Michael Collier at Bread Loaf gave me my first writing opportunity. Wayne Lesser nominated me for a fellowship at UT. John Pipkin awarded my thesis an award. Rebeca Romero supported me as my boss for four years, and shared countless screenshots for laughs.
Adam Johnson, Tom Kealey, Ted Conover, Jane Brox, Pete LaSalle, Thomas Cable, Jim Magnuson, Don Graham, Lisa Moore, Stephen Harrigan, Jake Silverstein, and Brigit Pegeen Kelly taught me how to do this. Noreen Cargill, Amy Stewart, Patricia Schaub, Marla Akin, Gwen Barton, and Melissa Kahn have made everything easier.
Cecily Sailer at Badgerdog gave me my first chance as a teacher. Carmen Johnson and Paul Lisicky said yes when everybody else was saying no. Honor Jones, Clay Smith, and Michael Bourne generously opened to me the doors to their publications.
Michael Adams made me cry over the phone. He and Dorothea took care of my family and me, and have gifted us with their friendship. The Graduate School at UT and the Texas Institute of Letters awarded me the Dobie Paisano Fellowship that allowed me to finish this book and convinced me that risks are worth taking.
Richard Abate took a leap of faith on the unpublished guy, and made the impossible happen.
Stefan Merrill Block proved that nothing moves without the generosity of noble strangers. This book would remain a manuscript without his excitement about it.
Nan Graham believed in the writer no one had heard about and advocated for him since day one. Thanks to her, Scribner became my home—what else can I say? Can you believe it? I still can’t.
Liese Mayer, my incredibly genius and generous editor, brought the Arteagas to life. Her tireless enthusiasm and intelligence turned a flawed draft into what you just read. This book would be way smaller without her caring wisdom.
Alex Merto, Mia Crowley-Hald, Erich Hobbing, and Kyle Kabel helped to produce a beautiful-looking book, and Kyle Radler helped to shout out from the rooftops.
Heera Kang, Lindsey Campion, Corinne Greiner, Kendra Fortmeyer, Ryan Bender-Murphy, Fiona McFarlane, Mary Miller, Greg Marshall, Monica Macansantos, Jeff Bruemmer, Ben Healy, Kate Finlinson, Taylor Flory Ogletree, Corey Miller, Carolina Ebeid, Virginia Reeves, Ben Roberts, and all of my other fellow writers at UT, Buddy Macatee, Liz Cullingford, Nina McConigley, Luis Alberto Urrea, Kevin Mcllvoy, Matt Mendez, Myronn Hardy, Mike Scalise, Annita Sawyer, Kim Dana Kupperman, Eduardo Corral, Tomás Morín, Ben Fountain, Cristina Henríquez, Alfredo Corchado, Sarah Bird, Tom Zigal, Mary Helen Specht, Tyler Stoddard Smith, Francisco Goldman, Steph Opitz, Mark Doty, Elizabeth Gollan, Cecilia Ballí, Juan Pablo Villalobos, Daniel Alarcón, Carolina Guerrero, Laura Martínez, Sharan Saikumar, Elena Vega, Loren Corona, Javier Garza, Pam Naples, Edward Schumacher-Matos, Mark Stacey, Jorge Luis Sierra, Gabo Sama, Mara Behrens, Chucho del Toro, Lolbé Corona, Ana Paula Ayanegui, Rocío Mino, Orieta Barbetta, José Antonio Herrera, Aidee Salinas, Lorena Flores, Samuel Belilty, Mike Gaytán, Jesus Chavez, Luis Patiño and everybody else at KAKW, Joel Salcido, Susana Guzmán, Aarón Sánchez, John Miguel and the Calverts, Marcia Brayboy, Nancy Rushefsky, Bonnie Lister, Maarit and Sami Laurinen, Joao Andrade, Eric Thuau, Concha Fuente, Julià Monsó, Cristina Marzá, Dinorah, Fabiola, Mónica and Ofelia Rojas, Cata Laborde, Mariana Ortiz, Javier Pérez-Ilzarbe, Christel Peyrelongue, Federico Ortiz, Pedro Ortiz, Griselda Ruiz, Enrique Ruiz, tía Flor, tío Jorge, and Jorgito have all said words that kept me going.
Carlitos Gutiérrez has always been there, from Santa Fe through St. Mark’s Place.
Neto Corona remains the brother I always wanted to have, decades strong.
My mom has been my mom, all along.
Emiliano and Guillermo have written the best part of my story, hands down. Life was so lame before you guys arrived.
And in the beginning, and in the end of everything I am, is, was, and will always be, Valentina. My first and last reader, my mantra, my home. The most beautiful Madrileña you’ll ever find, the chatty girl from Montevideo who saved my life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
© JOEL SALCIDO
Antonio Ruiz-Camacho has worked as a journalist in Mexico, Europe, and the United States. A 2009 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University and a 2014 Dobie Paisano Fellow in Fiction, Ruiz-Camacho earned his MFA from the New Writers Project at the University of Texas at Austin. He is from Toluca, Mexico, and lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Antonio Ruiz-Camacho
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First Scribner hardcover edition March 2015
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-4767-8496-0
ISBN 978-1-4767-8498-4 (ebook)
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