Sonoma County Writers Published in 2024
Joanne Howard—Sleeping in the Sun
Santa Rosa resident Joanne Howard has published her debut novel, Sleeping in the Sun, a historical novel for fans of The Poisonwood Bible and The Inheritance of Loss.
While originally a part of her MFA thesis at Pacific University, this explosive novel dives into the author’s own grandfather’s story of living as a Christian missionary in British India. Through her extensive research on the British Raj, the work of her grandfather’s missionary group, the effects of colonization in India, and the rich descriptions of India in the early 20th century, Joanne’s story weaves a cinematic tale of discrimination and privilege showcasing the enduring impact of imperialism and the spark of revolution.
“Highly recommended.”— Historical Novel Society, Editors’ Choice
5 stars — IndieReader
Published by She Writes Press, distributed by Simon and Shuster. Learn more at: joannehowardwrites.com
Janice Rowley, editor—Transitions: Redwood Writers 2024 Prose Anthology
Our lives are filled with transitions—great and trivial journeys from endings to new beginnings. In Transitions, you will find stories to inspire you and to make you laugh, maybe cry. There are stories of war and of peace, of children and dinosaurs (human and animal), husbands, wives, mermaids, zombies, dogs, cats, and pigs. You may find yourself among strangers or best friends and in a world far away. These passionate writers show you prejudice and acceptance, anger and compassion. There is magic inside this book for everyone who reads it. Come on in and find it for yourself.
Redwood Writers Press (September 21, 2024)
376 pages, $20
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Transitions-Redwood-Writers-Prose-Anthology/dp/B0DHQKBP1Z
Les Bernstein, editor—One Day: Redwood Writers 2024 Poetry Anthology
Redwood Writers celebrates the release of One Day, an anthology showcasing poems from some of the most talented poets in California. This collection not only features the exceptional work of Redwood Writers but also includes contributions from poets across all branches of the California Writers Club (CWC). With 186 poems, this anthology is a testament to the diverse and vibrant poetry community within the CWC and the Redwood Writers branch. Poetry is the heart of this community, and its significance is celebrated through various initiatives, including the annual anthology, National Poetry Month in April, yearly poetry contests, and engaging poetry workshops or speakers at general meetings and the biennial writers conference. Delve into this rich collection and experience the extraordinary talent of these poets.
Redwood Writers Press (August 31, 2024)
292 pages, $20
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/One-Day-Redwood-Writers-Anthology/dp/B0DFVFZDF8
Mara Lynn Johnstone, editor—Shatterlore: Myths of Past and Future
Greek gods in a cyberpunk future where life and death are digital. Norse gods in a modern world where everything depends on a missing USB stick. Figures from Hindu legend who bear subtle resemblances to a certain element of pop culture.
All that and more can be found in this collection of short stories, written by authors from around the world. If you’ve ever wanted to read about Beowulf as a noir detective, or Narcissus as a vampire who wants a reflection, then this book is for you. And if it never occurred to you that such things were an option (but now they sound fascinating), then it’s for you too. Jump in and explore the many facets of mythology once the lore has been shattered into a glittering cloud of alternate realities.
Available in e-book and print formats from multiple distributors: books2read.com/u/4j7z0X
Iris Jamahl Dunkle—Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb
This saga of a writer done dirty resurrects the silenced voice of Sanora Babb, peerless author of midcentury American literature.
Dunkle follows Babb from her impoverished childhood in eastern Colorado to California. There, she befriended the era’s literati, including Ray Bradbury and Ralph Ellison; entered into an illegal marriage; and was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was Babb’s field notes and oral histories of migrant farmworkers that Steinbeck relied on to write The Grapes of Wrath.
University of California Press
ISBN: 9780520395442
416 pages
$27.95
Purchase from UC Press
or Amazon
Nancy J. Martin—From the Summer of Love to the Valley of the Moon
Nancy J. Martin is pleased to announce the release of her new audiobook From the Summer of Love to the Valley of the Moon, which includes a new prologue and a live interview with the author.
