The Artist’s Interview: Samantha Cabrera of Calla Press
Interview with Kimberly Phinney
The Way Back to Ourselves is proud to present:
T H E A R T I S T ’ S I N T E R V I E W
with Samantha Cabrera, founder of Calla Press
This interview is dedicated in loving memory to Leslie Bustard.
KIMBERLY: Hi, Samantha! So, we love to start with a “getting to know you” moment. Tell us the most essential or interesting thing about you, so our readers can get a sense of you in a “snapshot.” What is closest to your heart?
SAMANTHA: The most essential aspect about me is my faith in Jesus Christ. I would say the most interesting thing about me is that I’m an identical twin. Also, I once wrote a letter in the ninth grade to my Nana (who sent me a picture of that letter) about wanting to start a Christian publishing company. Well, past college and my Masters of Fine Arts in Writing, six years of marriage, and two babies later…I started it this year, 2023!
KIMBERLY: That is truly amazing! I love how God works. I always like to say, “God loves circles.” This certainly was a full circle moment for you! So, speaking of that, how exactly did the idea of Calla Press come to you and how did you get started? Origin stories are so lovely. Also, what is your mission and vision for Calla Press now and in the future?
SAMANTHA: I started Calla Press in 2017 after a horrible bout of MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). I was struggling to find purpose in a town I didn’t know well, but who knew my husband well, as he was an OB-GYN. I struggled with always trying to prove I’m “somebody” other than a struggling artist or writer. I had a lot of experiences of being belittled, which kind of grew on me. I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling this way, so I started reading stories of other women going through the same thing or similar experiences.
I desired to start a publication to share other people’s stories; I published so many amazing works by authors all over the world, from Africa to India. I loved hearing their stories.
I then made it into a print literary journal for the last two years as we continued to grow. Now, in 2023, I established Calla Press Publishing LLC; it was a very long time coming, but now is the time.
KIMBERLY: That is so exiting! And, again, I love how God brings forth beauty from ashes. From your pain, he brought forth beauty. You have certainly inspired me to pursue similar dreams that God put in my heart since I was a child. So, I really resonate with your story. And I know a lot of our readers do, too. So, what does “a day in the life” of a literary journal founder, editor, and publisher look like? Do you have favorite things about the job? What’s it like working with your team?
SAMANTHA: Well, I am a busy mama of two littles, so most my days are filled with mothering and caring for my children. I do have one day a week where a babysitter comes so I can work all day–and work all day I do! Then when night falls, I work in our closet; it’s actually quite cozy in there. My favorite thing is actually publishing people’s work! I find that I have such joy when I’m able to send writers a link to their published work or ship out our annual literary journals.
My team is wonderful; recently this past April, our dear Communications Coordinator, Leslie Bustard, passed away to cancer; she was a poet and co-founder of Square Halo, a book publishing company. I remember ZOOM-ing with her and seeing her smile and her face light up when talking about literature. She was so grateful to be on our team, and we miss her. I now have an amazing Communications Assistant, Lara d’Entremont, and I’m so grateful for her dedicated heart for the work of Calla Press. My Editorial Assistant, Erin Samples, has been with me from pretty much the beginning of when Calla Press started growing; she is such a help in so many ways. Most of all, she’s such a great supporter of Calla Press and sharing the work we’re putting out. I love my team. We correspond through email and Instagram, so everything is completely remote. We have a long response period so we all feel joy to work, not stress.
KIMBERLY: Like so many, we were so pained to hear about Leslie’s suffering and passing. But what a gift that you had her as long as you did. What a gift to make such a precious connection. I love that. It’s such a blessing when God sends similar hearts to champion a cause you share! Like you, I couldn’t be more grateful for our editors and contributors. They made my once solitary work transform into true community!
So, your children, husband, and family life are integral to you. As an artist and woman of faith, how do you view the role of motherhood? Is there a connection with your creativity?
SAMANTHA:
Oh, this is a good one! Motherhood is my second primary ministry aside from my husband and our marriage. I desire for my children to love Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind one day, so I feel one of the best ways to integrate that is to read good Christian books to them. I read with my daughter most nights, and my husband reads to our son.
During the day, I read books to them aloud, even if they’re playing with blocks or cars still. They are my priority, and yet I still feel called to Calla Press. I’ve decided to give myself grace upon grace when it comes to timing and not always getting things done, like creating the perfect dinner or breakfast. Sometimes, I’m a tired mama, but at the end of the day, my babies were so loved on! They were chased around, they sweated in the summer sun, they ate juicy watermelon, and then they had a fun bubble bath.
KIMBERLY: I feel that very same way! Motherhood is a high calling in so many ways, but we also need to have something to call our own that is simply of and for ourselves. It sounds like that is Calla Press for you. God put motherhood and Calla Press on your heart! And I think when our children see their mommas chasing a dream or what God has called them to do, that is a very beautiful thing. It empowers them to do the same!
So, our readers may or may not know that you are not only an editor and writer, but you are a very talented painter as well. Do you experience these mediums in the same way? Or are they distinctively different? If you had to choose, which artist’s role resonates with you most: editor, writer, or painter?
SAMANTHA: OOF! This is the question that plagued be for years! Wow. Well, it turns out I desired to be a full-time artist when I got married, so I started my art business. I painted so many paintings we didn’t know what to do with them all; some I sold and some I gave away to friends and family. For me, they are very different; it may just be me, but I stress big time when it comes to painting, partly because I’m a perfectionist (maybe a little OCD!). And because I found myself always trying to find my “style.” Right? Isn’t that was artists strive for–to be known for (blank)? Well, after I had babies, I realized I could just paint for the enjoyment of painting and not really think about selling all the time or to be “succesful.” A little later, I could no longer oil paint due to the toxicity in the air. So, I really just evolved into writing and editing. Now, publishing!
