Interview of Prominent Lawyer and Respected Author Manuel Ramos by Travis T. Bedore for SinborderS Magazine

Mr. Ramos, thank you for allowing us to interview you. The month’s issue is entitled the “Home Grown Issue” and has a focus on people who were born and raised in Colorado and have made an impact in their chosen professions. Please start by telling our readers a little about your background.

I was born in Florence, Colorado, back when there were 3000 people in the town. Great place to grow up – a mix of people not always comfortable with one another, but a very relaxed, rural lifestyle. I finished high school in Colorado Springs, graduated from Colorado State University and obtained my law degree from the University of Colorado.

When did you begin your writing career and did you always have aspirations of being an author?

I wrote as a kid – knew back then that I wanted to write because I loved to read; I read everything I could get my hands on from the Florence library, and that inspired me to create my own characters and stories. My first “real” published piece was a short story in the late 1980s; my first novel was published in 1993.

While studying at Arizona State University, I attended one of your readings and subsequently have been hooked on your books ever since. In addition to enjoying your storylines and your characters, I also like how you mention several Denver locations in your books. When you are writing a book, do these locations just fit into the story or do you incorporate them on purpose because they are places that you like to go to in your personal life?

A little of both, I think. Often, the stories and characters require a certain setting or scene for effectiveness; other times I want to include a place or setting because of my familiarity with it and I want some verisimilitude. Getting the feel for a place or a setting is important to me, so I try to pay attention to details about locations. Of course, I’ve often just made something up, streets, houses, entire neighborhoods – which I am allowed to do since it’s all fiction, man.

Of all the books you have authored, which one is your favorite and why?

Don’t know about a “favorite”, but after several years at this writing gig, it looks as though I am probably best known for The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, my first book that won several awards and was a finalist for the Edgar Allen Poe Award. So, it has a soft place in my heart, if I can get sentimental for a minute about my work. However, the book that came closest to being what I wanted it to be, in my opinion, is Blues For the Buffalo. For simple reading pleasure, I like Blues for the Buffalo best.

What is your source of inspiration and / or motivation both in writing and in life?

I enjoy writing – I think I need to do it for my mental well-being - so the basic act of creating something that is entirely mine is a great motivator. I have always been driven to do the best I possibly can, no room for second place. I learned this from my father, who has accomplished quite a bit by relying on his own intelligence, street smarts, integrity, and sense of hard work. I worked for my father when I was a kid, in construction; no greater motivator to make something of myself than those incredible summers of hard labor and fatigue.

In addition to being an author, you also are a lawyer. What type of law do you specialize in?

For more than thirty years I have worked for legal aid, a program that provides free legal assistance to folks who can’t afford an attorney and seniors. I currently am the Director of Advocacy for Colorado Legal Services, the statewide legal aid program, and I have management and administrative responsibilities for 15 law offices across the state. We do only civil law that focuses on poverty law issues such as evictions, foreclosures, family law, health access, consumer, and legal issues of migrant workers.

Please speak on some of the highs and lows in your career.

In terms of writing, the highs came early: the nomination for the Edgar award, for example, was completely unexpected and I probably did not appreciate it as much as I should have since it happened at the beginning of my writing career. There haven’t been too many lows, although I will always regret that I am not a better salesman of my own work so that my books have a wider audience. I want everyone to read my books – doesn’t every writer?

Having lived in the Denver area for a long time, how do you see the city changing? Do you think these changes are for the better or worse and do you see Denver as losing or gaining character as it continues to grow?

The changes are massive, and inevitable. Usually, change is good. I have to say, however, that the changes to my neighborhood (the old “North Side”) are overwhelming and intimidating. When I first moved into the house where I still live (almost thirty years later), there was a sense of history and attachment to the neighborhood. A few of my neighbors had lived in their houses for decades and they told me stories about the Italian, Irish, and Chicano influences; later on, more Mexicanos and Central Americans moved in, and they, too, respected the neighborhood. The new, recent demographics include a much younger and more affluent population. I don’t get from the newcomers any sense of long-term commitment to the neighborhood. It’s more like, “Highlands is hip so let’s live there for a few years.” Condos and other multi-resident complexes have sprung up like mushrooms, driving up property values and taxes, increasing traffic and congestion, and really altering the character of the North Side. On the other hand, I got more choices for restaurants.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Truthfully, I have not had much free time to read books lately. However, when I am at the gym riding the stationary bike, I always enjoy a good read. When can we expect your next book?

As a matter of fact I have a new book coming out this spring entitled "King of the Chicanos", to be published by Wings Press. It's not crime fiction; it's the story of the rise and fall of Ramón Hidalgo, migrant worker, door-to-door salesman, convict, and family man who becomes a leader of the Chicano civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It's different from my other books. I also am working on my next crime fiction novel, currently titled "Desperado."