San Francisco, 1967. A teenager comes of age during the Summer of Love at her rock & roll wedding. Her story relates the saga of life and relationships from then until the present through many lessons learned the hard way, until when, in 2005 she transitioned into yet another challenging marriage to the founder of an iconic winery in the Valley of the Moon. An inspirational narrative of one woman’s perseverance, creativity and stamina to overcome the cultural norms of patriarchy through years of controlling abuse and moving on through the learning curve of personal growth. The publication of this story was inspired and encouraged by the now prominent #MeToo Movement
nancyjmartinauthor.com
Purchase for $19.95 here.
Sandra Anfang—Rara Aves: for the birds
Sandra Anfang’s new book Rara Avis: for the birds is a full-length collection of poems about birds. While the poems are about all aspects of life, birds fly through each poem in some fashion.
Kelsay Books, 96 pages, $20 + S/H: kelsaybooks.com/products/rara-avis-for-the-birds
Also available on Amazon in paperback or kindle
Or email Sandra for a signed copy ($24, including shipping).
Send an email to rivertownpoet@gmail.com for payment instructions.
Elizabeth Bennett—The Price of Saffron
Fran Carbonaro—Out of the Blue
Fran Carbonaro’s first book of poetry Out of the Blue, published by northern California fmsbw press, features 41 poems with a foreword by Tamsin Spencer Smith. This book is volume 21 in The Page Poets Series. Cover art by José Ramón Lerma.
76 pages, $10
ISBN: 979-8989413355
Available on Amazon
Andrea Granahan—Spitting on Great Aunt Missouri’s Grave: How Two Abused Kids Learned to Love Their Mother
Andrea Granahan is the author of five previous books, an award winning journalist and travel writer, and former editor of The Bodega Bay Navigator. In this recent novel, Vella, mostly Native American, Creek mother and Cherokee father with a dash of European, was orphaned because her mother died at birth and her father left the baby with relatives. The relative who got her at age three was a sadistic aunt. To escape, Vella married at fifteen, was a widow with a child at seventeen. She herself became a child abuser.
It is a story about the enduring power of love to heal and transform, even in the face of unimaginable adversity. Through the characters’ struggles and growth, it delivers profound messages about forgiveness, redemption, and the unbreakable bonds of family.
Paperback: 366 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8321852583
Dimensions: 5 x 8 inches
Available on Amazon
Sarah Fleming (with Donovan Riley)—Zooming with Gaga
During the Covid pandemic, when the author could only meet with her far-away family via Zoom, she remarked to her grandson Donovan that she wished she could fly right through the phone and come visit him in Tucson. He giggled at the prospect, and thus inspired these stories, written at home on lockdown. Over the next year she read them aloud to Donovan, calling from California to Arizona, often rewarded with more of his giggles. He frequently made suggestions for the next stories and helped name characters. So, he truly is a co-author. The zooming children in these tales shrink to an inch and not only visit their grandmother, but also magical animals and insects, fairytale creatures and distant locations, and they even time travel.
Illustrations by Maeve Riley
Reading age: 3 to 18
Paperback, 270 pages, 7 x 10 inches, $17
Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1941066658
Judith Day—Going Where They Belong
The nine stories in Judith Day’s new collection are told by and about teenagers, mid-lifers, and elders. They are about settled lives and drastically disordered ones, working people, dying people. They are about people you have never met and others you see every day; sometimes, they are people you know very well, people you work and live with. You may find they are about you. Like all of us, the characters are finding their way forward in the face of loss. They are furious and funny, hurtful and helpful. Stumbling and blind, enlightening slowly, they are all going where they belong.
Occurring across the years from the 1960s to 2023, these are American stories about American people. They take us from the banks of an unnamed river to the deserts and mountains of the Southwest, through the streets of St. Louis to the steep forested hills of California’s coastal mountains.
Wordrunner Press. Released February 14, 2024. More details here.
Susan Lieu—The Manicurist’s Daughter
An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.
Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success—until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.
The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.
Release date: March 12, 2024
More information here: www.susanlieu.me/the-manicurists-daughter
Anne E. Belden, Paul Gullixson and Lauren A. Spates—Inflamed: Abandonment, Heroism, and Outrage in Wine Country’s Deadliest Firestorm
The dramatic story of hundreds of senior citizens left in the path of a ferocious firestorm and what the quest for accountability reveals about the increasing risks to our most vulnerable population.
