Denver author Mario Acevedo is a case study in persistence.
He’s served in the Army twice, once during war. He’s been laid off twice, once as an engineer, again as a computer programmer. And over the course of nearly two decades, he’s written at least six books that were never published.
But all the effort is finally paying off. Acevedo just signed a contract to write his fourth and fifth novels; his third hits bookstores in March.
“It’s been such hard work,” he said, “I sometimes forget how hard it’s been.”
Acevedo grew up in Las Cruces, N.M. He wrote his first “book” in sixth grade and nearly received a zero for it.
“The whole thing just got out of hand,” he said of his and a partner’s efforts to write a Star Trek story that blossomed into a notebook full of ideas, notes and drawings – but no book. The teacher, who recognized the boys had taken flight with her assignment, gave them an A anyway.
After graduating from New Mexico State University, Acevedo was commissioned into the Army. He served in the infantry and flew attack helicopters. He jokes that if you’ve ever seen him drive, you would question that decision.
Acevedo returned to the military from the Army Reserve to serve in Desert Storm, what he calls “the easy war against Iraq,” but this time as an artist. “My job was to make art and stay out of trouble.”
Back stateside, Acevedo became artist in residence at Arte Americas in Fresno, Calif. He considers both artistic endeavors among the highlights of his life.
Through it all, Acevedo kept writing – and collecting rejection slips.
After about 17 years, he sold his first book, “The Nymphos of Rocky Flats,” which was selected as Westword’s Best New Book by a Colorado Author for 2007. The sequel, “X-Rated Blood Suckers,” continues the saga of Chicano vampire Felix Gomez. Up next: “The Undead Kama Sutra.”
Acevedo said it’s important to him to work hard and to be different.
“Everywhere I go, people know that I’m pretty much not one of them. I’ve always been pretty conscious of that. But standards don’t change. You’re either a good writer or you’re not,” he said.
“I just keep pushing myself. You keep climbing that mountain until you reach the top, but what’s next? You gotta go to the next mountain.”
Rowena Alegría, editor of The Post’s Spanish-language weekly, Viva! Colorado, wrote this profile as part of a Hispanic Heritage series that continues through the end of the year. A new edition of Viva! hits newsstands each Thursday.
Awards
Mario Acevedo’s first vampire novel, “The Nymphos of Rocky Flats,” has been nominated for a Colorado Book Award in the category of popular fiction. The awards ceremony is Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Seawell Ballroom in Denver.
