Chicano lawyers who write. The editor of Latinos in Lotusland introduces us to some of the writing lawyers of California and in the process gives us some great reading tips.
Stories in Features:
Guest author: Jim Krusoe
Wally. Jim Krusoe writes about what happens when the passage of time and a revelation about a long-forgotten college acquaintance unexpectedly upends his view of the world.
Guest author T. Jefferson Parker
Considering Joaquin Murrieta. The author of L.A. Outlaws considers the possibilities in the story of Joaquin Murrieta.
An excerpt from Now Playing Hand-Painted Poster Art from the 1910s through the 1950s
Anthony Slide with Jane Burman Powell and Lori Goldman Berthelsen. Now Playing tells the story of the previously unexplored cottage industry of historic, one-of-a-kind movie posters that existed throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Read the excerpt and see some of the posters here.
Guest author Cristine Garcia
Q&A with the author of A Handbook to Luck.
An excerpt from Monkey Girl Evolution, Education, Religion and the Battle for America’s Soul
By Edward Humes. Charles Darwin inspires continuing political and cultural movements and, most recently, yet another incarnation of the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. “Over time he has become an archetype, a mythic figure … routinely ranked by scientists as one of the three or four most important thinkers in history, and just as routinely ranked with Hitler and Marx in the religious right’s pantheon of evil …”
Guest author Daniel Olivas
Moving from Tight Little Machines to the Novel. The author recounts the journey from short story master to new-minted novelist.
An excerpt from Inlandia A Literary Journey through California’s Inland Empire
By Susan Straight. “For twenty-five years I have written about this region and tried to infuse my work with love and desire and the fierceness we retain in these small places where people loved their own with the vehemence, the stubborn and suspicious and inventive qualities required to survive…” novelist Susan Straight writes in the introduction.
Guest author: Jim Newton
How a California justice shaped our nation’s story A look at Earl Warren, who rose through California politics, becoming the first and only person ever to win the governorship three times, before reshaping America’s values and institutions as Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969.
An excerpt from Joshua Tree Desolation Tango
by Deanne Stillman. “The more time I spent wandering the trails of Joshua Tree National Park, the clearer it became that the desert — not Long Island, Wall Street, the White House, Madison Avenue, the Home Shopping Channel, or other regions born of mirage — explains the national character…”
Guest author Janis Cooke Newman
Mary’s Cake. I am elbow-deep in almond-scented batter trying to figure out what Mary Todd Lincoln was thinking when the spirit of her dead son, Willie, came to her during a séance. [...]
An excerpt from Breaking the Fever
By Mary Mackey. In her 2006 collection of poetry, Mary Mackey journeys from her childhood Indianapolis to a Brazilian favela to the Golden State she shares with the world. Read here poem “The Californian” here.
An excerpt from Over Here How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream
By Edward Humes. “Schools for art, acting, photography, dance and design from coast to coast were sustained by veterans returning from war…” Edward Humes writes in Over Here. “The men and women who graduated from them after the war launched a twentieth century renaissance in the arts in America…”
Guest author Thomas Steinbeck
The accidental author. Thomas Steinbeck tells the story behind Down to a Soundless Sea and in the process, answers The Question. [...]
An excerpt from Surf Culture The Art History of Surfing
By Deanne Stilllman. The Real Gidget: Best-selling author Deanne Stillman tells the story behind the story of the original California girl.
Guest author Amy Wilentz
Not that nice. The author of I Feel Earthquakes More Often Than They Happen — on California, niceness and the writing life.
An excerpt from Blithe Tomato
By Mike Madison. California farmer and author Mike Madison writes about the evocative — almost magical — effect of lilac-time at the farmers’ market in “Listening to Lilacs.” Read it here.
An excerpt from The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop A Memoir, A History
By Lewis Buzbee. Lewis Buzbee, a former bookseller and sales representative, celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore — the smell and touch of books, the joy of getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers. Read an excerpt here.
An excerpt from Wilshire Boulevard Grand Concourse of Los Angeles
By Kevin Roderick. The life story of the famed drag and all that grew up around it. Read an excerpt here.
Guest author John Morgan Wilson
Screenwriters Get to Schmooze, Writers Get to Write. “You get the idea. Making it as a screenwriter is as much about taking meetings, pitching, conniving, back-stabbing, surviving, and who you know even if you’d rather not as it is about writing …”
Guest author: Jim Krusoe
Wally. Jim Krusoe writes about what happens when the passage of time and a revelation about a long-forgotten college acquaintance unexpectedly upends his view of the world.