Just after midnight on October 9, 2017, as one of the nation’s deadliest and most destructive firestorms swept over California’s Wine Country, hundreds of elderly residents from two posh senior living facilities were caught in its path. The frailest were blind, in wheelchairs, or diagnosed with dementia, and their community quickly transformed from a palatial complex that pledged to care for them to one that threatened to entomb them. The rescue of the final 105 seniors left behind on an inflamed hillside depended not on employees, but strangers whose lives intersected in a riveting tale of terror and heroism. Headlines blamed caregivers for abandonment and neglect, but the truth proved far more complex—leading to a battle for accountability that stretched from the courtroom to the state legislature, and ultimately, to the ballot box.
Gullixson and Belden tell this harrowing story of the Tubbs Fire with a veracity and compassion only achieved by experienced reporters with local roots. Their narrative revisits the horrors of 2017 but also asks the reader to look to the future and consider how their community’s most vulnerable will fare as the for-profit assisted living industry rapidly expands and the climate becomes more volatile. If this travesty can happen at high-end senior living complexes, it can happen anywhere.
Published by Permuted Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Mark Tate—Walking Scarecrow: The Poems of Pineshadow
Winner of the Blue Light Book Award
From the sanctuary of Pineshadow (both place name and poetic persona), Mark Tate composes moments of tender, meditative attention, reminding us of beauty and intimacy, as well as what is lost to addiction, dementia, death, and delusion in a fractured world bent on following darkness. “How do we lose our way with this much light?” the poet asks. How indeed! Alluding to the Tang poet Hanshan, Tate writes, “I use what remedy/Is at hand to save the world.” Mark Tate’s new volume of poems, Walking Scarecrow, is a microcosm of large-scale wisdom and beauty. Generously including bits of conversation with the ancients—Bashō, Li Po, and others—Tate interweaves deep questions about how to live richly and well with homespun scenes of his simple, rural life.
Blue Light Press
Available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Marylu Downing—Pink Paisley Scarf: A Contemporary Novel
This fast-paced novel brings sisters together, ignites lovers, and reveals a mystery. The Pink Paisley Scarf wraps six main characters together as they discover romance, and adventure. Vivid imagery, humor in the ordinary, and the complexities of intimate relationships propel Marylu Downing’s writing. Her fiction, poetry, art, memoir, essays and short stories have been published in books, anthologies, in newspapers, online, and magazines.
Available on Amazon
__________
Redwood Writers Club 2024 Author Launch Books
The following books, featured at the Redwood Writers Club 2024 Author Launch on Saturday, March 16, 2024, were published between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023. Books by Redwood Writers previously announced on this site and not included below are: Shawn Langwell’s Today’s the Day and Rachel Zemach’s, The Butterfly Cage. For descriptions of these books, see the archived Books in Print page for 2023: socolitupdate.com/sonoma-county-in-print/2023-soco-writers-in-print
Richard Boyd—Souls, AI Computers, and the Future of Humankind
Science Fiction.
The book uses reincarnation, near-death experiences, and past life experiences to understand the soul world. Assuming that AI computers will soon take over the world, the book then assumes that the soul world grants souls to the two AI computers of the book in hopes the souls can control the most heinous tendencies of the computers.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/gp/product/B0CRR9LQYJ
Barbara Cottrell—Darkness Below
The Shadows of Miskatonic, Book One. Horror
Fall quarter is always challenging time at Miskatonic University. All Ellen Logan wants to do is pass her classes. But when a former roommate jumps to her death, leaving her with a mysterious book, Ellen embarks on her own investigation. To survive, she must descend into the darkness below and stop the forces that threaten to tear her world apart.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Darkness-Shadows-Miskatonic-Barbara-Cottrell/dp/B0BVGQKCJB
Melissa Geissinger—Nothing Left But Dust
Young Adult Historical Fiction.
A powerful tale of love, loss, and hope set during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Jo and Otto fight for survival and love as they navigate the burning ruins of the city in search of answers to a dark family secret. An edge-of-your-seat coming-of-age survival story that will leave you inspired by the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/dp/B0C1F47DKR
Lenore Hirsch—Connection: Stories
Literary Fiction
These stories are set in a variety of places: a kitchen table, funeral parlor, country western bar, refugee camp, border crossing, a cruise ship, waterfall, and streets, parks, and schools that can be found anywhere. What they have in common is the challenges in relationships and the difficulties we face when making choices.
