Special themes in my novels

This is my latest author video by Open Road Integrated Media.
I am so honored to have a small part in this exciting new media venture. If you visit this link, there is more information on how I wrote each of my novels, what inspired me to write them and a brief summary of some of my favorite novels and why they inspired me.

My Top Films

People often ask me what are some of my favorite films and I find that many have been influenced by the books they were based on. I read the books first and then I watch the movies.
Over at Open Road Media, I listed some of my favorite films and why they inspire me to watch and rewatch them. Whether it was the storytelling or the character studies, these films have influenced my writing in some way. (Visit FAVORITE STUFF and FILMS in the link)

My article on the rise of women meteorologists in Boston

Photo gallery of Boston meteorologists


(photo above of Channel 7 forecaster Dylan Dreyer, from boston.com)

My Globe article on the early, early new newscasts: 4:30 a.m.
(Photo above: WBZ Channel 4 anchor Paula Ebben. from Boston.com)

My story on how luxury shoppers are spending again

Thank you Miami Dade College!

I wanted to thank Miami Dade College for including me as one of their outstanding alumni for the school's annual awards ceremony last night. I received an alumni award in the Literary Arts category for my three novels. I was truly honored (and surprised) by the award, presented by MDC president Eduardo Padron at the Hilton in downtown Miami. And I was in good company, along with CEOs of local hospitals, partners in law firms, a Miami Fire Department chief, a Miami CBS4 TV reporter and a local Spanish TV star and singer (JenCarlos Canela) who was seated at my table.
I only have good memories of my two years at Miami Dade. I remember shuttling back and forth from my classes at the downtown Wolfson campus and The Miami Herald, where I was a part-time intern in the Miami Beach office where I wrote general assignment news features. Between classes, I enjoyed hanging out on the cement steps between campus buildings where I would catch up on my reading, write in my journal and watch the stream of students flow by.
At Miami Dade, I also took some writing classes where I penned short stories - one of which was called Buddy's Buddy, about a little deaf boy lost in the woods where he gets help from a talking squirrel. I still have that story and I remember how much my professor Michael Hettich liked it that he read it outloud to the class. He really believed I was a good writer and that made the world of difference to a young insecure writer at the time.
I also remember another professor, the late Jose Quevedo who really pushed me in my beginning journalism class. He was always hard on me because he knew I could do better. He saw potential in me as a budding journalist and he had an impact on me with his hard discipline and feedback on my assignments. When he died a year later, the school lost more than just a professor - it lost a leader in the community.
All these memories rushed back last night as I interacted with other MDC graduates. I am proud to have been a graduate from there. Again, thank you Miami Dade. (And to The Miami Herald's Steve Rothaus for taking this photos and posting them on his blog, Gay in South Florida.)

Beisbol dreams in Boston

In the spirit of baseball season and the cable release of the HBO movie "Sugar," I am reposting my Globe article from last year on the movie and its star, Algenis Perez Soto who moved to Salem, MA after filming the movie.

Beisbol dreams in Boston




(photos from Sony Pictures)

"Why do you write fiction?"

"Why do you write fiction?" It's a question I am often asked by college students, media-related executives and friends of friends and readers during my everyday travels in Boston.

I usually answer, "Why not? It's a part of whom I am."

But my reasons are more layered than that simple response.

I write about things that I recognize in my life but hadn't read in my favorite novels.

I write the stories that I had wanted to read in high school, college, post-college, even in my 30s but had troubling finding at book stores. (I still do at least in English.)

I write because I didn't know that people like me (gay Latino authors in the US) had existed in the literary world until I began sharing my own creative writing with others. I write to continue to contribute to our small but growing numbers.

I write to provide a more flattering literary mirror for guys like me and my friends - Hispanic, Italian, all-American, kind-of-youngish, professional - looking for our place in this chaotic and ever-changing world as we call each other or meet up each week to talk about our personal and professional successes and struggles.

I write to present a fuller image of what it's like to be gay and Latino today so that people can see that the tired and obvious stereotypes (which I won't state here) that we see on television and in films are far from the truth.

I write to entertain and hopefully make people temporarily forget about their daily problems.

I write fiction because I secretly can't wait to see one of my books on an i-Pad or other digital reader.

I write fiction because I love staring out at the audience during a book reading and catching my parents looking at me with pride as I discuss one of my novels (even though they probably don't understand what I'm saying in English.)

I write to establish an intimate and universal connection with fellow readers who sometimes write to me to share their own stories after reading one of my books.

I write to let loose from the constraints of formal daily journalism. (I can't say Oye, Booyah and Cono in my news articles. I've tried. Ok, that last line is a joke, people.)

I write fiction so I can get away with writing cheezy sentences like the one above.

I write fiction because it's fun to role-play on paper and temporarily adapt another personality to present another perspective and experience.

I write fiction because I cannot not write fiction.