It's alive! "Chicano Frankenstein" will be launched at Vroman's Bookstore on March 6, 7:00 p.m.

 

La Bloga friends, I wanted to let you know that Vroman’s Bookstore will be hosting the book launch for my forthcoming novel, Chicano Frankenstein (Forest Avenue Press), on March 6, 7:00 p.m. Here is the link with details. I will be interviewed by the wonderful writer, Désirée Zamorano. I hope you can make it!

We’ve been receiving some beautiful early reviews:

"Part science fiction and part political satire, Olivas’s timely latest explores the pitfalls of assimilation and probes what it means to be 'human.'"

     —Publishers Weekly

"The way Olivas builds on the classic Shelley story and sets it within a futuristic context makes it an intriguing read that will speak to disenfranchised voices and spark discussion among its readers."

     —Library Journal

"With witty dialogue and beguiling glimpses of Chicano life, the book probes existential questions about identity and political questions about immigration and race.”

     —Foreword Reviews

"Blending together elements of science fiction, horror, political satire, and romance, the story explores ever-relevant issues of belonging, assimilation, bigotry, and humanity."

     —HipLATINA

I hope you can make it! And if you have a book club or bookstore event where you'd like to feature Chicano Frankenstein, let me know! You may visit my website and use the message function to send me an email.

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And also in honor my my new novel's launch, I will also be at the Tucson Festival of Books on the beautiful University of Arizona campus, March 9 and 10. I will be signing Chicano Frankenstein at the Indie Authors tent on Sunday, March 10, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. My wonderful publisher, Laura Stanfill founder of Forest Avenue Press, will join me. You may view this venue on the Festival map. Drop on by and say hi! Also, check out all of the wonderful writers who will be signing books and presenting on panels.

Book launch of “To the North/Al norte: Poems” by León Salvatierra: February 10, 6:00 p.m.

The University of Nevada Press is pleased to publish its first dual-language (Spanish-English) book of poetry, To the North/Al norte: Poems, by the Nicaraguan poet León Salvatierra. The work is rooted in the Central American diaspora that emerged from the civil wars in the 1980s. The poems are tied together through the experiences, memories, visions, and dreams of a 15-year-old boy who embarked on a journey to the United States with a group of forty other migrants from Central America. After being undocumented for eleven years, Salvatierra established himself in the United States, first becoming a naturalized citizen and then obtaining a university education.

Salvatierra mixes lyrical and prose poems to explore the experience of exile in a new country. His powerful metaphors and fresh images inhabit spaces fraught with the violence, anxiety, and vulnerability that undocumented Central American migrants commonly face in their transnational journeys. His vivid memories of Nicaragua tie the personal experiences of his poetic subjects to the geopolitical history between the Central American region and the United States.

Praise for To the North/Al norte

“By combining prose and poetry, and blurring the boundaries between genres and nations, Salvatierra manages to assert individual agency and wrest control of his own story.”

—Diego Báez. Poetry Foundation

“Largely translated by Javier O. Huerta, it is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious — even more so if you can read it in both languages.”

—Daniel A. Olivas, Los Angeles Times

“The collection chronicles the poet’s journey from Nicaragua to the U.S. as he faces obstacles as an undocumented teenager and as he adjusts to the demands of life in a new land. To read this book is to get is poignant and poetic look at what it means to be marginalized in the U.S.”

—Jose B. Gonzalez, Latino Stories

“The poetry here is at once intimate and public, which makes for a complex and rich alchemy. León Salvatierra’s range of registers is breathtaking.”

—Francisco Aragón, poet, editor, director of Letras Latinas at the Institute for Latino Studies, University of Norte Dame, and author of After Rubén
 
“To the North/Al norte makes poetry feel essential, that without it, Salvatierra’s speakers would become unmoored, losing everything that they have tried so hard to recover. Salvatierra clearly revels in language. . . . This collection is a significant contribution to the growing body of undocumented literature as well as Latinx literature.”

—Maceo Montoya, professor, University of California, Davis, author of Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces

“The memory and humanity that Salvatierra reaps along the way are ultimately challenged, and subdued . . . What we’re left with is the impression of autonomy; and its anatomy of longing.”

