Alumnus returns to CSUMB as successful author

By Mark Muckenfuss

An eerie figure met Omar Hussain one night on Del Monte Boulevard. He never found out who it was, but the encounter inspired him to build his first commercially published novel around the mysterious presence.

Hussain, a 2008 graduate of Cal State Monterey Bay’s humanities and communications program, is planning to visit the campus Oct. 8 as part of the Writers from the Edge series. He’ll read from “A Thousand Natural Shocks,” an acclaimed novel published last year. A paperback edition comes out this month.

The San Jose native spent several years working as a journalist, including a stint at the Monterey County Weekly, after earning his degree. He went on to earn a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan and a master of fine arts from New York University. He moved into public relations and eventually opened his own firm, Defy Communications, with a business partner. The company is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Hussain lives. 

CSUMB, he said, was formative in his life. He had a number of mentors that impacted his experience and who have continued to support him. 

“Professor Qun Wang lives very large for me,” Hussain said. “He’s provided recommendations for me and been a great ally over almost 20 years.”

Others, such as now-professor emeritus Cecelia O’Leary, he said, were supportive when he was dealing with caring for his dying father. During his final semester of school, he was taking classes only one day per week in order to free his time for his father’s needs. 

When his father died, it left a hole in his life, Hussain said. 

“I can remember being in Monterey after I graduated, trying to process everything that had happened in the last year,” he said. “I was the first in my family to graduate from college, but my dad wasn’t there to see it.”

On warm nights, he recalled, he would often go for runs or long walks. 

“I was on Del Monte Boulevard in the middle of the night,” he said. “I turned around and saw this shape of someone. It just reminded me of my dad. I thought it would be really weird if you started seeing your dead father around town.”

About 10 years later, he began outlining the novel in which the main character, a journalist in Monterey, comes in contact with a cult that offers a way to erase one’s memory using a series of pills.

“In order to get the pills, he has to carry out these nefarious tasks for the organization,” Hussain said. “The story tries to answer three things: If you could forget everything about yourself, would you? If you did that, what would you become? And would you have any control? He has to decide who he is. And decide what he’s going to do.”

It was named one of the 10 best thrillers by the Washington Post and is a Top-10 finalist for the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Cabell First Novelist Award. 

As a young writer, Hussain said he was often inspired by some of the authors who came to present works at CSUMB. Some spoke about the importance of taking advantage of opportunities when they arose. 

“I remember this guy who had a new novel coming out saying somebody here is going to be in a similar position of saying yes to something,” he recalled. “If I get the chance, I’ll impart something similar.” 

Hussain’s reading is at 4 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Business and Information Technology Building, Rm. 108.