Member Interview: Author Nicholas Solis

Where did you grow up, and how did that place (or those places) shape your work?

I grew up in Austin, TX. But my family is from the valley in Brownsville, TX. These two worlds shaped the core of who I am. Never fully feeling accepted by either, I was left feeling a little lost. But the older I get, the more I feel like I don't have to be one or the other. I can be both and celebrate those worlds equally. 

Did you always want to be an author, or did that come later?

I've always wanted to be an author. I used to write knockoff Encyclopedia Brown mysteries and oddly deep poetry when I was eight. Recently, my dad sent me a fully illustrated, rhyming picture book I wrote when I was 12, entitled “From the Mountain to the Mouse.” 

If someone were to follow you around for 24 hours, what would they see?

What exhaustion looks like. I have two boys, a 4 year old and a recent 1 year old. This is my 25th year as an elementary teacher. I coach cheerleading after school one day a week. And I am currently doing my best to promote THE LITTLEST GRITO. So, I spend most of my day tired, but happy.  

How does your everyday life feed your work?

As a teacher, I'm lucky enough to get to interact with kids all day long. This provides terrific insight into their lives and their interests. And as a father, I'm constantly reading board books and picture books to my boys. So, ideas for books are always jumping off in my head. Now, whether I find the time to write them down before they are lost forever is a whole other story. 

Tell us about some accomplishments that make you proud.

I'm proud of my boys. I love them to death and try to be the best dad I can be. Luckily, their mom is pretty great too. I'm proud of my teaching career. Making it to year 25 and still enjoying the work is a HUGE accomplishment. Ask any teacher. And I'm proud to be a published author. For many of us, all we ever wanted was to be published. Then, we get published and this little voice starts to creep into our heads saying, "What about the next book?" and "What do the reviews say?" and "Did you get a starred review?" I'm struggling with this still, but then I remind myself that one of my main bucket list goals was to be a published author, and I did it. It might sound self-aggrandizing, but I think it's important to appreciate any goal we achieve and to tell those tiny voices to be quiet for a bit.

What surprises you about the creative life?

How subjective it is. I have had the privilege to read countless, amazing stories by fantastic writers who just can't seem to catch a break. I know there is a business algorithm that makes some of these choices, but I wish so many of these stories would find a broader platform in this world. I know there is a reader out there waiting for a story I've been lucky enough to see, and I wish there was an easier way to get it into their hands. 

When a reader discovers your work, what do you hope they find?

I love when adults read my stories, but I usually write them for kids, especially my students. I hope they find stories full of love and kindness and empathy. I hope they find a little humor in them too. 

Quick-Fire Questions: 

Would you rather stare into the future, or peek into the past? 

I think I would get too neurotic to know the future, with the exception of knowing lotto numbers. So, I would rather peek into the past. One of my favorite movies covers this beautifully! If you haven't seen “About Time,” PLEASE DO SO NOW! I would spend my days going back and hanging with my wife and my boys. Watch the movie and you'll understand what kind of heaven that would be. 

What’s something you told your students on the first day of school this year? 

If you're cool, I'm cool. It's my motto. I used to be a much stricter, louder teacher. But about 15 years ago I adopted that motto and it really helps. When they mess up, they understand that they are kids and kids are supposed to make mistakes. But they also know that there are consequences. So, when they have to make amends, neither one of us is angry or upset. We just know that we made a mistake and we try to learn from it. The same goes when we are being cool. If everyone is listening and working hard, that usually means there is more time for recess, special events, cooler projects, or longer novels. By living this motto, it has helped my kids understand that they have some control in their environment; it's made me a much chiller teacher, and my classroom has become a place where they feel safe and loved. 

What are some of the greatest influences in your work? 

The greatest influences in my work have been my childhood and my students. My picture book, THE COLOR COLLECTOR is a mix of my loneliness as a child and the desire for my classroom to be a safe place for any kid that felt like me when I was in middle school. MY TOWN, MI PUEBLO is all about growing up in Austin and Brownsville and knowing that the border wasn't the scary place all the news outlets seemed to make it. It was also about all the kids I've taught over the years whose families were separated because one had a green card and the other did not. 

A new collection of poems I'm editing is a combination of the first book I ever fell in love with, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, and the desire to make my kiddos giggle over the years. Luckily, I found a profession that allows me to heal some of the hardships I went through as a kid, whether with kindness or laughter. 

Would you rather swing on the tip of a crescent moon or sing on the rising sun? 

Swing on the tip of the crescent moon. I'm a bit of a night owl, who usually finds myself looking up at the moon on cool, Texas nights. (There aren't that many of them.) I just like the peace of it all … knowing that most of the world is asleep, while I'm awake.