Available on Amazon: mazon.com/Connection-Stories-Lenore-Hirsch/dp/B0CNTKQQ4C
Mara Lynn Johnstone—Story Seeds for Fantastical Trees
Genre: Writing Prompts / Speculative Fiction
Whether you’re in search of inspiration for your own writing, in need of a gift for writer friends, or simply a fan of microfiction, you’re sure to enjoy browsing this collection of story seeds. They are poised to grow into a wild array of fantasy, science fiction, and hybridized trees, the likes of which this world has never seen.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Story-Seeds-Fantastical-Trees-Collection/dp/B0C5ZPTCRF
Marie Judson—
Elf Stone of the Neyna
Adult Fantasy/Sci Fi
Called by a voice that cannot be shut out, Yanda, surgeon on Planet Alland, is pulled across the universe. Krid, dark mage, waylays the ship and imprisons her as part of his collection of talents. Able to see through, into bodies, past walls, she’s never known the extent of her powers.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Elf-Stone-Neyna-Lost-Xentu/dp/B0CKD45RV5
Crissi Langwell—Masquerade Mistake
Romance
Seven years ago, they shared a night of passion in an anonymous affair. Now he’s back, but he has no idea it’s her…or that he’s a father. Expect hilarious side characters and several sizzling scenes. This is the first book of the Sunset Bay series and can be read as a standalone.
Purchase books here: crissilangwell.com/books/
Bill Lynch—Mekong Belle:
Love’s Impossible Choice
Historical Fiction/Romance
Rob arrives in Vietnam on a modern version of a 19th-century Mississippi showboat, Mekong Belle. Its mission is to make music, not war. Melanie longs to be a journalist, telling the story of her country’s struggle from the inside. Rob and Melanie meet in a bookstore in the port city of Vung Tau. They are fated to be lovers.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Mekong-Belle-Loves-Impossible-Choice/dp/1954163797
Marty Malin—Transit: A Journey of Transfiguration
Speculative Fiction
Dr. Jessamyn Quilter committed the perfect murder, killing her abusive husband. No one will ever know except the guardians of the universe who demand she atone and restore the cosmic balance she upset. But how? She embarks on a perilous ocean voyage seeking answers. Can she find healing and purpose before the evil she unleashed destroys her?
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Transit-Journey-Transfiguration-Marty-Malin/dp/1734382783
Ana Manwaring—Backlash: Venom and Vengeance from ‘Nam
Thriller
Jackman Quint spent years in prison for his crimes during his tour in Vietnam. He’s made a new life: reunited with his daughter JadeAnne, expanded his investigations, and dipped his toe into the dating pool. Life is going his way until Nader shows up in Mexico City. Now, when he has someone to lose, his past finds him. And Nader is out for blood.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Backlash-Vendetta-JadeAnne-Mexico-Adventure/dp/1644566591
John McCarty—Journey to Duncans Mills
Historical Fiction
Journey to Duncans Mills follows the adventures of Alexander Duncan from his birthplace in Strabane, Northern Ireland to the rural environs of west Sonoma County where he established several lumber mills during the 19th century. In addition, he rose up against the racist writings of Thomas Thompson, editor of Santa Rosa’s Sonoma Democrat.
Available from John McCarty Books: www.johnmccarty.org
or on Amazon: amazon.com/Journey-Duncans-Mills-Michael-McCarty/dp/B0CFZKZF5N
Rod Morgan—Language Through the Prism
Poetry
This collection of poems and full color prose is Rod Morgan’s debut attempt to capture “Moments in time.” He uses standard poetry formats and easy flowing phrasing to render vivid mental scenes. Actual memories and fabricated enhancements create an awareness of senses and places.
Email to purchase: odmmogan@yahoo.com
Maetreyii Ma Nolan—Into the Heart of the Infinite
Spiritual Memoir
This insightful narrative speaks to the deep truth of human life and the amazing potential we all hold within us. Dr. Nolan’s latest work chronicles a powerful narrative, tracing a woman’s journey from childhood divine visitations through the depths of mystical psychedelic experiences, passages to India to see her guru and divine revelations.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Into-Heart-Infinite-Spiritual-Extraordinary/dp/0999387391
Laurel Patterson—Land of Light
Children’s Picture Book
Dive into a world full of wonder where our character, Alena, experiences an amazing transformation in a dazzling place where lessons are learned almost by osmosis! Let your child’s imagination soar as he or she embarks on a journey in an enchanted land where mythical creatures always treat each other with GOOD ENERGY! Find out how they do that!
