Author with Calexico ties to discuss new book
CALEXICO — Author and educator Dominic Carrillo will be in Calexico on July 12 for a presentation and discussion about his two most recent books.
Carrillo is the nephew of former Calexico Mayor Victor Carrillo and godson and cousin of another former Calexico mayor, John Moreno. He’s also the nephew of Calexico Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Hildy Carrillo.
For those who haven’t been following Carrillo’s progression as a writer, his latest novels reflect a transition away from autobiographical material.
Carrillo’s four novels to date also stem from his having developed a greater interest in reading and writing only after he left high school, during a brief hiatus from college.
“Most of my former teachers would be shocked to know that I’m writing,” he said.
As an eighth-grade English teacher at the Anglo-American School of Sophia in Bulgaria, Carrillo now finds himself promoting the finer intricacies of the written word.
His current position and 10 years as an educator have also provided Carrillo a vantage point and platform from which to observe and write about youthful behavior, including his own.
Most recently, those observations and personal experiences have resulted in two young adult novels, 2016’s “The Improbable Rise of
Paco Jones” and this year’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
“I feel like it’s a comfort zone, and I like writing at that level,” Carrillo said. “I feel like that’s my thing.”
Audiences appear to have responded favorably to Carrillo’s choice of literary genres, judging from the frequent speaking engagements and the workshop presentation he has been invited to host.
His upcoming presentation at the Camarena Memorial Library also coincides with a book release party in Mission Valley for “The Unusual Suspects.”
The novel is loosely based on an incident that took place overseas involving a young female student who decided to skip school one day,, setting off a panic among adults and the security personnel that often accompany the young well-to-do students.
Previously, Carrillo had written about his own search for identity as an individual of mixed ancestry and growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border in “Paco Jones.”
It is these last two books that have unexpectedly generated the most sales and which will be on hand during Carrillo’s presentation in Calexico.
“You never know if a good book review means a lot of people are going to buy your book,” he said.
Carrillo will appear at 6 p.m. July 12 at the Camarena Memorial Library. More information about him and his publications can be found at www.dominicvcarrillo.com