I've recently had an opportunity to learn more about two contemporary Hispanic authors, both of whom live in California, and who are attaining quite a bit of renown not only for their writing, but for their good work in their professional careers outside of writing for publication. Their names are Rose Castillo Guilbault and Daniel Olivas. Let me introduce you to them.

I have never met them personally, but I've communicated with them via email and have learned more about them from internet postings about their work. As I mention in a previous posting, I recently published a book, The Heavens Weep for Us and Other Stories, which is a collection of 12 new short stories I've written. (See my "weRead" website at http://www.weread.com/authors, and amazon.com/books/authors for more information about my book.) Before going to press, Rose and Daniel gave me some feedback about my writing, and I included their blurbs in my book. I appreciate their support of my efforts.

Rose's memoir, Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America, describes her life from the age of 5, when she moved with her mother to Salinas Valley in California. Rose faced difficult challenges in school, but she fell in love with the English language and excelled in writing from an early age. She earned a Bachelor's degree in journalism, a Master's degree in writing, and became a successful journalist, also becoming the first Hispanic columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle in the 1990s. She spent 20 years in broadcasting, including TV work at CBS and ABC.

Rose won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Programming as a journalist. She has since left journalism for an executive position, serving as Vice-President of Corporate Affairs and Publishing for CSAA, which is the Northern California/Utah/Nevada division of the AAA. What a role model Rose Guilbault is! Read about a recent talk she gave at a Distinguished Speaker Series at http://www.media.theargonaut.net/media.

Daniel Olivas is another high-achieving Latino author today. He has received outstanding reviews for his last book, Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature, which was published in 2008. The book encompasses 60 years of Latina/o writings from some of the top authors in our state. Daniel has written 5 other books. When he is not writing for publication, he is a very busy California state attorney. He has also written for various print media, including The Los Angeles Times. Daniel Olivas is another outstanding Latino author who enriches the tapestry of American literature! Visit his webpage on http://www.danielolivas.com and read his Monday blogs on La Bloga, at http://www.labloga.blogspot.com.