—Delphic Reviews

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You may read my Los Angeles Times interview with León Salvatierra here.

Join us February 23 for the virtual book launch of the latest book from Daniel A. Olivas, “How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories”

 

VROMAN'S LIVE PRESENTS DANIEL A. OLIVAS,

IN CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR ÁLVARO HUERTA,

DISCUSSES HOW TO DATE A FLYING MEXICAN

DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2022

TIME: 6:00 P.M.

This is a virtual event and will take place on Crowdcast
Register for FREE ahead of time to save your spot and get an email reminder!

EVENT LINK FOR REGISTRATION

During the pandemic and in the wake of his father's death, Daniel A. Olivas set upon the task of reviewing almost 25 years' worth of his short stories that had been published in various collections or as parts of novels. Our strange times seemed to call for this type of introspection and examination. He found that many of his narratives fell within the world of magic, fairy tales, fables, and dystopian futures. This review also revealed that many of his fictions confronted—either directly or obliquely—questions of morality, justice, and self-determination while being deeply steeped in Chicano and Mexican culture. Olivas decided to choose his favorite tales from the many scores of stories that populated his published works. He added to the mix two recent stories—one dystopian, the other magical--both of which confront the last administration's anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies.

The result is How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories (University of Nevada Press). Though his books have been taught in colleges and high schools across the country for over two decades, this collection brings together some of his most unforgettable strange tales that will be enjoyed, again, by his fans, and anew for readers who have not, as yet, experienced Olivas's distinct—and very Chicano—fiction. A literary critic once called Olivas a "literary marvel." These stories, collectively, offer ample support for this declaration.

Praise for How to Date a Flying Mexican

Featured by Poets & Writers magazine as a new and newsworthy book.

“Prompted by tragedy—the death of his father and the pandemic—Olivas revisits decades of writing to produce this collection of new and previously published stories. Olivas’s work is surreal, dystopian, critical, and introspective, ultimately moving into contemporary political rhetoric.”
—Alta Journal

“Throughout all of his stories, there are strong Chicano characters, who embody tales that range from the laugh-out-loud funny to the heartbreaking. A timely retrospective from an important voice in Latinx literature.”

—Wendy J. Fox, BuzzFeed 

“Daniel Olivas loves to tell stories and his writing reflects that joy. Every story is told with a wink and a smile, encouraging you to follow along for the ride. His humor not only brings levity to matters of life, death, and human treachery, but it is also a stylistic choice that Olivas has mastered. These stories aren’t so much about the interiority of its characters, but about the mythical, magical mundanity of our lives—Olivas’s style perfectly expresses this contradiction.”  
—Maceo Montoya, associate professor of Chicano/a Studies, University of California, Davis, and author of Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces

“From gritty realism to mythic and sci-fi speculative, Olivas dishes up an exquisite feast of short fictions filled to the brim with small and outsized everyday struggles—and failures. Through it all, we feel the mischievous wink and wry smile twinkle of an author whose . . . skills clear new space for us to breathe again in the richness of Latinx ways of life.”
—Frederick Luis Aldama, award winning author and Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at University of Texas, Austin 

“This kinetic new collection of stories is exuberant and poignant, filled with the homegrown details of Latinx life as well as a kind of cheerful, saucy magic.”
—Yxta Maya Murray, law professor, Loyola Law School and author of The World Doesn’t Work that Way, but It Could: Stories

“Olivas has the voice of both an ancient and modern storyteller. He is very deft and sure with language. The stories make a significant contribute to the Latinx community and beyond.”
—David Kranes, professor emeritus of English, University of Utah, and author of Keno Runner, Abracadabra, and Performance Art: Stories

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If you can’t make the Vroman’s Bookstore event, visit my events page for other opportunities including a virtual event at Skylight Books on February 26 where I will be in conversation with writer and educator, Lorinda Toledo. You may register for this Skylight Books event here.