Available at: www.landoflightbooks.com
R
ichard Rachlin—Conspiracy of Lies
Legal Thriller
Set in Miami, the legal thriller Conspiracy of Lies, tells the story of a young lawyer, who in taking on his first drug case unwittingly finds himself in the crosshairs of the CIA and a ruthless federal prosecutor desperate to keep secret their ties to the Santolisma cartel.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Conspiracy-Lies-Richard-S-Rachlin/dp/B0CHT436QX
Christopher Ruttan—Moving Like Fish in the Sea
Historical Fiction
WW2, the Pacific, the Philippines fell to an overwhelming Japanese force. American gold miner, Walter Cushing, organizes guerrilla resistance in the Luzon mountains. Pursued, Cushing continued to elude the sadistic Colonel Watanabe. When Watanabe tortures and kills Cushing’s friends, it becomes personal. Only one of the two could survive.
Available on Amazon: amazon.com/Moving-Like-Fish-Sea-Resistance/dp/B09ZGGDY6Q
__________
Books by Sonoma County Authors Published in 2023
For details, see: socolitupdate.com/sonoma-county-in-print/2023-soco-writers-in-print
- Claire Drucker—The Life You Gave Me
- Jonah Raskin—The Thief of Yellow Roses
- Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky—Tyranny of the Minority
- Redwood Writers Club—2023 Anthology: One Universe to the Left
- Mark Tate—Butterfly on the Wheel: A Young Man’s Journey to Find Himself
- Jeane Slone—She Was an American Combat Nurse During WW II
- Judith Day—Glowing in the Dark: Stories of Wounded Healers
- Susanne Arrhenius, Jaime Zukowski, Jeffrey Bartfeld—Sonoma Valley Sonnet
- Waights Taylor Jr.—Nevermore: A Novel
- Shawn Langwell—Today’s the Day
- Bob Burnett—Death Is Potential: A Kate Smith Mystery
- Redwood Writers—2023 Poetry Anthology: Phases
- Rafael Block—The Dreams We Share
- Carrie Lara, Psy.D.—Out of the Fires: A Journal of Resilience and Recovery
- Rachel Zemach—The Butterfly Cage: A Memoir
- Thonie Hevron—By Force or Fear
- Thonie Hevron—Intent to Hold
- Thonie Hevron—With Malice Aforethought
- Jo Lauer—Unarmed: A Little Old Ladies Mystery
- Karen Pierce Gonzalez—Coyote in the Basket of My Ribs
- Rebecca Rosenberg—Madame Pommery, Creator of Brut Champagne
- Frances Rivetti—The House on Liberty Street
- Gwynn O’Gara—We Who Dream
- Stephen Altschuler—To Live a Life: 200 Ways to be the best person you can be
- Susanna Solomon—Paris Beckons
- Lakin Khan—Home Turf: A Bestiary of Sonoma State
- Redwood Writers—On Fire: 2022 Prose Anthology
Redwood Writers Club Author Launch Books, 2023:
- Tenisha Bernal—Little Chef’s First 100 Words
- Neil Burgstahler—A Trip Through Time & Other Short Stories
- Simona Carini—Survival Time
- Nadine Condon—Confessions: Stories to Rock Your Soul
- Pamela Heck—Amazing Animals: Fun Facts for Kids
- Jon G. Jackson—Mostly in His Own Words
- Jeanne Jusaitis—Dragonfly Dreams
- Dr. Carla Marie Manly—Date Smart: Transform Your Relationships and Love Fearlessly
- Brigitte Mendoza—The Emotions: The Impact of the Pandemic on Emotions
- Curtis Moran—Lost & Found
- Rod Morgan—A Wicked Web
- Dana Rodney—The Last Polar Bear
- Steve Trenam—Moonlight and Reflections: Nine Sonoma Poets
- Tommie W. Whitener—The Circassian Beauty
Sonoma County Literary Update 
You must be logged in to post a comment.