Is Julia Alavarz married? Does she have kids and who influenced her?  its an assignment

Julia Alvarez lives with her partner Bill Eichner, and together founded the Alta Gracia Foundation to support local libraries.  She is influenced mainly by stories her father told her as a child regarding being transplanted to a new country and cultural stories about triumph. Literally, she is also influenced by the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

She chose not to have children in order for it to be easier for her to be what she calls a "vagabond teacher"