Crazy Loco, a collection of nine short stories, makes you laugh and cry. Filled with passion, a little romance and focused entirely on life growing up Mexican-American in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Crazy Loco is an award-winning book by David Rice, whose pre-teen life, abuelos, friends and family are clearly the inspiration for these stories.

Though a story of Mexican-Americans, the experiences seen throughout this book are some anyone can relate to. I liked the book and I’m in college, but Crazy Loco is for anyone – middle or high schoolers, my parents, anyone who likes a good tale.

Rice goes from crushing “sapos” (frogs) to falling in love, to realizing what a man is from viewing his grandfather.

David Rice was born in Weslaco, Texas and grew up in Edcouch, Texas. Though his name might not indicate so, David Rice is Mexican-American. His father was adopted by a white rancher after being abandoned many years ago and so Rice has grown up in dual-cultures – his own family’s and his grandfather’s. He wrote his first book at age 27 called Give the Pig a Chance and graduated from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas where he worked as an investigative journalist. He later started to develop his talents as a creative storyteller and started to write short stories.

All of his stories are based on real life events, for instance, the book Crazy Loco, is actually based on his real dog, Crazy Loco, his real maid, his real grandfather, and his first kiss on the hay ride. When asked Rice how he writes his stories, he replied, “I rely on my memories to tell stories. I write what I know. I’m not a creative writer so I depend on my memories to come up with stories.”

Rice travels between the Rio Grande Valley and Austin to mentor, teach and help others achieve what he has. He helped start a non-profit called “Vamos” to help kids from Texas’s Valley attend Ivy League schools.

Even though Rice travels a lot, he stated that he does not get tired of traveling because “going to school to meet kids and teachers is something I enjoy. If I was going to give lectures at a bookstore then I would not like that because not only is it ineffective, but tedious for the kids and myself.” When Rice goes to see the kids, he sits down with them and reconstructs short stories and does workshops with them.

Along with being a writer, Rice works with college students by mentoring them on short story ideas. Years ago, he took kids on college trips to the West and North East to visit various colleges like Harvard, Yale, NYU, Stanford and Columbia. Some of the kids who went with him were actually accepted admission to some of the colleges from his hometown, Edcouch. He has been working with kids for four years now trying to get the kids up there and into various institutions. Some advice he gives to kids who would like to pursue writing is, “to write about a memory. As a writer, you should go through your family photo album and take pictures that mean a lot to you. From a photograph, you should write 1000 words, which is about four pages. If you can apply your emotions and what you went through, you should aim for 2000 words, which is about eight pages. This would make a perfect short story. If you’re a good writer, you can get out 1000 words and if you’re a better writer, you can write 2000 words just from looking at a picture.”

With every successful professional, there comes a story of challenges and inspiration. Fashion designer, Alice Garcia, is no exception. After graduating with a fashion design degree in Guadalajara, Mexico, she began her career in the industry in 1975, working for the company, Artcarved, as a jewelry designer. From that point, she tells us how she began a career as a fashion designer and about the obstacles she faced to get where she is today.

What inspired you to become a fashion designer?
I had always designed and sewn my own clothing. I never liked to purchase items at the store because most were poorly made, and the clothing I did like was not affordable. In 1985, when my husband lost his job, it became even more difficult to maintain the style that I was used to. At that time, I was also receiving many requests from my fellow co-workers to make garments for them, so I decided to become a fashion designer and create my own line.

How did you start your business?
I began by sewing the garments in my home because, at that time, I could not afford to have an actual warehouse or place of business. After several years of working out of my home, my air conditioning unit was damaged because of all the fabrics that I was using. So I realized that I would soon have to find a warehouse in Austin where I could produce and store my merchandise. Once I found a warehouse, I hired a pattern maker, a fashion sketcher and someone to press the clothing.

Who is your target market?
My clothing is targeted to the middle class woman, between 40 to 65 years old. The fashion conscious, sophisticated and dignified woman. My clients typically shop at specialty boutiques in Austin, but want reasonable prices. That is how I began to sell my merchandise, by talking it to boutique owners and retailers in the Austin area, to try and get my clothing line out there to be sold in specialty boutiques.

What is the name of your line?
The name of my line is Nicole Marie, named after my daughter.

What is your typical day like?
Everyday is different, but always hectic. I do a lot of traveling overseas to Japan and India to purchase my fabrics, which takes up a great deal of my time. The business has been so successful that my husband now helps me. I do most of the designing, but have my pattern maker create the patterns, and my sketcher draw my ideas. I am still based out of Austin, Texas and I have contracted out two individuals to complete the construction of the garments after the cutting is done at the warehouse.

Where can we find Nicole Marie clothing?
Right now, there are five stores in Dallas and one in Salado, Texas that carry my line. I also do shows, such as Country Peddlers, Junior League of Austin, and other craft shows around Austin and across the United States.

What advice would you give to a girl wanting to become a fashion designer?
It’s important to have the passion to design and create garments. Without that passion, you won’t make it. It requires someone with a great work ethic who is determined, ambitious and self-disciplined. You also must be able to work long hours and be energetic. Also, having the ability to forecast color and style trends, learn about your customer and recognize what they want are big factors in being successful as a fashion designer.

By Sasha Guerra

What are some of your job responsibilities? I write a weekly column called TV Eye. For this, I watch TV, and follow trends in the TV industry and in the government (e.g. the FCC). I write everything from basic reviews ( TV movies, new TV series), to commentary on what’s happening on the small screen (e.g. Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl).

How did you get your current job? Well, I made a “pitch” (that is, an idea for an article) to the then TV Eye writer. I didn’t hear from her and decided she didn’t care for the idea. About a month later she contacted me and told me my ideas were good, but were really column-worthy — wouldn’t I like to write TV Eye?

What did you do to prepare for this job? I watch TV much more than I did before, but more importantly, I started to watch it with a critical, instead of a passive eye.

What is your favorite part of your job? Finding shows that I “have” to watch for work (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Angel).

What is the most challenging part of your job?Sometimes, I don’t want to watch TV. I want to read or listen to music or go out with friends — anything but sit in front of the tube.

What advice would you give to help a girl prepare for a job like yours? Pick a columnist — any columnist — and read their work. What attracts you (or doesn’t attract you) to their work? Is it the subject matter, which is often the case? Maybe they have an interesting or quirky style and tone. A sense of humor is often appreciated. Blogging is a good way to develop a style and voice and see if you can attract and hold an audience. But blogging is not the same as writing a column. See if you can determine the difference in delivery between the two media. Of course, good old fashioned journaling with pencil and paper works well too to keep the writing muscle working.

Overall, a columnist has to be able to gather ideas and always have their mind working toward the next column. They should be well read (as in reading other columnists and material from other media to see how other forces may be affecting their topic.) A degree in journalism doesn’t hurt. I don’t have one, though I do have an MFA in Writing from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t working? Read, knit, visit with friends, listen to music, go to movies, and SHOP! I am also at work on a novel, a whole other writing muscle at work.

What websites do you recommend and why?

• Alternet.com – good alternative news source
• Iwantmedia.com – good collection of alternative news sources
• Salon.com – good features, pretty solid news commentary
• ElAndar.com – excellent source for Latino arts and letter

Interviewed by Alicia Rascon