Mona Liza Santos
Press & Features
I still find it a little surreal when someone wants to interview me, feature my work, review one of my books, or put my face in a magazine. None of this was part of some master plan. I started by writing one simple story for my son during the pandemic, and somehow that little story grew into more books, World Love Press, interviews, community projects, awards, media features, and opportunities I definitely did not see coming.
Different publications have also shared completely different parts of my story, which I actually love. Some focus on children’s books and emotional literacy. Others talk about motherhood, Filipino identity, culture, kindness, entrepreneurship, leadership, travel, or the unexpected road that led me into publishing. My life has never really fit neatly into one category, and I am perfectly okay with that.
I am grateful for every writer, editor, interviewer, reviewer, publication, organization, and person who has taken the time to learn about my work. Whether something reached my local community or readers halfway around the world, I never want to forget where all of this started. It started at home, with my son and one little story.
Featured Around the World
Over the years, my work, books, advocacy, and personal journey have appeared across news, publishing, business, cultural, lifestyle, and international media. Each feature captures something a little different, and together they show how one small beginning slowly grew into something much larger than I expected.
News, Editorial & Author Features
The Filipino Magazine
A feature sharing my journey as a Filipina American author, publisher, mother, and creative.
The Philippine Star
Included in coverage of the 2026 TOFA honorees.
San Diego Union-Tribune
A feature about my children’s books and my goal of encouraging kindness through storytelling.
Authority Magazine
A conversation about social impact, books, children, and why I believe storytelling can make a difference.
CanvasRebel
A conversation about my creative journey and some of the experiences that helped shape it.
SDVoyager
A feature from its Life & Work series.
Bold Journey
Another look at the personal and professional path behind my work.
Women On Top
A feature about motherhood, storytelling, and turning something personal into work with a larger purpose.
Women Reporter
A feature centered on the stories that stay with us and writing for the child within.
Women Los Angeles
A feature about motherhood, storytelling, entrepreneurship, and encouraging the next generation.
Los Angeles Feature
A feature on my work from San Diego and the hope of helping shape kinder future generations.
Global Magazine
A social feature highlighting my work and story.
Business, Leadership & International Features
One of the things I never expected was for children’s books to lead to conversations about leadership, entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, education, and the adults children eventually become. That has become another interesting part of the journey, because so many of the ideas I write about for children, such as kindness, self-awareness, confidence, identity, and emotional understanding, are things we carry with us long after childhood.
My work has also been featured by:
International Business Weekly
Seeing my work discussed through so many different perspectives still feels a little wild to me, especially considering that all of this began because I was trying to entertain my son with a story. Life has a funny way of taking something very small and sending it somewhere you never expected.
Books, Reviews & Literary Features
The magazine features are exciting, but there is something especially meaningful about seeing the books themselves continue to find readers, reviewers, and literary communities. The books are where everything began, so every review or literary feature feels like coming back to the heart of why I started.
Kirkus Reviews
Mama, I Love You received a review from Kirkus Reviews, giving the book another opportunity to reach readers through a professional literary review platform.
BookLife
Mama, I Love You was also featured and reviewed through BookLife, which gave the book another place to be discovered within the independent publishing community.
BookTrib
BookTrib featured both the book and the story behind it, including a spotlight on Mama, I Love You and an author conversation about the meaning behind the story.
Mama, I Love You Book Spotlight
Kidlio Magazine
Kidlio Magazine shared both my author journey and a separate feature on Mama, I Love You, giving readers a chance to learn about both the person behind the books and the book that started everything for me.
BookDNA
My work has also appeared through BookDNA, formerly Shepherd.com, in connection with children’s books that encourage confidence and self-love.
Book Goodies
I was also interviewed by Book Goodies about my writing, books, and author journey.
Read the Book Goodies Interview
Indie Children’s Authors Connection
I have also been part of the Indie Children’s Authors Connection, a community centered around independent children’s books and writers.
Visit Indie Children’s Authors Connection
Story Monsters
Two of my books were also featured in a Story Monsters magazine issue. That was another one of those moments where I looked at the page and thought, “Well, that’s pretty cool.” Sometimes the books really do go places before I do.
