason, you can achieve anything if you work hard enough for it. She also witnessed the entire book-creating process from manuscript-drafting to sketches and had the opportunity to give feedback along the way. Her opinion was considered, she learned to collaborate and drive initiatives at an early age and I am sure it is something that will inherently always stay with her. I hope this project will give her the wings to do more and venture into her own independently-run initiatives.
Amanda: That’s really inspiring. Are you and Lena working on another project, now?
Cristina: Everyone is asking when the next book is coming out. I have lots of ideas for other topics and fun characters. I hope we’ll have the chance to make them all a reality. Working on it 😊
Amanda: I’m looking forward to seeing your next project. What’s the best thing that has come out of following your dreams?
Cristina: The confidence that your dreams can be realised and they’re worth fighting for. I also learned that you don’t need to be an expert at something before you start. Motivation and passion are much more important. I am learning each day and even though we will get better at it, we will never cease to learn.
Amanda: That is so true. So, apart from Lena, who has been instrumental in helping you achieve your goals?
Cristina: It’s mainly been Lena all along. I never dreamt I would write a book, and this was 100% her idea, although now, it has slowly become my dream, too. I now dream of all the great additional projects we could do around ‘Emma and Matti’ and how they can help contribute to raising a kind next generation.
Amanda: That is such a worthwhile cause. Who do you admire in your life?
Cristina: I admire many people, I actually think everyone has something we can learn from and we can admire. If you just look closely enough, you will find amazing things in your parents, your children, your colleagues or friends as well as strangers on the street. Everyone brings something good and interesting to the world and this is the message we also try to bring in our book.
Amanda: What’s the best advice you can give to anyone who has a dream?
Cristina: Have the courage to try! All experiences teach you something priceless which will enable you to go in directions you never expected.
Amanda: Cristina, thank you for the uplifting interview. It was great getting to know you.
Cristina: Thank you!
I hope you enjoyed today’s interview. To buy Cristina’s book, click on the image below. Have a great weekend!
