AVENTURAS EN ESL

I’m delighted to share this wonderful conversation I had with my amiga and huge supporter of diverse creators, Delia Ruiz.

Delia is the face behind AVENTURAS EN ESL, she’s a children’s book author herself and a cheerleader for many others, by assisting them to share their books with her audience.

AVENTURAS EN ESL in Delia’s words:

AVENTURAS EN ESL is a blog platform that elevates Latine voices through book reviews, while also highlighting BIPOC literary selections.

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Now on to our interview:

M. Amiga, I’m so glad to have this chance to highlight your valuable work. Can you share what inspired you to create AVENTURAS EN ESL? Why that name? What is your main mission with this project?

D. AVENTURAS EN ESL started as my teacher instagram page to upload student work and classroom tips with an occasional book review. I worked at an elementary school with the largest population of ELs and had an amazing support team. We had a principal who implemented a program for our newcomers and we saw incredible growth. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, we had many fun moments in the classroom so the handle name fit. When I met my husband, his work brought us to San Diego where I transitioned from the ESL classroom in Alabama to registrar/admissions for a high school in California. This brought changes to my page since I was no longer sharing classroom insight. Aventuras En ESL transitioned to more book picks as I was looking for comp titles for my work in progress (1st book). I joined book clubs with fellow bookstagrammers and was inspired by their work and recommendations. Slowly, more and more people started following the book recs I uploaded. I use Aventuras En ESL as a platform to amplify Latine book picks along with BIPOC book recs. I hope to bring more exposure and eyes to the Latinx percentage of books and continue to recommend books that highlight work by Latinx creators.

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M. That’s such a wonderful goal! As I can tell, AVENTURAS EN ESL is much more than books reviews and creator interviews. Now you also have a Tik Tok, bookshop store, critique services, and educational guide design. How has your project evolved and why have you expanded in that way?

D. When I became an author in 2021 I realized how little books are still being published by Latinx individuals. Even when I talked to friends that are not in the book world, they were unfamiliar with titles and authors that create stories about our cultures. As I connected with publicists, I wanted to make sure I highlighted and brought attention to the latest books to help with preorders and discuss how preorders help authors. My work as a freelancer expanded into the book world when I began helping others with self publishing and traditional publishing. What I learned through receiving feedback, querying, and constantly taking classes was knowledge I could pass along. While AVENTURAS EN ESL continues to be focused on book recommendations, I offer services for new and continuing authors within my availability.

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M. I love how you are always willing to support others and share your knowledge. As a book influencer who works with different companies, how do you decide which authors to highlight and which books to review/include in your bookshop store? What’s the process? Can authors reach out to you directly too?

D. When I am working with a direct publisher and it’s a paid campaign, I do have a deadline to create content and post, those are priority since an agreement gets signed. Some publishers have campaigns where you agree to post during a certain time frame in exchange for a book. Other publishers work with you to request titles and post throughout the year (if it’ll be a positive one). I get A LOT of book mail and it’s tricky to try to post everything since social media is not my full time job. Every season I go through the publisher catalogs to request titles I want to review (which takes so much time) and then add them to my Bookshop account. Since my page focuses on primarily Latinx book recs, I prioritize those first followed by BIPOC books along the way. I do have a submission request on my website for those wanting me to highlight their title; although not every title is guaranteed a post (more info on my form). When planning content, I take into consideration release dates, seasons, or national holidays that might fit best with a book pick. I do take social media breaks throughout the year and try to post when I can since I’m also a fulltime mom, have 2 part time jobs, and am an author writing and marketing my own work.

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M. That is so interesting! And I can only imagine how many books are there in your piles…which are taller than you! Thanks for sharing such a cute but illustrative photo. Can you tell us, what has been the most rewarding and the most challenging part of having this project?

D. I mentioned how social media isn’t my full time job but sometimes it can feel like another job added to my plate. I get so many requests and it can be challenging to keep up with posts + social media algorithms constantly changing. Reviewing books means having a lot of time to read so I turn to audiobooks to help me out. Despite the challenges, I would say the most rewarding part is connecting with readers as an author and book reviewer. I have met many wonderful friendships through this platform and can’t wait to meet many more readers and authors in person.

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M. What plans do you have for AVENTURAS En ESL in the future, amiga?

D. I hope to continue amplifying Latinx voices. As my baby grows, I’d love for him to have input with book recs too (from a kid’s point of view). I plan to continue my page and amplify BIPOC/Latinx voices all year long by recommending the latest book pics. Eventually I’d like to work on a podcast but I’ll take it one day at a time!

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M. How cute to include the recommendations from your kid! I do hope you get to have your own podcast, I’d be a listener for sure. Finally, can you tell us about your upcoming books and any project that you’re working on that you can share?

D. I just announced 2 picture books and a board book project. One is a quinceañera story that’ll be illustrated by Elisa Chavarri titled MY SISTER’S QUINCEAÑERA. The second is the book of my heart WAYS PAPI SAYS I LOVE YOU that is compared to MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE X THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES that’ll be illustrated by Carlos Velez Aguilera. The third project is a board book on the phases of the moon mixed with Latine foods in a Mexican-Puerto Rican household like my own. The board book (MOON CHEF) will be illustrated by Nomar Perez which is exciting. These projects have 2026 dates. There is another project that’s unannounced and I hope to talk more about it next year. I am also revising my novel in verse YA manuscript and am currently on submission with more picture book projects–stay tuned!

Delia, this is amazing! All of your books sound wonderful! Congratulations! I wish you the best and good luck with all your projects on submission. May they found the perfect homes soon. Keep us posted!

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DELIA’S BIO

Delia Ruiz is a first generation Latinx author from San Antonio, Texas. Her published works include the !123 Baila! board book series and the International Latino Book award-winning title Roqui’s Pandero Beat. She currently resides in LosAngeles with her husband, baby, and pug. Delia hopes to inspire the next generation of writers who also come from immigrant households.

Connect with Delia on social media: @Aventuras.En.ESL

Thanks for reading!

M

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📸 Cover photo by Rahul Pandit.