The Book That Started Everything
Mama, I Love You
This book will always have a special place in my heart because it is where my life as an author began. I published Mama, I Love You in 2021 after creating stories for my son during the pandemic. At the time, I was not thinking about awards, interviews, publishing companies, or any of the things that eventually followed. I was simply being his mom.
About five years after it was first published, Mama, I Love You received the Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold Award.
View the Mom’s Choice Awards® Recognition
The book also received three Honorable Mentions from the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. That experience reminded me that something meaningful does not always have to happen immediately. Sometimes a story has its own timeline, and apparently books do not care about my schedule either.
More than anything, I was grateful that something created during one very specific moment between a mother and her child continued finding families years later.
The Filipino in Me
The Filipino in Me: Celebrating What Makes Us Proud became another very personal part of my journey because it speaks to cultural identity, belonging, family, and being proud of where we come from.
The book was recognized through the 2026 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business in the Book of the Year category. That meant a lot to me because I created the book hoping Filipino children, especially those growing up outside the Philippines, could feel connected to their culture and proud of who they are.
I also believe the message reaches beyond one community. Children should be able to love their own culture while still respecting and appreciating someone else’s. There is room for everyone’s story.
Awards & Recognition
I am grateful for recognition connected to children’s publishing, entrepreneurship, Filipino American community work, kindness, emotional literacy, and cultural identity. Some of those milestones include the 2026 TOFA Award, the TITAN Gold Award, being a five-time Finalist in the 2026 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold Award for Mama, I Love You, three Purple Dragonfly Book Awards Honorable Mentions for Mama, I Love You, the Dangal ng Pilipino Founders Citation Award through FACCGSD in March 2026, and recognition as a Community Impact Award Nominee through FACCGSD.
TITAN Women Leadership Awards Recognition
Dangal ng Pilipino Founders Citation Award
I appreciate every award, but I never want the awards to become the whole story. To me, they are milestones along the way, not the reason I began writing in the first place.
How It All Started in the Community
One experience I will always remember happened somewhere people might not normally expect to find an author storytelling event: Seafood City.
In 2026, I had the opportunity to pioneer a children’s author storytelling event at Seafood City in Chula Vista. I was the first children’s author to hold a storytelling event there, bringing together books, children, parents, activities, literacy, and the Filipino community inside a place families already knew and visited.
That made the experience especially meaningful to me because books do not always have to stay inside libraries, bookstores, or classrooms. Sometimes we can bring the books to where families already are.
Although being the first is something I will always remember, I hope I am definitely not the last. If another author reads there after me, I consider that a blessing. If something I helped begin opens a door for another writer, another story, or another child to discover books in that space, then something good came from going first.
City & Community Recognition
In March 2026, I was also grateful for recognition connected to the City of National City and Mayor Ron Morrison, including proclamations connected to kindness, emotional literacy, and community efforts.
City of National City Proclamation Document
Additional City Proclamation Document
National City Council Meeting & Attachments
My advocacy eventually grew beyond individual books and into two observances that are especially meaningful to me: National Intentional Kindness Day on August 24 and Heritage and Heart Day on October 15. Both have also been included on public observance calendars through Brownielocks.
View the Brownielocks Observance Calendar
I did not create these days because the world needed another excuse for a day off. I created them because I believe some things are worth intentionally remembering. How we treat people matters, where we come from matters, and how children learn to understand themselves, appreciate their culture, and respect others matters too.
Interviews & Appearances
Along with written features, I have also participated in live interviews and media appearances where I have been able to talk more personally about my books, World Love Press, motherhood, emotional literacy, cultural identity, kindness, and the experiences behind the work.
Writing allows me to carefully choose every word, while live interviews remind me that sometimes you simply have to answer the question and hope your brain cooperates. Both have become part of the adventure.
Thank You
To every writer, journalist, editor, interviewer, reviewer, photographer, publication, organization, community leader, reader, and person who has taken the time to feature my work, read one of my books, attend an event, share an article, or simply encourage me along the way, thank you.
I truly appreciate every opportunity. What began with one little story for my son somehow traveled much farther than I ever imagined. The books came first, and everything else arrived little by little. I am grateful for every person who has helped carry the story a little further.