Goodreads asked Carmela Dutra:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Carmela Dutra The story behind Lorenzo is actually a twofold story. When I was little I was afraid of the dark, so my father gave me this bear and told me he would help me sleep at night. I loved him so much and named him the Brave Bear Lorenzo, he had a special place on my bed among all my other stuffed animals. So between Lorenzo and a trusty night light I was able to sleep at night.

A few years back I had been visiting my family in Southern California; as we were saying our goodbyes my niece couldn’t stop crying over the fact that David and I were leaving. I promised her I would send her something special. I decided to send her my precious Lorenzo. I told her how much I loved him when I was her age and then I needed her to take care of him for me; and if she ever felt lonely and missed me to hug him and he’ll hug her back for me.

My nephew asked me one day to write him something to read, something funny that could have pictures too. Well I had no idea what to write about, so I started thinking about what I would like to read if I was a kid. I always loved reading about adventures so I started thinking about what kind of adventures could there be? Who would take these adventures? Then I remembered my Brave Bear Lorenzo and figured what better character than him to have in my stories. That is the story of how Lorenzo the Bear came to life.

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