BABYSITTING, WAITING TABLES, FIREFIGHTING, AND WRITING A NOVEL, a guest post by Vanessa L. Torres

Every single one of us leaves behind a unique footprint on this world. Whether you write or not, this footprint is your voice. Our voice shows itself in everything we do; What time we slam the snooze button in the morning. How we describe the sunrise to a friend. What we wear on a dull Monday versus a Friday night out. We are showing the universe who we are.
I am often asked, “What did you do before you became an author?” The answer to this question is part of my footprint—my voice. And contrary to what some may say, age does not matter. Being well out of my twenties doesn’t make my voice richer. Nor does it make what I have to say irrelevant or out of touch. On the flip side, youth is not a hinderance, nor an advantage. Because we begin building our own stories from the moment we take our first breath.
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My first job came to me without my approval—babysitting for the family next door. I was not excited about it. If I remember correctly, I’m pretty sure I totally refused at first. But my mom offered up my name and that was that, even though she knew I would stink at it.
“It’ll be good for you,” she’d said.
My pre-teen self whole-heartedly disagreed. What good could possibly come from chasing around a kid who’d eaten the family goldfish straight from the tank the week before? But desperation is stronger than most anything, and the Jordache jeans I had to have cost more than my parents could afford. So I went, and chased, and earned enough to pay for half of the jeans.
That first sitter job holds a special place in my heart. Now that I’m a mom too, I get why my mother pushed me so hard to take it. She wanted me to have the designer jeans of my dreams, and she’d found a way. She always did. When I’m writing about a character who must compromise for the sake of gaining something they deem worthy, Goldfish Boy and Mom are my inspiration.

When I was just shy of fifteen, I was hired to work a summer job at a local golf course. I was the only female employee, wading in a very deep shark tank of teenage boys and middle-aged men. I poured and served beer from the tap, (which was totally illegal,) drove the beer cart, (again, illegal,) grilled burgers, sold tickets, and learned very quickly how to navigate and protect my coming-of-age self. I grew up fast that summer and reminiscing about my time at the golf course is sometimes uncomfortable. But when I need to dig deep for the heart of someone finding their place and standing their ground, I look back at that quiet but fierce girl behind the counter, and there she is—my voice again.


Fast forward through the next ten years. I sold shoes and waited tables—lots and lots of tables. I still have nightmares about being, as servers say, “In the weeds.” I also bartended, this time above the books. And this was back in the day when smoking was a thing in bars. Patrons would belly-up, order, light up, and spill their troubles. I became a therapist during those years too. And though those late nights were exhausting, I have no regrets. There is something about customer service jobs. They teach us how to interact with strangers, how to problem solve, and sometimes, how to connect on a deeper emotional level.
When I write, this is what I strive for, to home in on the heart of the story, to write relatable characters that read authentic. I realize now that I was doing much more than selling a pair of kitten heels or making dry martinis. I was learning how to be present. And that grounding anchors my stories in whatever world I am creating.

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In my mid-twenties, I decided to get serious and become an EMT. A few years later, I followed that up with a paramedic certification, then firefighting—and the cherry on top, I began working as a flight medic in a medical helicopter.
Nothing has brought me closer to the extremes of humanity, crisis, and tragedy. I have been present for the worst days of so many lives, held hands with patients until their hearts faded into stillness. But within the rubble of those heartbreaks, there were moments of joy too. I’ve also delivered new life into this world, and for some, I was lucky enough to bring them back from the brink of leaving this earth.
My experiences as a first responder have left the deepest mark on my writing. Sometimes, it’s difficult to let the memories in. Sometimes I can’t. But when I find myself able, I see the divots my footprints leave on the page—a piece of my reality intertwined with my stories—my unique voice shining through.

Bio: Bio: Vanessa L. Torres is a Mexican American author, an adventure seeker, and a mom to a flashlight-under-the-covers-reader. She is a thirty-year veteran of the fire service and is equally proud to call herself an author. Her debut young adult novel, The Turning Pointe, released in 2022. When she’s not writing, she balances her time between anything outdoors, and spending time with her family close to home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Visit her online at vltorres.com.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/vanessaltorreswrites
https://www.facebook.com/vpalensky
https://www.threads.net/@vanessaltorreswrites
Buy: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673908/on-the-wings-of-la-noche-by-vanessa-l-torres/
Filed under: new books, New Releases, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Literature

About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 32 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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