Local author to teach the write stuff

Misa Ramirez’ love of reading and writing started at a very young age, and now the Argyle resident and published author wants to pay it forward.

Ramirez, a former teacher, is offering writing camps this summer for children that she hopes will foster a love of the craft for years to come.

“I developed The Write Stuff Writing Camp for Kids as a way to keep kids writing over the summer, and more importantly, to make writing fun,” Ramirez said. “Kids create a Cool Writer’s Kit; we focus writing on themes from villains to mythology to modern fairy tales, and we develop newspapers, blogs, and have a great time!”

Ramirez also offers short seminars to high school students for help writing college scholarship and admittance essays, as well as tutoring for children who need more one-on-one assistance.

The wife and mother of five has had two books, Living the Vida Lola and Hasta la Vista, Lola!, published through St. Martin’s Minotaur.

“I came up with Lola Cruz as a character and the rest, as they say, is history,” Ramirez said. “I just loved writing her, loved seeing her family and life develop, and couldn’t wait to spend time with her.  The logical thing to do was write a book. 

“I’ve always loved mysteries (spent most of my high school lunch periods in my math teacher’s room reading Agatha Christie books), so that, also, was a logical choice for genre.  I threw in a little romance for some spicy fun, and voila!  The series was born.”

Ramirez is currently working on a third book in the series.

She said her love for reading was nurtured by her parents as a young child.

“I cut my teeth on early mysteries like Nancy Drew,” Ramirez said. “My parents had a 30 minute reading rule.  My brothers and I all came away from that family expectation as voracious readers.”

Ramirez also helps run Books on the House, www.booksonthehouse.com, and Books on the House for Kids/Teens, www.booksonthehouse.com/kids, which Ramirez said are very special to her.

“I love these sites because I’m passionate about books and reading, and the whole purpose of the websites is to bring readers and books together,” Ramirez said. “Basically, authors come on the sites and give away books.  A new author is featured every week. 

“Anywhere from three to six books are usually given away at the end of that week to random winners from the week’s entrants.  It’s a way for readers to discover new-to-them authors, and for writers to reach a potential new readership.”

Ramirez is offering three sessions of the Write Stuff Writing Camp for Kids this summer, including July 19-23, Aug. 2-6, and Aug. 16-20, at a cost of $95 per participant.

Visit http://argyleyoungwriters.edublogs.org or call 940-464-3249 for more information on the writing camps, or www.misaramirez.com to learn more about Ramirez.