KIMBERLY: That’s so good! I love how we (as people, woman, and artists) have the RIGHT to evolve. Of course, TWBTO community knows me as a writer and editor myself, but I am also a professional photographer and painter. I, too, have evolved many times. But at my core—in my heart of hearts—I am and will always be a writer. I think it’s the one thing I couldn’t have taken away from me when it comes to my artistry.
So, speaking of writing… Please tell us about your memoir! What was the experience like writing it? What big takeaways do you want your readers to have when they finish reading it?
SAMANTHA:
I want people to take away–hope–from my memoir, The Doctor’s Wife. I want them to just be–rest in where Jesus has them–and to not neglect their mental health, because it can not only affect you, but those you love most.
KIMBERLY: Oh, so good! Poignant and direct. Mental health is SUCH an important conversation today! As modern people we’ve never been more affluent and privileged, but we’ve also never been more depressed. I am so grateful people like you—especially in the faith community—are speaking up! So much of your own story comes from a place of pain and suffering. How has your faith and writing helped you move through difficult times?
SAMANTHA: Coming from abuse and trauma, writing this was somewhat healing for me; being diagnosed with MDD and symptomatic BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) was never something I thought would happen during marriage. In fact, I denied it the first year until my husband noticed the suicidal ideations I was having, and then the cutting started me on medication. I so badly wanted to be “normal,” and it was almost daily something would happen. Writing my memoir was like gutting a fish—taking the old out and then somehow, through writing, bringing back to life this dead mackerel and releasing it back into the water. It helped me see things more clearly.
Most importantly, it helped me see how God aided me the most and was the greatest Surgeon of my broken heart.
KIMBERLY: That is so beautiful, heartbreaking, and powerful. It’s such a brave step of faithful to choose to heal and then share that journey through your art for others to experience. God comforts and heals us so we can comfort and help others heal through him. If you are willing to speak to this, what did grief look like in this creative space when you lost your editor and dear friend Leslie Bustard to cancer earlier this year? What do you want our readers to know about this wonderful woman’s legacy? And how have you seen God work in this season of loss?
SAMANTHA: Leslie Bustard started working for us in April of 2022, not long after she had submitted a poetry submission to Calla Press. I loved her writing, and she had reached out to see if we needed any help at Calla Press; I took up her gracious offer. At the time, I didn’t know she had cancer. I also didn’t know she was married to the illustrator behind my favorite book, Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey. I mean, I had two prints in our hallways already hung before I ever made the connection!
Leslie is a gift. Everything she did for Calla Press will always carry ripples.
She’s the one who initiated my contribution to The Black Barn online. Her words published on Calla Press, especially her essay, “A Hidden Life,” which happened to be published exactly a year before she went to be home with Jesus, will always lend faith and hope to whoever stumbles across it.
I would love for readers to know that Leslie was so joyous. She was a loving wife with a loving husband and three grown daughters. She was a writer, poet, and teacher. She loved finding joy in the simple things, and she inspired Calla Press to start publishing books.
KIMBERLY: That is just beautiful, Samantha. What a legacy to leave behind. Thank you for sharing that with us. We share our loving and faithful condolences with you, the Calla Press family, and the Bustard family.
So, as a woman of faith, if you could tell our readers just ONE very important thing about the meaning of life, what would you want to tell them?
SAMANTHA:
You will find the meaning of life the more you begin to worship God through it.
KIMBERLY: Wow, that is so good. I think you are truly on to something with that! Everything is sacred. Praise is everywhere—even in our suffering. And it certainly gives meaning to life. And finally, what exciting things do you have coming up? How can our readers connect with you?
SAMANTHA: Calla Press is publishing its first children’s book, Harriot Hare! And our first book, A Mother Held, by Lara d’Entremont.
Readers can connect at www.callapress.com or on Instagram at @callapresspub.
Or, our Kickstarter where we’ve raised funds!
Fundraiser by Samantha Cabrera : Help us Publish A Mother Held by Lara! (gofundme.com)
KIMBERLY: Samantha, thank you so much for this beautiful interview. And on a personal note, thank you for publishing my first poems after my critical illness. Your acceptance and kindness during those difficult times helped bring me back to life. I am so very grateful to have been a contributor and for the beautiful relationship TWBTO has with Calla Press.
Special note: When asked if I could include anything else in this interview, Samantha shared, “I also wouldn’t be doing what I am doing without my husband’s encouragement and my children’s love.”
VISIT CALLA PRESS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SAMANTHA AND HER SWEET FAMILY, READ HER LITERARY JOURNAL, AND PURCHASE HER PUBLICATIONS.
SAMANTHA CABRERA
Samantha Cabrera is the founder and publisher of Calla Press Publishing LLC, where she publishes pure and lovely books for the glory of Christ. She graduated from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor with her BA in Mass Communications/Journalism and went to graduate with her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Lindenwood University. Samantha has written for Christian Mingle’s Believe.com for five years as a paid contributing writer and for Faithlife Women, a division of Logos Bible Software. She has been published in Christian Woman, Thryve, Niche, The Black Barn Online, Agave, and the Santa Fe Literary Review, among others; she has over 100 articles published online.
An excerpt from her memoir, The Doctor’s Wife: Battling Mental Illness through Marriage and Motherhood, won an honorable mention at the WriterCon 2021 contest. Before dedicating herself to motherhood and publishing, she taught English for two years. She lives in the Texas countryside along with her husband and children. A fun fact: she wrote a letter to her Nana in the ninth-grade stating she dreamed of starting a Christian publishing company. Her Nana still has that letter.