PROFILE

Words of gold. Literature - For two years, writing `Thirteen Senses' took precedence over most everything in his life, even sleep. 

By Minerva Canto

The Orange County Register

15 Oct 2001

Writing for a living hasn't come easy to Victor Villaseñor. He's battled dyslexia, endured rejection by publishers hundreds of times, and spent years living mainly on credit cards to the point of going into debt more than $350,000. Even after becoming a best-selling author with a book dubbed the Latino version of "Roots," he says that New York publishing houses have been reluctant to take him on, fearing perhaps that his appeal to mainstream audiences was limited. 

"I am used to getting my a-- kicked. I am used to getting rejected," says the silver-haired author, 61, now touring the country signing his latest book, "Thirteen Senses."
The book is the sequel to his best-selling 1991 book, "Rain of Gold," which has been praised as the ultimate historical narrative of the Mexican immigrant experience. The acclaimed memoir documents the journey of his family's migration from Mexico to the United States during the Mexican Revolution. 

Villaseñor has pursued his writing with the same passion and determination as a boxer driven by visions of a world championship while pummeling away at a punching bag. Heeding the muse's call that hit every day around 2 a.m. for two years, Villaseñor got up and put pen to paper to tell the story of his parents' tumultuous early years of marriage for "Thirteen Senses." 

It was a tedious writing process because Villaseñor finds it easier to write longhand on blank sheets of paper and needs to write several drafts before perfecting his prose. His younger sister, Linda, deciphered his writing and typed it up for him each day. Driven by an almost mystical force, he faithfully continued the story he had begun with "Rain of Gold," but this time with a higher purpose in mind than simple storytelling.
"Dear God, help me, I'm your tool," he recalls praying, just as his mother and grandmother did when they were alive. "I'm your instrument. Please help me."
For two years, writing "Thirteen Senses" took precedence over most everything in his life, even basic needs like sleep. His running partner advised him to stop trying so hard. Villaseñor responded: "You don't get it. This book is going to surpass `Rain of Gold.' "
Prone to making grand statements about his work, Villaseñor is perhaps his own best cheerleader. He firmly believes his latest work, interpreted the right way, can guide people to lead fuller lives and eventually give way to world peace.
"This is it! This is the future!" he exclaims during an interview, loudly thumping his book with his index finger. "This is going to take us out of the dark ages and into the future!"
His first major work was 1,300 pages. The manuscript was titled simply "Life." Knowing it would likely not get published like that, he carved it into three pieces, producing "Rain of Gold," "Wild Steps of Heaven," and "Thirteen Senses.” He likes to say that he's "a very, very good writer." Even before any of his work had been published, Villaseñor didn't waver in his belief that he's a good writer. During a mid-1960s gathering at a writing conference, Villaseñor loudly proclaimed to a stunned group of colleagues that he was the best writer in the group, better than the published authors they were studying.
A turn-off for some, a refreshing quality for others, Villaseñor's raw energy is the secret to his success. He quit high school during his junior year, frustrated with a school system that he says discriminated against him because of his Mexican background and a reading problem he discovered years later was dyslexia. 

A native of Carlsbad, Villaseñor traveled to Mexico, where the art, literature and music sparked what became a lifelong interest in his roots and history. He enjoyed the experience so much that he didn't want to return to the United States. After his parents discouraged him from "running away," he returned to his native country, trying to fight the anger welling up inside him at what he believed was mistreatment of Mexicans and Mexican- Americans in the United States. He taught himself to read, forcing his way through a novel for the first time at age 20. Then, he discovered James Joyce's "Portrait of An Artist as a Young Man" and he knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Writing, he decided, would help him channel his anger in a positive way.
"Victor was always a very good storyteller. But I never thought of him as becoming an author. He just wasn't a book person because he didn't know how to read. You know, because of his dyslexia," says his sister, Linda Villaseñor.
A high school teacher helped guide Villaseñor, instructing him to seek out information at public libraries. Villaseñor began writing, working in construction and other fields to support himself. He had written hundreds of pages when he heard about a university extension course for writers in San Diego. He didn't know whether they would accept him because the course was for experienced writers.
Still, he showed up at the school after packing his car trunk full of his writings -- about 60 pounds' worth of short stories, plays and other works. He hoped it would be enough to persuade the instructor to accept him as a student in the class.
"He and another guy started laughing. He told me they just wanted a couple ounces of my writing," Villaseñor says. After picking a three-page short story for the instructor to read, Villaseñor waited anxiously for the verdict.
"He said that I was like a young baseball player who could throw a ball 100 miles an hour but I had no control. I had no concept of writing, and I was hitting people in the stands," Villaseñor recalls. "But he said, `You write with such raw passion and such realistic truthfulness. ...You are a powerful writer. I can't teach power to people, but I can teach control.' "
The instructor became his writing teacher for 10 years, helping him through his first book, "Macho," a gritty portrayal of the life of a Mexican immigrant farm worker. He says his writing style in the 1973 book was compared to John Steinbeck.

In 30 years of writing, Villaseñor has stayed true to his stories, even when it means revealing intimate details about his family. In "Thirteen Senses," he unflinchingly documents the first time his parents consummated their marriage. Like most everyone, he preferred not to think about his parents' lovemaking but knew it was a necessary element in his book. 

It is this truthfulness that many fans find most appealing about Villaseñor and his work. Others chuckle at his openness, uncomfortable with so much unabashed emotion.
During a recent books signing at Martinez Books and Art Gallery in Santa Ana, Villaseñor took off his trademark Panama-style hat and lay down to meditate in front of an audience of more than 100 that was assembling to hear him talk. He then got up, pacing to and fro in his untied tennis shoes as he spoke with the energy of a preacher, peppering his talk with humorous anecdotes. Afterward, everyone dutifully followed his instructions to hug one another. 

"He captivated my heart," said Lizeth Mosqueda, 35, of Irvine, who attended the event with her husband, Ed. "I didn't like to read before I read `Rain of Gold.' But his story just really touched me."
For more than three hours at the book store, Villaseñor signed books for more than 300 people, posed for photos, and hugged each fan. After finishing, he signed nearly 50 more books for fans as far away as Italy who e-mailed or called, requesting an autograph. 

Teen-agers and grandmothers alike say they identify with "Rain of Gold" because it's a story that mirrors their own. "People come in and tell me there is no other book like `Rain of Gold' and that's why they need to have it," said Reuben Martinez, bookstore owner.
Rene Alegria, editorial director at Harper Collins' Rayo imprint, says he first became interested in "Thirteen Senses" because it was the sequel to what he considers a seminal classic. Harper Collins used "Thirteen Senses" to launch Rayo, a new division that simultaneously publishes books in English and Spanish. 

"When I found out he had the sequel to it, I just had to jump on it. I had to have it," Alegria said. "It's vintage Victor." Whether "Thirteen Senses" will surpass its predecessor in popularity and acclaim remains to be seen. Regardless of what happens, Villaseñor is intent on continuing his writing career until he retires at 75 in 2026.
He long ago came to terms with the fact that, though he has a large and loyal following, his is not a household name. A closet at his Oceanside home, the same ranch where he grew up, is jammed floor to ceiling with six novels, hundreds of short stories, plays, and screenplays that have been rejected. He doesn't know how he and his wife, Juanita, a schoolteacher, will pay off their debts. He's well aware some people think he's "out to lunch" with his ideas about humans having 13 senses. 

"In his time, John Steinbeck was also not accepted," Villaseñor says, "even after winning the Nobel Prize."