Considering Joaquin Murrieta. The author of L.A. Outlaws considers the possibilities in the story of Joaquin Murrieta.

Q&A with the author of A Handbook to Luck.

Moving from Tight Little Machines to the Novel. The author recounts the journey from short story master to new-minted novelist.

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.

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. [...]

The accidental author. Thomas Steinbeck tells the story behind Down to a Soundless Sea and in the process, answers The Question. [...]

Not that nice. The author of I Feel Earthquakes More Often Than They Happen — on California, niceness and the writing life.

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 …”

Living the American Dream. The author of Across an Hundred Mountains shares the story of her own journey from Mexico to the United States.

Finding home. Exploring the real meaning of home in the era of HGTV.

Beach House Bingo. “A woman I know — a financial guru by trade — says that if you want prosperity to come your way, you should repeat the mantra ‘People love to give me money’. If you say it over and over again, she suggests, eventually the universe hears and responds accordingly. I tried this a couple of times, and quickly became self-conscious. Even thinking the phrase made me feel slightly slimy; I quickly switched the mantra over to ‘Peace on Earth, Peace on Earth’ to assuage my guilty feelings. The weird thing is, the money chant seemed to work. …”

Lucky at cards. On turning procrastination and poker into his first book.

Being “Out There” A West Coast literary agent explains it all to us.

Tell me a story. “Sometimes story ideas walk into your life. They knock on the door, sit down and share a beer with you. You might foolishly think — oh, that was an interesting person I met. Days later you realize: oh, that was an interesting story I met. …”

Dorland: Where a Thousand Poems Waited to be Born. The author shares her memories of the extraordinary Dorland Mountain Arts Colony. When it burned down after 25 years of operation, many California authors, composers and visual artists lost a beloved, if rugged, haven.

Shaking all over. The author on his “fascination with seismicity” and the birth of The Myth of Solid Ground.

How the West Won Out. A Carolina-born writer finds she is a California author after all.