Samantha Cabrera shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Samantha, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I wake up around 6:30-7 AM to my two toddlers, either playing or doing something they shouldn’t! I get them ready to head down; feed them the easiest mom breakfast of “pan”, a banana with cinnamon, and a puree pouch so I can pump breastmilk for 30 minutes while I drink my hot coffee. After pumping, my baby girl, who is now almost one, wakes up around 8:30 AM; we all go up to see Belen, and I get her changed and ready for the day. We’ll do a quick grocery pickup all before 9, because once 10 AM hits, it’s officially homeschool hour. That’s the first 90-minute window of my day!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a wife, homeschooling mama of three, homemaker, and founder of Calla Press Publishing. Calla Press started out as a literary journal and has grown into a traditional publishing house where we publish pure, lovely, and noble books for the glory of Jesus.
I don’t think many people know this, but I believe God used books to save me when I was younger. When I say I was an avid reader, I mean I read two to three books per week, sometimes finishing them overnight. I loved reading and immersing myself in a whole new world, one that was apart from my own. Some people ask me how I turned out so different, and I strongly believe it was that God used books to guide me. I learned what courage was. I learned what godly love looked like. I learned what a godly marriage looked like. I learned what chasing your dreams and sacrificing your dreams looked like…all through books. I read Janette Oke and Catherine Palmer religiously; Palmer wrote me a letter once saying my name reminded her of a heroine in a romance novel, and I’ll never forget that.
I’m living my dream now! I think people also think that because I married a doctor, I never have to work a day in my life. I chuckle because my husband firmly believes that Calla Press Publishing could be incredibly successful by now if I truly gave it my all. He has no doubt, but I simply scaled down and realized my marriage and raising my children were my ultimate calling. However, I believe in running a business with godly ethics, despite our size.
Calla Press Publishing is in zero debt. We manage our finances wisely, and we pay a small stipend to our staff every month. I believe what makes us stand out is that we are unapologetic in our Christian beliefs. We have our statement of faith displayed on our website, and we will not publish anything that waters down the gospel. While we get in hundreds of submissions during our open window, we only publish a small handful. If you have a publishing company that charges authors, publishes anything and everything, you have to ask of you’re in the right business. This is why we have a problem in the children’s literary landscape, something I’m hoping Calla Press Publishing can make a dent in.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
This is an excellent question, because I believe so many of us suffer from it.
What breaks the bond between people is pride. The Bible says in Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”
Plenty of people have pride, but very few have humility. If you don’t have humbless and humility, you will lose even the greatest of relationships. Pride is a sad and horrible character trait, because you’re talking about self-proclaimed Christians who have this pride they can’t shake.
You will often find it’s these very people who are now divorced, have no authentic friendships, use Christianity as a Facebook softener, and actually never apologize when they do someone wrong. They will find themselves with artificial relationships, or, toxic relationships.
What restores them? Humble hearts and humility…acting like Christ would in a world that laughs at it. Imagine the restoration that would happen globally if people simply apologized from the humbleness of their heart and meant it! But you don’t see that anymore; you see gaslighting and harassment and toxic cycles, nothing that will ever bring restoration.
I don’t blame the Christian who was wronged to not want that in their life, honestly.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes; I somewhat write about this in my book, The Doctor’s Wife: Battling Mental Illness through Marriage and Motherhood, but I almost gave up when I lived in California for a year and a half. I almost committed suic*ide by drowning in a bathtub. It was a mix of the spiritual warfare in California, my horrible past experiences, and my current dating life. It took the words of a faithful friend to cheer me up after I texted her I wasn’t doing well. We went to Newport Beach, and my life turned around; I ended up moving back to Texas and found the love of my life I am now married to and have three children with.
I’m completely unashamed about it now; when I got married, I did battle cutting, but have now grown past all of that through the amazing encouragement of my husband and the love of Christ.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That success is measured in likes, shares, and retweets. That book sales measure the importance of the book’s message. That an author must have instant success.
Most big-book retailers don’t truly care about your message; they care about sales, which is why you’ll hardly find an unpopular Instagram influencer who didn’t get a book deal who is now in Target. It’s all algorithm and who you know.
The industry is sad, but there is hope. There a few gems in the publishing industry that understand the dangers of where we’re at. This is why you see gay children’s books at Barnes&Noble, or gay children’s books published by even once reputable publishers. I know a few. I’m incredibly passionate about the children’s literary landscape and it breaks my heart that children see these books out in the open. Christian parents have a strong torch to carry to break the darkness apart.
It’s a scary and unfair world we live in, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop being faithful in sharing the pure, good, and beautiful books with the world. I’m very passionate about it.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Every title, award, talent could be stripped from me…and what you would see is Christ. That is my legacy. I very well know my husband and children are a gift from God alone and that everything could be stripped from me if he called me to that; that is why it’s so important to have Christ as our Savior and our ultimate prize. God knows my heart and sees everything.
People often tell me my cup is full, so I have nothing to fill my mind with worrying or something of that nature. I couldn’t agree less!
My mind grieves for those who don’t know Christ! My soul aches for those who don’t have Christ as their Lord and Savior, because nothing–not money, family, a business, or having the best husband in the world, even–can satisfy us like Jesus.
That’s why an unbeliever and a believer will often mourn differently, and people cannot understand it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.callapresspublishing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callapresspub?igsh=ODI4YmtwMjllZ29u&utm_source=qr
