Modern languages professor talks new book, and how Los Angeles transforms love into a journey of identity.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Love in L.A.” explores the contradictions of a city where glamour collides with grit and where brief encounters can leave lasting impressions. The book positions Los Angeles not simply as a backdrop, but as a force that shapes the rhythm of its characters’ lives—turning traffic jams, crowded streets, and quiet corners into stages for connection and disconnection.
Benito Gómez Madrid is a professor of modern languages at CSUDH, specializing in Spanish literature and cultural studies. Originally from Madrid, Spain, he earned his Ph.D. at UCLA and has long written about themes of identity and resilience. His work bridges scholarship and creative writing, bringing depth and authenticity to his narratives, and “Love in L.A.” is no exception.
The Bulletin sat down with Gómez Madrid to discuss how the City of Angels became the perfect setting for a story about love, illusion, and the search for authenticity.
Many view Los Angeles through the lens of fame and ego. Why did you choose to focus on love in your work?
I’m a realistic writer. When people think of love, they believe it is going to be a comedy or a romantic story. I’m more interested in the idea of the whole journey, from the beginning stages to the hardships that come with every relationship, then the plateau, and then it begins to decline. I make it relatable to everyone, as that is the beautiful part of a love story: the flaws that come with it.
How do you hope readers unfamiliar with LA will connect to the themes represented in the book?
Everyone knows LA, and nobody knows LA Most Angelenos know some parts of LA but not all of them. However, everyone knows LA from the movies. So, whether a reader grew up in LA or has never set foot in it, they know what it feels like to want something bigger than themselves. LA in this book is both a real geographic place and a metaphor for ambition, reinvention, and disillusionment.
Those experiences are universal. If readers can connect to the emotional landscape—the longing, the contradictions, the search for meaning—then they will understand the city’s role, even without knowing its streets.
How do you approach writing characters who are flawed but still deeply human—without
judging them or steering the reader too hard?
I start by assuming that every character, no matter how misguided, has a reason that makes sense to them. People rarely wake up in the morning planning to ruin their lives; they try to fulfill a need: to make a connection, to escape from some situation, to validate their ideas, to search for dignity.
As a writer, I try to explore that need, not to critique it. I don’t defend their choices, but I don’t condemn them either. I simply allow readers to witness the complexity and to give them the chance to recognize themselves.
If the story were set elsewhere, what elements would lose their impact without Los Angeles
shaping them?
Los Angeles isn’t just a backdrop; it’s an accomplice. The city offers infinite possibilities and equally infinite illusions. Its freeways, neighborhoods, cultural clashes, and socioeconomic contrasts create a landscape where people reinvent themselves, or get lost trying.
If you take these stories out of LA, you lose the constant tension between aspiration and reality, between ideals and struggle. You also lose the very specific rhythm of the city, where proximity doesn’t guarantee connection, and dreams coexist with disappointment on the same.
How did you get into writing stories as a hobby?
It started right in my last year in high school, but I never had the courage to publish any of my work until I was commissioned to be the editor-in-chief of our school paper. The editor-in-chief at that time had unfortunately passed away before the transition was complete. At that time, we only published traditional articles and literary criticism. They asked me if I could submit any short stories or poems that I had, and when I did, people gave me really good feedback, and that alone encouraged me to go write my first official book.
How do you approach writing in a way that resonates with readers across different age groups?
I have been teaching for 25 years, and I can tell who really reads the novel compared to those who don’t. They are the ones who are more engaged. I would think that is the reason why some of my stories have been split into multiple short stories, so people who read my work don’t feel obligated to try to finish it all in one go, and can really just enjoy the stories on their own.
What strategies do you use to involve younger generations in your work?
I love being able to incorporate my students into my work. In one of my books, called “Momentos El Sur De California,” I had asked the photography class here on campus to take those photos. Another way I can get unbiased opinions and reviews from my students is that I do this activity in my class, where I will have multiple stories and slide my own in, hiding the author’s name, and surprisingly, I do get a few students who prefer my work out of the few I present.
Even with the cover of this book, I had students studying design work on it, and we had a little contest about it, and did they really help me develop these stories? Yes! Finding ways to get them involved with these things like that is what keeps me passionate about my hobby.
How do you hope readers feel after finishing the book?
I hope readers finish the book with a sense of recognition. I think some of their lives might look a bit like the characters. I want them to feel a moment where something clicks, and they say, ‘I’ve known that kind of longing. I’ve made that mistake. I’ve carried that hope.’
These stories don’t offer tidy resolutions; Los Angeles rarely does. Instead, I want readers to walk away with a mixture of tenderness and unease, realizing that love often lives in the gray spaces between desire and illusion; our culture and our circumstances.
Looking ahead, what themes or ideas will you be exploring in the future?
For this story alone, it is the first of a trilogy that I am excited to work on, and with each installment, it will build on the themes I introduced here, exploring new dimensions of love, identity, and the city itself.