How To Be Your Own P.R. Machine

Melinda Palacio

Photo by Anthony Posey

Sometimes writers wonder if their pages will make their way into a bound book for sale. If you're working at it every day, chances are your moment in the sun will come. When it does, be prepared. It's better to err on an optimistic side and start early than to be scrambling days, months, or heaven forbid, years after your book is old news. Here are ten tips to help you give your book a fighting chance in today's market.

1. Start a tour travel fund. Buy one less fancy food item at the grocery store and skip the extra pair of shoes that would match that one odd-colored dress in your closet. Whatever it is you occasionally splurge on, save it. Even if you sign books in town where friends and family live, you still need to get there and you will  incur more travel costs than you might think. Also not all venues will offer you honorariums and cover your travel expenses. You could choose to only settle for venues that will fund your book tour, but chances are there's one town where you aunt lives that has a great audience who always buys books and the events coordinator will make a good case for you doing the event without additional compensation to you.

2. Prepare a professional biography. Your bio should be in the same folder as your photo. Most likely, places will ask for your bio and photo. Keep a folder handy in your computer and in your email ready to go for moments when you are away from your desk, but have access to your phone or tablet. Prepare 3 versions of your professional biography, a short-short (50-words or less), a medium 150 word-bio, and a full page, listing important places you've been published in, books, and awards. The longer bio can also include details about your day job, home location, and hobbies. Keep information about your cute pets and children to a minimum.

3. Have a good photo ready. The minute you feel happy with your hair, your outfit, your acne-free face, take a photo. A selfie will do in a pinch, but professional hi-res photo will be even better. While on your book tour, newspapers and the local venue hosting you will want a photograph of your  head (head shot) to promote your event.

4. Prepare a one-liner or tag line for your book. Bookstores need help selling your book. For my upcoming book, Bird Forgiveness, I came up with : ecopoetry about diversity, love, and how migration transforms the expectations of what Latinx poetry should look like. Be creative, but true to your book.

5. Prepare excerpts of your work for your presentations and book signings. Reading your own work well will help sell books. Practice your poems or a short chapter or scene from your book. Memorize most of it. Engage the audience. Look up and don't stare at your pages the entire time. La Bloga's Michael Sedano is an excellent reading and performance coach.

6. You Tube-it. An extension of your reading preparation and a handy tool to show potential venues is your You Tube performance. Prepare your scene, poem, or book trailer and put it up on You Tube. Tell your friends. You can connect these videos to your website and social media pages.

7. The videos bring me to my next suggestion: a website, get one, make one, fake one. If the idea of making and maintaining a website causes night sweats and teeth grinding, it might be a good idea to hire someone to produce an easy to update website. A website is a static place where you can park information, articles, reviews, and tell people where they might see you on your book tour.

8. Reviews. Start thinking of places or people who might review your book. This must be done before the book comes out. If you wait too long, your new book will be old news and reviewers would have moved on to the next shiny new book. It's great if Terrance Hayes from the New York Times introduces one of your poems; the reviewers might come to you. But if he doesn't see your work, you and your publisher will have your work cut out for you.

9. Teamwork. Bookstores can selective about who will make it worth their while to keep the shop and staff beyond closing time. If you want to present your book in a town you've never been to, team up with local author. Chances are the local author will have a good relationship with their independent bookstore or with their city's colleges and universities. This is a great way for someone who is starting and for a more experienced author to help each other out. Thanks to Catherine Ryan Hyde, we have this beautiful expression, Pay It Forward.

10. Last, as Juan Felipe Herrera would say, gather your tortillas. Make sure your contacts are all in one database. If you're anything like me, you have cards and pieces of paper, and scattered thank you notes, but you have neglected to transcribe those emails and contacts into one single database.. I've noticed that more organized people ask folks to enter their contact information into a phone or tablet. In hindsight, I wish I would have done that. For now, if you haven't heard from me, but I've promised to let you know about my latest literary endeavors, it's because I've lost your card and have yet to enter it into my computer.

The more prepared you are, the easier all this PR or public relations or getting the word out about your book will be. Keep the faith. Your day will come and when it does, your book deserves a more organized you. Do as I say and not as I do is  the old yarn. After the last three books, Folsom Lockdown, Ocotillo Dreams and How Fire Is a Story, Waiting, I should have learned. 

