My Chicano Heart

“[I]t is a delight to delve into the many stories in this book—refreshing, authentic, and truly of a phenomenal originality that also keep you mystified, with a smile, and expectant of additional creativity from Daniel A. Olivas.”
—Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, The Raven Chronicles

“Imaginative Olivas deftly jumps between realism, magical surrealism, the mysterious and fantastical, capturing indelible glimpses of longing and loss, cleaving betrayal and healing renewal.”
—Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness

“This collection is a true gift for those seeking a fresh and vibrant literary voice. While Olivas has been writing for a while, newcomers to his works will gain a profound understanding of Chicano and Mexican cultures and the pivotal role of love in each. The characters, though imperfect, are unforgettable in their own way, often endearing even in their absurdity.”
—Maileen Hamto, San Francisco Book Review

“My Chicano Heart presents thirty-one stories of Chicane people figuring out what place love has in their life, whether that love is platonic, romantic, familial, or otherwise. Olivas resists justifying his cultural references, instead building a world that is specific to the characters inhabiting it. In so doing, he proves that the big ideas of love, loss, and change have the power to resonate across cultural borders.”
—Pallas Gutierrez, The Coachella Review

“Olivas has done it again. In this collection of stories from University of Nevada Press, Olivas has captured the essence of the Southwestern, supernatural story. Each story leads the reader down a darkening path, yet we go completely of our own volition just to see what he will show us. Nothing is free, yet like his hapless characters, we always agree to the bargain.”
—Kathleen Alcalá, author of Treasures in Heaven: A Novel

“These stories are about love, heartbreak, magic, death and other oddities of our Chicano lives, as only Olivas’s imagination can tell them. I am tempted to say this is one of the most innovative and whimsical collections I have read in years, but then I remember the last one that I read that was just as good was also a collection of stories by Olivas. He is without a doubt one of the master storytellers of our time. A Chicano man who literally gives his heart away to his partner, an arrogant weatherman with Chicano-sized problems, a mystical encounter with Frida Kahlo in Mexico City, these fictions are fun, fast, and frankly fantastic.”
—Daniel Chacón, author of The Cholo Tree

“Daniel A. Olivas has written fascinating fantastical scenarios in My Chicano Heart, but always with very recognizable human settings and issues. This collection is a portrait of Latinx/Chicana/o life as it is lived today, and there is true voz here that is jammed with feeling and passion. It’s as if all of Olivas’s character’s souls are embattled.” 
—Yxta Maya Murray, author of The World Doesn’t Work That Way, but It Could

“Love, while universal, is experienced differently from one culture to another. These stories explore its mutations, sometimes in phantasmagorical ways. But they don’t stop with love, delving into other emotions with equal bewilderment. Daniel Olivas is a treasure.”
—Ilan Stavans, Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College, coauthor of Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook