We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Rivera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, is there something you believe many others might not?
I’m an embodied example that you don’t need an MFA to write a book. Sure, if you have the money, want the embedded community, and need discipline in carving out writing time, go for it! But if you’re on a budget, have a family or tight schedule, and are self-disciplined, you can DIY your book-writing and publishing education. I took dozens of courses, primarily online, in hours that suited my interests and parenting schedule. I hand-picked my curriculum: Essay courses while drafting and workshopping essays. Publishing courses when I was submitting essays for publication. Book proposal courses when I was thinking about agents and book audiences. It’s really choose-your-own-adventure with today’s level of online accessibility (I included a list of places I took online courses in the credits in the back of my book, MY OCEANS). You definitely extend your literary network of friends and alliances through online classes, but I also especially loved the in-person literary community I found at Lighthouse Writers in Denver. So if you’re looking for a place to start your book-writing journey, there you go!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was a blogger before I wrote a book, and writing was a hobby I did alongside my travels in my career as an international experiential educator and director (for the Boulder-based organization, Where There Be Dragons). The 2020 pandemic furloughed me (if uncomfortably, at the time) into a place where I could finally finish my debut book. And the book, itself, gave me a medium to channel my existential reckonings as the mother of young children on a (blue) planet in ecological crisis. Most of my essays and stories intersect at the confluence of motherhood and marine kinship. Some sample chapters are published online if you want to read excerpts from my book at The Cut, Orion Magazine, or Terrain.org. I wouldn’t say my book is “easy” to read, but readers do say they have felt “relieved,” “seen,” and felt a spirited “resonance” with the themes. It was a seven-year deep dive—emotionally and physically—to write the book. I surfaced at the end of that adventure from a lot of eco-anxiety, and I do hope that readers of MY OCEANS can also re-surface via the compressed form of the book—not necessarily with direct answers, but with a comforting sense of shared journey, sentiment, and community.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you love holding, touching, and even smelling books (and also enjoying delicious drinks and snacks), a literary tour of the best bookstores of Denver will really fill your bucket! Some of my favorite local bookstores include: the Tattered Cover, the Boulder Bookstore, Petals & Pages, and The Read Queen. I also have upcoming author talks at the Trident Bookstore and Cafe (in Boulder), and another at the Bookworm of Edwards if you plan to venture up into the mountains anytime soon! You can check my website for all my book talks and event details at: www.christinarivera.com.

 

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to ALL the small, independent, beautiful little bookstores doing so much work to support local authors and artsy books! I live in the mountains, near Vail, and my local bookstore, the Bookworm of Edwards, not only hosted my book launch, but did an interview for our local paper, got me on local TV, continues to offer signed copies of my book, and stacks MY OCEANS on their bestseller shelf (see photo), but I feel such a huge hug of local love every time I walk through their doors.

Website: https://www.christinarivera.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinarivera.writer/

Other: Sample Excerpt from MY OCEANS: https://orionmagazine.org/article/the-endling/

My Irregular (Emailed) Series of “Blue Love Notes”: https://christinarivera.substack.com/

 

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.