I first ‘met’ Daniel José Older through his blog, View from the Crossroads of Life and Death, where he writes about the behind the scenes work of paramedics. From the posts you get a sense of his humor and his deep understanding of the space between living and dying and the moments that lead up to them. His work as a paramedic is important as gives life and texture to his fiction.
And let me tell you about his fiction! Salsa Nocturna, his collection of short stories, was released today, but I got to read (and hear!) a few excerpts from it way before I even knew Daniel was on twitter as @djolder. One story, “The Collector,” is narrated by Daniel José Older himself on Shadowcast, and that was the one that I found first.
Daniel was generous enough to let a few good people read the book beforehand and I got the chance to devour it right this spring. Yes, devour. For a Brown girl from the future with Yoruba and Christian heritage living at the margins of a crazy, crazy world, ghost stories are right up my alley.
The best part, for me, is how Daniel allows these ghosts to tell their own stories through their various vantage points. Anchored by the story of one Carlos Delacruz, a half dead, half alive being, Daniel writes us through a world that exists just beyond our physical eyes. I get all goosebumpy just thinking about it! It’s epic.
When I got to meet Daniel in person this past May, he told me he’s never actually seen a ghost. Nevertheless! I would say he tells a really, really good ghost story or two. Or, you know, thirteen!