EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Anthony Mora, an El Paso native who’s made a career in Los Angeles as a writer, spoke with KTSM about his latest novel “Hang Fire,” which he said serves as both a love letter to Hollywood and a warning sign about how difficult it is to succeed there.
“Whereas in Las Vegas people go and they gamble money, in Hollywood people come here and they gamble lives,” Mora, age 75, said.
Mora described “Hang Fire” as a dark comedy satirical novel about Hollywood’s dreams and pitfalls. He said the story draws from his own real-life experiences in the Hollywood industry and the characters resemble many people he met throughout his career.
“I have seen so many people come here and they look and they see what other people accomplish. And they ask, ‘Why not me?,’ but you become drunk. People think this role or this book, or this film is going to change my life and it can be a very dangerous path,” Mora said.
Mora has delved into different storytelling mediums throughout his career. He’s a former journalist, playwright, film producer, and most recently a novelist. The highlights of his career have been producing seven plays and publishing three books.
Mora said he was born and raised in the Kern Place neighborhood in West El Paso, where he lived until his family moved to LA when he was 13 years old.
Mora said he knew he wanted to be a storyteller at a young age, but that he always wonders if his career trajectory would have been the same if he’d stayed in El Paso.
“I knew early on I wanted to write novels. I don’t know if I knew that at 13, but I knew that at 16,” Mora said. “But being in the hub of the industry and having access to that I think certainly helped me have the ability to do a lot of what I’ve done.”
However, Mora said his El Paso roots have helped him with his writing and provided him with a grounded perspective to navigate the Hollywood industry.
“I think I learned so much being able to cross the border over to Juarez and to experience both of those cultures,” Mora said. “I think it gives me such a rich heritage and so much to pull from. And my next book, I’m looking to center it in El Paso.”
You can learn more about Mora’s work by clicking here.
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