Fiction. Daniel A. Olivas is a rising voice in Chicano fiction whose talents are showcased in this collection of eighteen remarkable short stories set in Southern California. He populates the urban landscapes of his stories with characters that mirror the complex and multifaceted nature of class, gender, and ethnicity in modern Latino communities. Shifting effortlessly between pathos and wry comedy, Olivas is able through his character-driven stories to explore how a married couple deals with miscarriage, how a young lawyer explains her lesbian sexuality to her traditional parents, and how the staff and students of a Catholic school experience the suicide of a popular young priest amidst swirling rumors of his sexual improprieties. Olivas writes in a variety of styles, and the colorful characters and unusual situations addressed in ASSUMPTION AND OTHER STORIES reflect a community that defies easy categorizations and stereotypes.

Author City: Los Angeles, CA USA

Daniel A. Olivas is the editor of LATINOS IN LOTUSLAND: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature (Bilingual Press, 2008) and the author of ANYWHERE BUT L.A. (Bilingual Press, 2009), Devil Talk: Stories (Bilingual Press, 2004), ASSUMPTION AND OTHER STORIES (Bilingual Press, 2003), The Courtship of Maria Rivera Pena (Silver Lake Publishing, 2000), and a children's book, Benjamin and the Word (Arte Publico Press, 2005). He has written for numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, MacGuffin, Thema, Exquisite Corpse, La Bloga, the El Paso Times, and the Jewish Journal. Since 1990 he has practiced law with the California Department of Justice. Olivas makes his home in the San Fernando Valley with his wife and son.

Reviews and Other Links
http://www.danielolivas.com/