0Shares Monica Gomez-Hira’s fascination with quinceañeras began more than 25 years when she attended one for the first time while she was an English major at Wellesley College. The spectacle of the 15-year-old’s party amazed the then aspiring author. “They had a smokescreen, then they wheeled her out, and she was in a giant flower. The flower slowly opened, and she rose out of the flower,” Gomez-Hira recalled. “I had never been to a birthday party like this.” For the daughter of Colombian immigrants, this moment sparked an idea for a story, one that laid in gestation for years as Gomez-Hira worked for Simon & Schuster, Random House, and most recently, Barnes & Noble. After over a decade in the literary world, Gomez-Hira is finally becoming a published author. In March, HarperTeen will release her first young adult novel,