Meet Mario Acevedo | Writer and artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mario Acevedo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mario, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
That lesson is this–that nothing gets done until you make it happen.
Seems obvious, of course.
We writers tend to get in our own way by procrastinating and that is driven by a lot of factors, fear being the most significant.
What amazes me though, is that the issue of not starting something is nothing new. Even back in Roman times, people needed a jolt to get out of bed in the morning. The stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations several essays on motivating oneself to go do the hard stuff.
Even Leonardo da Vinci, no slouch when it came to creative output, found that he had to write: “It is easier to resist at the beginning that at the end.”
Most of the times, when facing the blank page, we blame a lack of inspiration. Here’s what Louis l’Amour, who after penning over a hundred novels, still had plenty to write, had to say: “Start writing, no matter what. The water doesn’t flow until the faucet is turned on.”
The principle at work is counter-intuitive. Our productivity is not the consequence of pure analytical reasoning put into action but the other way around. Thought follows action.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m best known as a writer of fiction, meaning a spinner of yarns, a professional bullshitter as it were. Not surprising since a DNA test showed I’m 7 percent Irish.
My first published works were my urban-fantasy vampire novels. What I think distinguishes me from others is that I like to mix humor in the narrative to underscore the absurdity of the situations, be they supernatural or based on real life. Something else that sets my work apart is that the protagonist has always been a Latino or Latina, even if they are the villain. The exceptions are when the story world wouldn’t have Latinos, such as ancient China or Atlantis, Most of the time, the ethic aspect of my character is muted until it becomes a necessary component for the plot.
Like other writers, I had my share of challenges getting published. Being the someone off-center guy that I am, when I got laid off and was so strapped for money that I lived in the basement of an ex-girlfriend’s house (according to government stats I was officially homeless), I took that opportunity to write the draft of what would be my debut novel, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats.
I guess the lesson is to keep believing in yourself and not give up.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Great question. The Cruise Room in the Oxford Hotel (excellent cocktails and Art Deco ambience); La Fonda in Wheat Ridge (the best fajitas); Necio Mexican Kitchen; I could go on and on, but honestly, in the Denver-metro area, you have to make an effort to not find great Mexican food. Downtown Littleton is a good place to spend an afternoon or evening. Wheat Ridge has really grown on me since it’s what Denver used to be like. Edgewater-Sloans Lake is another destination. The Table Mountain Grill in Golden. (If you drink beer, ask for Barmen Pilsner, only available by draft, it’s from a Coors microbrew, and a local secret) I’d look up what’s happening in the community calendars since there’s usually a car show or arts festival close by. Jazz venues are my preferred musicals outlets so that means Dazzle and Nocturne. Never failed to be amazed by the talent. We’d take day trips to Estes Park and Evergreen. For some reason, everyone I’ve taken to see Tiny Town has been impressed. One must do stop is Prismajic, an immersive art experience run by my friend Jennifer Mosquera, a source of entertainment in her own right. A Rockies game is a pleasant and generally safe way to experience LoDo, particularly if you have nothing invested in the home team winning (and you shouldn’t). Since I enjoy history, if my guests are up for it, I’d give them a murder tour of Denver.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Whenever I mention my success as a writer, modest as it is, I have to give accolades to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. For many years, I was committed to getting a novel published, and because of my lack of imagination, I went at it alone. I did take one adult community education class, which was a miserable experience. When I moved to Colorado, I learned about RMFW and attended their Colorado Gold writing conference. This was the first time I was around for-real published authors and I soaked up all kinds of useful advice, wisely tempered with a good dose of pragmatism. My rejections letters commented that I had to improve my synopsis examples, and so I took a workshop on the subject from one of the RMFW officers, Sharon Mignerey, At that class I met Jim Cole, who invited me to join his critique group, which he ran like a writer boot camp–demanding, rigorous, and very educational. From that group, three of us–Jeff Shelby, Jeanne Stein, and myself–ended up getting multi-book contracts with New York publishers. While I’ve let my membership lapse, I still refer any aspiring novelist that I meet to check out RMFW.

Website: https://marioacevedo.com

Twitter: @AdelanteArts

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mario.acevedo.754703

Image Credits
Mario Acevedo