Q: First tell us something about yourself.
I am Dr. Orissa DePass, an educator of many years. I live in Georgia and have one adult daughter named Clemencia. My mother, also named Clemencia was born in the country Panama. My first book, Clemencia, A Panamanian Cinderella was written to share the beautiful culture of Panama.
When I am not writing children’s stories, I am planning student events or relaxing on a beach. I am very excited to continue writing and publishing more children’s stories.
Q: How and when did your journey start as a writer?
My journey as a writer began in 1995 when I was a student at the University of Georgia. My assignment was to take a famous children’s story and write my own variant of it. I chose the fairy tale , Cinderella and I wrote a Panamanian variant of it to represent my culture. My professor said it was well written and I should publish it.
Q: When did you write your first story? Is it published or not?
Well over 25 years later, I finally published it! Today I have just published my second book.
Q: Tell us something more about your books?
My two published books are set in Panama. Panamanians have a beautiful and unique culture that is not frequently represented in literature. We are Hispanic people of various races who have the most beautiful traditional clothing in the world. Both of my books include the pollera, our traditional dress of Panama.
Q: How did these stories and characters come to your mind?
I use the setting of Panama because I love this culture and the people. The characters in my book Patchwork Pollera are named and modeled after family members.
Q: Do you want to leave any message for your readers?
I hope my readers will continue to read and discover beautiful happy places in this world. We live amongst so much diversity and creativity that can be discovered through books.
