Tell me a little bit about your book Arturo's Workshop. The story is about a kind old man named Arturo who has a magical workshop where he fixes broken hearts. Hearts come in many sizes and break in different ways, but when a frightened heart arrives and hides under his workbench, Arturo tries everything to help the scared little heart to heal and grow. That is a beautiful concept! How long did it take you to write this book? It was written, illustrated, and published in less than three months. That is amazing, especially since you illustrated the book yourself! What do you hope to achieve with Arturo's Workshop? I want to give hope to people. Everyone in every culture at any age knows what a broken heart feels like. I wanted to create a character that people could believe in. That's it's okay to be sad, and someone out there cares and wants to help. Hope is a beautiful gift to give, and I love the message. Was there a point when you wanted to give up on writing your book? There were a few moments of self-doubt. Was the story good enough? Were my illustrations stupid? I had never written a children's book before, was I doing it right? I remember working on an illustration, thinking about giving up, but as I worked on I started noticing little tweaks I could make, and when I looked at the finished product, I thought, "Whoa, I did that? That's not bad." and I kept going. It was then I learned to stop worrying about the what-if and trust that I was making something good. I am delighted to hear you didn't give up! Overcoming self-doubt is so tricky, but I've heard the response to your book has been outstanding. Can you tell me a bit about the reader's reactions to Arturo's Workshop? In a little over a month since it's been published, it has gotten positive feedback. Friends have been sharing videos and pictures of their kids reading the book. People have been buying extra copies and donating them to local libraries (including the libraries of the city I grew up in. Which blew my mind). Friends who are teachers have been buying copies for their classrooms. It's a wonderful feeling that the book is being read and loved by both children and adults. Thank you for taking the time to share about your book Stanley! I look forward to seeing more from you in the future!
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