Jean Vallesteros

ALT Excerpt from interview: “When/how did you realize you had a creative dream or calling to fulfill? Very young! I always had an artistic bent—writing stories, drawing pictures, dancing, singing, etc. My first attempt at writing the Great American Novel was in first grade when I decided to write a tragedy about the ants my mother vacuumed up in the kitchen. Their names were things like Amy Ant, Arthur Ant, and Amelia Ant, and the premise was that this loving ant family would be torn apart by a natural disaster no one could explain. Imagine Amy Ant screaming “NOOOOOOOO” as her uncle Arthur is swept away from her. I did not finish that “book,” probably for the best, but I did finish one a few years later. It was 25 pages long and about an orphan who realizes she’s a princess and has to travel with a mysterious stranger to reclaim her throne.”