Guest author T. Jefferson Parker
Considering Joaquin Murrieta. The author of L.A. Outlaws considers the possibilities in the story of Joaquin Murrieta.
An excerpt from Now Playing Hand-Painted Poster Art from the 1910s through the 1950s
Anthony Slide with Jane Burman Powell and Lori Goldman Berthelsen. Now Playing tells the story of the previously unexplored cottage industry of historic, one-of-a-kind movie posters that existed throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Read the excerpt and see some of the posters here.
Guest author Cristine Garcia
Q&A with the author of A Handbook to Luck.
An excerpt from Monkey Girl Evolution, Education, Religion and the Battle for America’s Soul
By Edward Humes. Charles Darwin inspires continuing political and cultural movements and, most recently, yet another incarnation of the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. “Over time he has become an archetype, a mythic figure … routinely ranked by scientists as one of the three or four most important thinkers in history, and just as routinely ranked with Hitler and Marx in the religious right’s pantheon of evil …”
Guest author Daniel Olivas
Moving from Tight Little Machines to the Novel. The author recounts the journey from short story master to new-minted novelist.
An excerpt from Inlandia A Literary Journey through California’s Inland Empire
By Susan Straight. “For twenty-five years I have written about this region and tried to infuse my work with love and desire and the fierceness we retain in these small places where people loved their own with the vehemence, the stubborn and suspicious and inventive qualities required to survive…” novelist Susan Straight writes in the introduction.
Guest author: Jim Newton
How a California justice shaped our nation’s story A look at Earl Warren, who rose through California politics, becoming the first and only person ever to win the governorship three times, before reshaping America’s values and institutions as Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969.
An excerpt from Joshua Tree Desolation Tango
by Deanne Stillman. “The more time I spent wandering the trails of Joshua Tree National Park, the clearer it became that the desert — not Long Island, Wall Street, the White House, Madison Avenue, the Home Shopping Channel, or other regions born of mirage — explains the national character…”
Guest author Janis Cooke Newman
Mary’s Cake. I am elbow-deep in almond-scented batter trying to figure out what Mary Todd Lincoln was thinking when the spirit of her dead son, Willie, came to her during a séance. [...]
An excerpt from Breaking the Fever
By Mary Mackey. In her 2006 collection of poetry, Mary Mackey journeys from her childhood Indianapolis to a Brazilian favela to the Golden State she shares with the world. Read here poem “The Californian” here.
An excerpt from Over Here How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream
By Edward Humes. “Schools for art, acting, photography, dance and design from coast to coast were sustained by veterans returning from war…” Edward Humes writes in Over Here. “The men and women who graduated from them after the war launched a twentieth century renaissance in the arts in America…”
Guest author Thomas Steinbeck
The accidental author. Thomas Steinbeck tells the story behind Down to a Soundless Sea and in the process, answers The Question. [...]
An excerpt from Surf Culture The Art History of Surfing
By Deanne Stilllman. The Real Gidget: Best-selling author Deanne Stillman tells the story behind the story of the original California girl.
Guest author Amy Wilentz
Not that nice. The author of I Feel Earthquakes More Often Than They Happen — on California, niceness and the writing life.
An excerpt from Blithe Tomato
By Mike Madison. California farmer and author Mike Madison writes about the evocative — almost magical — effect of lilac-time at the farmers’ market in “Listening to Lilacs.” Read it here.
An excerpt from The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop A Memoir, A History
By Lewis Buzbee. Lewis Buzbee, a former bookseller and sales representative, celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore — the smell and touch of books, the joy of getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers. Read an excerpt here.
An excerpt from Wilshire Boulevard Grand Concourse of Los Angeles
By Kevin Roderick. The life story of the famed drag and all that grew up around it. Read an excerpt here.
Guest author John Morgan Wilson
Screenwriters Get to Schmooze, Writers Get to Write. “You get the idea. Making it as a screenwriter is as much about taking meetings, pitching, conniving, back-stabbing, surviving, and who you know even if you’d rather not as it is about writing …”
Meet the authors of the California Authors Directory. Visit the directory to discover writers like Christina Meldrum, a Bay Area attorney whose book Madapple was just released this month. “In debut novelist Christina Meldrum's mesmerizing literary mystery, 