Elissa Sanci photo
Talia Aikens-Nunez with her new book.
Talia Aikens-Nunez wrote her first book as an elementary schooler. A story about her cat Mickey, it was written on computer paper with staples serving as a binding.
As an adult, Aikens-Nunez has published three books for children. Her latest children’s novel, OMG…I Did It Again?!, the second in a series about a young girl who discovers she has witch powers, will be released on May 1.
OMG…I Did It Again?! follows the adventures of April Appleton, a pre-teen girl with magical powers. After learning about poachers who hunt elephants for their ivory tusks, April wishes she could save her favorite animals. She is flummoxed when, one morning, she wakes up to see elephants parading down her suburban street.
For the duration of the novel, April and her friends must figure out how the elephants got to their town, and how to send them back to their rightful home.
Aikens-Nunez, who grew up in New Haven, weaves her multicultural characters into her narrative seamlessly, never making their race or ethnicity the focal point of the story.
“It’s hard to entice kids to read if they can’t see themselves in the books,” Aikens-Nunez said. By creating characters of different backgrounds, she makes her children’s novels more relatable to her audience.
Aikens-Nunez began writing children’s books when her daughter Isabella was born in 2008. Isabella, now 8, often gives her mom tips on what to write about. Sometimes Aikens-Nunez encourages her daughter to write her own stories. Isabella does, the way her mother herself used to when she was younger.
Aikens-Nunez, who also has a 2‑year-old son, writes in her spare time; writing is her “fun” job, she said. Her “other” job, as she calls it, is as a program manager for the judicial branch of the State of Connecticut, where she has worked for nine years.
Her first title, a bilingual picture book titled Escucha Means Listen, came out three years ago; it is set to be re-released this month.
Aikens-Nunez said she initially had a difficult time finding a publisher: big name publishers liked her idea, but said it was too difficult to market a bilingual book. She then reached out to smaller publishers, who were very receptive to her multicultural characters.
Aikens-Nunez said it is important to represent multicultural characters in children’s literature. Her books are not about grandiose topics; instead, they cover “light, fluffy topics” with characters of different races and ethnicities. For instance, she said, OMG…I Did It Again?! focuses on April’s adventures as a witch, and just happens to feature three best friends of different races.
The first book in the OMG series, OMG…Am I A Witch?!, was published with Central Avenue Marketing Ltd. in 2014. It has won the Independent Book Publisher Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award for Juvenile Fiction and the Mom’s Choice Award, as well as an honorable mention in the New England Festival.
Writing first drafts of her books takes about a month, she said. Then the editing process can take anywhere from six months to a year. Aikens-Nunez plans to continue to write as many books as possible for the series, for “as many adventures as I can come up with.”
Aikens-Nunez has held readings in New Haven libraries and at schools in the New Haven area. Her readings are mixed with activities, which include arts and crafts, games and mini-writing workshops.
“I like writing for kids because I like their imaginations,” she said. “It’s endless and pure.”