Get your tickets now to celebrate Tía Chucha's Gala 2017!

The mission of Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural is to transform community in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and beyond through ancestral knowledge, the arts, literacy and creative engagement.

Tía Chucha’s began as a café, bookstore and cultural space owned and run by former Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodríguez, his wife Trini Rodríguez, and their brother-in-law Enrique Sánchez. Tía Chucha’s provides year-round on-site and off-site free or low-cost arts and literacy bilingual intergenerational programming in mural painting, music, dance, writing, visual arts, healing arts sessions (such as reiki healing) and healing/talking circles. Workshops and activities also include Mexica ("Aztec") dance, indigenous cosmology/philosophy, and two weekly open mic nights (one in Spanish, the other in English). Tía Chucha’s host author readings, film screenings, and art exhibits as well.

Tía Chucha's Gala not only allows the community to come together and celebrate our collective achievements, it also allows a celebratory space to honor those who have given to our community. Also, it provides a chance to help raise the much-needed resources to continue Tía Chucha's mission.

So, please buy your tickets now by going here. And we look forward to seeing you!

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Last Saturday, we held a wonderful book launch of my latest short-story collection, The King of Lighting Fixtures (University of Arizona Press), at Other Books in Boyle Heights. The book launch was co-presented by The New Short Fiction Series which is run by the talented Sally Shore. Sally and the actor, Alex Di Dio, performed two of my stories, and then I read one myself. Other Books still has some copies left, so if you want to support a great, independent bookstore and also want a copy of my book, drop on by. Here are a few photos from the lovely evening.

Giving a few opening remarks.

Getting ready to read a story.

The actor Alex Di Dio hanging out as guests begin to arrive.

Sally Shore doing a little Q&A with me.

Signing!

Before the signing, my books waiting
to be taken home by some lovely people.

Book launch, cover art, meeting Eloy Torrez, and #LatinoHeritageMonth

By Daniel A. Olivas

As shown by the beautiful flyer that heads this post, my latest short-story collection, The King of Lighting Fixtures (University of Arizona Press), will officially enter this world on Mexican Independence Day at Other Books in Boyle Heights. And as I’ve also noted before, as a lifelong Angeleno who grew up in Koreatown and whose father lived in Boyle Heights for a portion of his childhood, the venue for the launch is particularly special.

The book launch is co-presented by The New Short Fiction Series which is run by the talented Sally Shore. In other words, actors (Alex Di Dio and Daniel Vasquez) will be reading a few selections from my collection, so this will make the evening that much more special. And the event is FREE! Visit the Facebook page for more information.

In November, I will be launching my debut poetry collection, Crossing the Border (Pact Press), which Melinda Palacio wrote about a couple of weeks ago in a thoughtful review. More on that birthday later.

So far, we’ve received two wonderful pre-publication reviews (click the links to read the entire reviews):

"Assured and perceptive, offering a view of another Southland from Chandler’s and Didion’s."

—Kirkus Reviews

Olivas's "bold insistence on leaving a few seams visible, a few threads frayed—even on pulling the rug away entirely—makes the book resound as a fascinating exploration of both the art of storytelling and the ways in which fiction echoes the messiness of life."

—Foreword Reviews

As they say, you can't judge a book by its cover. But in this case, I wonder if that's true. Last Friday, I got to meet the great artist, Eloy Torrez, at the retrospective of his work that just started at Plaza de la Raza. The exhibition will run September 8 to October 21, 2017. Eloy’s wonderful painting ("El rey de la risa") adorns the cover of my book, so it was that much more special to meet him (and that painting) in person. We also got to meet his wife and documentary filmmaker, Juliane Backmann.

Daniel Olivas and Eloy Torrez

"El rey de risa" by Eloy Torrez adorns
the cover of "The King of Lighting Fixtures"

Eloy Torrez and Juliane Blackmann

And here is a small sampling of some of the remarkable art by Eloy Torrez that you will see when you visit this exhibition at Plaza de la Raza:

And finally, I want to thank the wonderful folks at the University of Arizona Press, my blurbers (Manuel Muñoz, Susan Straight, and Ilan Stavans), the press’s hardworking Rose Brandt, mi familia, La Bloga, Other Books, and everyone else who helped get make this book a reality. For other updates, visit my website.

