Rosalinda Garcia has been a radiology, mammography technologist since her 20s. While she has loved her career, she says she’s wanted to be a writer since she was a little girl. But as a single mom raising two sons, it was a dream she put off for a long time.
“Life happens and you do what you have to do. Now it’s my time, and I’ve started writing,” Garcia said.
Actually, she says she started working on what became her first book, “Thorny the Horned Toad,” a long time ago.
“I just never put the finishing touches on it,” Garcia said.
Garcia based the story on her experiences growing up in Odessa, Texas.
“Every horned toad I would find, its name was ‘Thorny.’ So that’s how I named the book that,” Garcia said.
She says she was enamored with the creatures.
“I wanted to just carry them all over with me,” Garcia said. “You know, you can’t do that. So that was the basis for my book.”
The idea is to introduce kids the concept of habitats and why it’s important to consider how what you do affects the lives of other forms of life.
“I’m really hoping that children learn from it, and it’s never too late to educate your kids on taking care of the environment,” Garcia said.
Her next book will focus on fireflies – another tiny Texas resident she says has been greatly affected by human activity. Garcia says when she semi-retires in October, she’ll be devoting even more time to writing.
“It’s exciting,” Garcia said. “Life’s always exciting.”
