You Call It Tomato..

As local readers may know, the book takes liberties with the names of some of the locations. As of this moment (and subject to last minute editorial changes), Frogtown in real life is a neighborhood on the rise with all the gelato stores to prove it. In GTG, its a homeless encampment. This was not done to cast aspersions on the real F-Town, but simply because I liked the name. I saw it on a freeway sign and loved it. Years ago, Venice was referred to as Dogtown and I loved that as well. I guess just about anything-town has a good chance with me. The street names are all legit. Denker is not the name of a gang or a park, though in South LA there is Denker Boulevard. Gaither is homage to someone I worked with. Deez Cutz is legit, as is Mantrap Nails, though the latter is again an appropriation from South LA. And Barrio Horseshoe is actually a real place...in San Jose. I lived there for a hot second. I haven't been back in 20 years and doubt it's recognizable. Javier is a composite of many students I've known, hard working, mature, and, in my opinion, the best this country has to offer. Is that a function of an immigrant lifestyle? I would make the completely unfounded assertion that it is, yes. There is something grounded and modest and honorable in Javier, and amidst all the clamor on immigration here in this country, I wanted to create a character who hopefully embodies some of the wonderful attributes of people who come here with nothing but aspirations.