Daniel A. Olivas Is in Demand
Melinda Palacio -- October 23, 2005
By day he is an attorney with the California Department of Justice where he specializes in environmental enforcement and land use. In the wee hours of the night, when his wife and son are asleep, Daniel A. Olivas writes fiction. The Chicano author calls himself lucky because of his early publication success. However, the talented writer was never a stranger to storytelling.
Daniel A. Olivas
Olivas grew up in predominately Mexican neighborhood where storytelling was in the air. His third book Devil Talk was inspired by Mexican cuentos. He fondly recalls the scary stories his father would tell about the Cucuy, the Mexican boogey man. His grandmother had also told him "creepy" stories about spirits. "She truly believed in what she was telling me," said Olivas, "so her stories became that much more potent." One of his cuentos is also featured in the anthology Fantasmas: Supernatural Stories by Mexican American Writers(2001).
The Stanford English major never imagined himself a writer before picking up the pen in 1998. Writing helped him wade through the sadness of his wife's miscarriages-- she suffered seven after their son Benjamin was born. His wife, Susan Formaker, is also a lawyer. Olivas published his first story, "19," in RiverSedge. When he finished his novella, The Courtship of María Rivera Peña, he realized his new calling. "Once I wrote that book, I couldn't stop writing."
It turns out that Olivas's father was a secret writer. He wrote a manuscript which was rejected 10 times before he destroyed his only copy. Olivas is indeed lucky. But more important, the 46-year-old writer is blessed with a knack for story. His short story collection, Assumption and Other Stories(2003), was among the finalists for the Willa Cather Fiction Prize. In Assumption, Olivas displays his gift for voice. The collection is rich with a diversity of characters with unique voices. Creating new voices is a thrill for Olivas. "Sometimes when I create characters, their voices take over," he said, "to be in that zone is so much fun."
The lawyer has also written a children's book, Benjamin and the Word / Benjamin y la palabra(2005), a story about diversity and tolerance that was originally published as a five-part series in the Los Angeles Times' Kids' Reading Room section. The series received a letter of praise from the Anti-Defamation League and was well received by readers and teachers. Olivas exercised patience and preserverence in publishing a story he believed in.
"I had an idea for a children's story that was based on an unpleasant situation my son experienced at school when he was about nine (a classmate made bigoted remarks to him). That story became my first kids' book. But before it was picked up by a publisher, I submitted it to the L.A. Times and then waited for many months. I found out later that the editors have huge slush pile. But my story caught their eye, eventually."
Since then, Olivas has had an additional children's stories published in the Los Angeles Times. He says he writes between 9pm and midnight and on weekends, "I'm a fast writer."Olivas believes the web has changed things for writers. For one, it has helped him connect with more writers; he is a co-blogger on la bloga . He's also used his own website to promote his writing and to put out a call for submissions on an upcoming anthology, Latino LA: Los Angeles Fiction by Latino Writers. Add promoter, mentor, editor and blogger to his list of trades. Olivas was impressed by the number and quality of the online submissions. Bilingual Press gave the green light for the collection and is now reviewing the manuscript before formally accepting it for publication.
"I am so excited by the variety of stories. I think Latino writers and readers know we have a huge variety and broad array of story lines and protagonists. I received a huge number of submissions. The anthology will have 32 stories."
Among his current projects is Anywhere But LA, a new collection of 24 short stories. Daniel A. Olivas will be reading at the Hotel Cafe, 1623 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, October 30, 6:30pm to 8pm. The reading is part of the monthly Tongue & Groove offering. On November 7, he will be part of the Author's Table in Carmel. For more information see www.danielolivas.com .