-Editorial
Mariano Velez had an idea for a book that would share a unique time in his life. His goal, he said, was to finally put into print the stories that had lived with him for decades, memories of growing up in a small border town where imagination filled the gaps left by a lack of technology.
Born in El Centro and raised in Calexico, Velez draws from his childhood and lifelong ties to the community in his debut book, “Mostly Made-Up Stories from a Small Town Nobody,” a collection of coming-of-age short stories set in the 1970s and 1980s along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I grew up before technology,” Velez said. “I was the kind of kid who was tinkering with everything, hands on, sports. We didn’t have video games, so we were always outside inventing stuff to play.”
Through humorous and reflective storytelling, Velez revisits a Calexico where children roamed freely, dirt lots became stadiums, and cardboard boxes transformed into castles.
The book also reflects the bicultural rhythm of border life. Family gatherings, frequent trips across the border, and shared meals play a central role. “You’ll see a lot of us crossing the border, having family get-togethers,” Velez said. “We’d get together, eat, have carne asadas, tell stories. That’s where the book starts.”
Velez has spent nearly his entire life, personally and professionally, in Calexico. He began his career in education roughly 25 years ago, teaching for 12 years before moving into administration. He continues to work in local schools, a job that helped spark the original idea for the book.
“The book is something I’ve wanted to do since I became a teacher,” Velez said. While teaching, he advised a student writing club called Ink Blotz, a name he later adopted for his blog. “I just wanted to share my experiences growing up. Kids live differently nowadays. Technology gets in the way. Kids don’t play in the streets anymore.”
Despite the long-held idea, turning it into a finished book proved challenging. Velez said he attempted several times over the years to begin the project but abandoned it due to uncertainty about publishing. “I had no idea what I was doing,” he said. “I tried to launch the idea many times and gave up on it.”
The project gained momentum last summer after his father handed him a folder filled with childhood photos and documents. Inside was a single page of handwritten notes.
“That’s when I started playing with the idea of the book again,” Velez said.
Velez ultimately published the book through Amazon, after researching the process and requirements. “Self-publishing is everywhere now,” he said. “That’s when it finally came together.”
While the writing itself came naturally, Velez said shaping the manuscript into a finished book was the most difficult part. “The writing wasn’t hard,” he said. “It’s getting everything together so that it becomes a book. You have to polish it. It can’t just be any kind of writing.”
Much of the book was written late at night. “Usually when everybody else was asleep, the laptop came out,” he said. “I’d write, put it away, look at it the next day, and clean it up. It’s a process.” About five months later, the manuscript was complete.
Since its release nearly two months ago, the book has drawn positive feedback, particularly from readers who recognize their own childhoods in the stories. “People connect to certain things in the story, usually people about my age or older,” Velez said. “So far, what I’ve received has been positive.”
Velez said the experience of publishing the book has been both rewarding and unfamiliar. “I still don’t have the word for it,” he said. “For me, the goal was just to get it published. I didn’t think about what would happen afterward — sales or anything like that. All of this is new to me.”
A second book is already in development. Velez said the follow-up will continue the narrative but shift toward his later years. “Part Two is already in the works,” he said. “It deals with the older part of me — high school and above, becoming an adult. This one deals a lot with childhood, so it’s kind of a segue.”
While he is considering other writing projects, Velez said he wants to fully appreciate the moment before moving on. “I do want to continue writing,” he said. “But I want to enjoy this one a little bit before I dive headfirst into the next.”
For aspiring writers, Velez offered straightforward advice rooted in his own experience. “Just write every day,” he said. “Whatever you’re thinking, write it down. It doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s the first step.”
He also emphasized the importance of community. “Talk to people,” Velez said. “The relationships you develop during a project like this come in handy. They add to the stories. Talk to the people who were involved in your stories. That’s a big plus.”
For Velez, the book is less about preserving facts and more about preserving a feeling, a time when childhood moved more slowly, neighborhoods felt bigger and imagination was everything.
The book is available for purchase at Amazon at http://amazon.com/author/marianovelez