Everything You Wanted to Know about Reyna Grande's New Book

Melinda Palacio

Reyna Grande's Los Angeles Book launch benefits HOLA

In two weeks, Reyna Grande will launch the publication of the young adult version of her memoir, The DistanceBetween Us. This book is already gaining critical acclaim, a starred review from Booklist, as well as acclaim by the Junior Library Guild. Join this event in Los Angeles on September 10, 2016 at noon. All the proceeds from this event will benefit HOLA (Heart of Los Angeles) and fund programs for underserved youth. Space at the Heart of Los Angeles' Gallery & Art Studio is limited, RSVP to Anna Martin, amartin@heartofla.org. Also, if you can't make this limited-seating book launch, Reyna has over 25 events scheduled for this Fall. Check out her website, for an event near you. Reyna took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions about this new book for La Bloga.

La Bloga:

How does the adult edition to your memoir differ?

Reyna Grande:

The young adult version is 35,000 words shorter than the original.  I took out content that is not appropriate for middle grade readers,  like my crazy uncle who used to masturbate before me and my sisters or the chapter where I lose my virginity.  However,  even though I was adapting the book for young readers I didn't want to sugar coat the story or dumb it down.  I think young readers are very smart and perceptive and they don't need to be protected from the realities that exist in the world. The issues that I write in the book are issues that affect them too,  some more than others of course. Also even though I write about the immigrant experience,  I also write about something that is universal,  something young readers can relate to -- the longing for a home,  a family,  a place to belong.

La Bloga:
Are you happy with the changes?

RG:

I'm happy with the changes I made to the book.  I had never had to worry about a word count until now,  and it was great to be forced to look at my manuscript line by line and make each word count.  This version is tighter than the other one.  Because I did such a good job paring the chapters down,  I was able to add new scenes that are not in the original.

La Bloga:

You are working on a sequel to your memoir. Will there eventually be two versions as well?

RG:

The new memoir I'm working on will not be for young readers,  at least I don't think it will be.  I'm exploring issues that I experienced as an adult,  like jobs and bills, my crazy love life, the challenges of motherhood,  the pursuit of my writing dream--in short, my struggles with being a grown up. Hopefully youth will be interested but my target audience is college age and up.

La Bloga:

The sequel covers more recent events in your life. What are some of the challenges writing about more recent events of your life or is it easier? Is non-fiction easier for you to write?

RG:

The sequel is easier to write because I remember more of what happened to me as an adult.  When I wrote the Distance Between Us I relied on the memories of my older brother and sister and my parents,  other relatives.  This time I can get through a first draft with my own memories.  On my second draft I will interview my relatives just to add details I might have forgotten.  I'm also excited to say that the first draft of my new memoir is in much better shape than the Distance Between Us was!  Now I know how to write memoir.  That said,  I do worry that this book can't compare in terms of the intensity and emotional level of the Distance Between Us. This is a more quiet book. The subject matter and the themes are different as well. The Distance Between Us has really resonated with so many people,  young and old.  The new memoir might be more limited in terms of appeal. When I told my mother-in-law about this new book her first question to me was,  "Do you have enough to say in this book?"  That was the wrong thing to ask me because now I live in fear that the answer is no!  However,  isn't that the fear for every book a writer writes?  I'm just going to keep on writing and hopefully the book will be what it needs to be.

La Bloga:

What future books do you have in mind or are you working on?

RG:

For the past few years I've been working on a novel that is set during the Mexican- American war.  That novel has really kicked my butt because it's a 'first' book for me--first historical fiction,  first book written from a male perspective,  first book about a culture not my own (Irish!).  I'm two hundred pages into it and by the looks of it, the book will be closer to 450 pages. I'm horrible with research so the writing has been slow because as much as I want to write,  I can't write anything unless I do the research first.  This is going to be a long term project but I will certainly get it done.  It means so much to me! The Mexican- American war has been practically erased from American textbooks and consciousness.  I want to bring it back.