This Saturday

You're coming, right? We'll see you this Saturday, October 5th, at the Duarte Festival of Authors. It's free and I promise you'll enjoy it.

The festival is sponsored by Friends of the Duarte Library and held at Westminster Gardens, 1420 Santo Domingo Avenue, between Huntington Drive and Central Avenue in Duarte. Follow the signs to parking. It's easy, and I've never had to walk more than about 50 feet from my car to the gates of the park.

Margaret Finnegan and I will share table #8. She'll be selling her book, The Goddess Lounge, and I'll be selling my book, Camelot & Vine. Lessee, what do these books have in common? A strong female protagonist and a sense of humor. Everything else is up for grabs.

Oh, plus, we're going to read your Tarot cards. I don't know if Margaret knows how to do this, but I promise you I do not.

I'll be appearing on a panel! Yup. at 1:15 p.m. at the Pergola Stage, I'll be part of the group of authors discussing the topic, "What's Your Story?" I don't know if we're going to tell our stories or if this title is code for something else, but don't you worry about me. I can talk about pretty much anything, from how to make bubblegum to the best way to sing Welsh torch songs. There's nothing in the paperwork that says I have to know what I'm talking about.

Let's Hang Out This Fall

this chess set-up is no longer in the Lower Arroyo

Do you mind if I share some calendar information? I'd love to see you, so please come out.

October
Script Kitchen starts up again this fall. Instructors Tara Samuel and John Sandel (you might know him) lead you through the process of building your story into a viable film script. I highly recommend this class for any writer/storyteller. I never would have been able to write a novel without John's teaching.

October 5
The annual Friends of the Duarte Library Festival of Authors is a low-key, fun book festival in Duarte. I'll be sharing a table with Margaret Finnegan. Margaret and I are going to read your Tarot cards at the festival! I don't know how to read Tarot cards, but I have a deck so why should that stop me?

Other local authors at Duarte will include Anne Louise Bannon and Kerry Reis. Lots and lots of authors will be there, local and otherwise, and there will be panels and bookshops (like Vroman's) in the park.

October 12
When you sign up for Free Book Friday you can win free books, like my novel, Camelot & Vine. I know, I know, October 12th is a Saturday. I'm not sure how they work it but I'd suggest you sign up before then. The date is subject to change, and I'll notify you if it's not going to happen the week of the 12th.

October 18-20
Anime Fusion. What's an author doing at an anime convention? you ask. Well, besides writing Camelot & Vine I voiced a popular anime character, Ryoko the space pirate, in an anime series called "Tenchi Muyo!". "Tenchi" has become a classic, and I love going to conventions and meeting people who love the show.

November 7
Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeeshop is having a party sort of evening. I'll be there from 7:00-8:45pm signing books, meeting people and reading from Camelot & Vine. More details to come on what looks like a fun time in this gorgeous store.

There's more in the new year, with a reading at San Marino's Crowell Public Library January 13, a chat with members of Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeeshop's Brown Bags and Books reading group February 5th, and GATOcon, an anime convention in Kingsville, TX February 22nd & 23rd.

Then maybe your book group, your con, your something-or-other. You never know 'til you ask.

By the way, books make fine holiday gifts!

Duarte Festival of Authors

I'm sorry if you missed it. Hell, I'm sorry I missed it for the last eight years. It was the 9th annual Duarte Festival of Authors, aptly named because it was indeed festive and there were indeed authors--lots and lots of authors.

I wasn't able to stay all day but I was able to enjoy a lovely park, beautiful weather and table after table after table lined with books and authors galore. Galore, I tell you! I even knew some of the authors, which was exciting, because they're all celebrities to me. And I met some local writers who I hope will join us in the future as guest authors here on the old blog.

The festival, put on by the Friends of the Duarte Library, included local and nationally-known authors. I already checked the website for information about the 10th annual because I want to mark my calendar now. Nothing's posted yet but I'll be sure to let you know.

Guest Author: Elizabeth Pomeroy

Before it became fashionable to self-publish, Elizabeth Pomeroy formed her own publishing company--not just to publish her own books but important historical titles as well. Writer, editor, publisher, educator--it's a wonder she finds time for it all. Please welcome today's guest author, Elizabeth Pomeroy.

Why I write: It was historic places that got me started writing about local history. I braked for historic markers and always wanted to know more. Also I volunteered for an architectural survey in Pasadena some years ago. Little details of houses and neighborhoods could be so revealing, as we uncovered layers of history. I began to develop an eye for "anything old" -- a certain roofline or the old stone walls; even a row of derelict orange trees left over from a vanished grove.
 
If time is the fourth dimension, then knowing the history of a place puts you into that four-dimensional reality  --  neat !

Lost and Found: For five years I wrote a weekly column on historic places called "Lost and Found." This ran in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and Whittier Daily News. My beat extended to 40 cities, the circulation areas of those papers. I looked for nooks and crannies of history, the overlooked and the obvious, including places we might pass every day.

Many Moons Press: Then I collected my favorites of these articles into a take-it-with-you guide published by my new small business, Many Moons Press. The book is Lost and Found, and it was followed by more articles in Lost and Found II. I said on the book jacket, "These are YOUR treasures, which history has saved for you in its vast Lost and Found Department."
 
Now Many Moons Press has published eight titles all about Southern California, including books on John Muir and the native plant expert Theodore Payne. Some of the books are new editions of wonderful titles long out of print. This series is called California Voices. Take a look at the website for information and reviews.

What next? Now I'm writing the Centennial History of the City of San Marino, which will be published by the San Marino Historical Society. It will be a beautiful illustrated book, with many photographs, historic and modern. It's due out in the fall of 2012, in time for the centennial year of 2013. So far it's a lively story of people and places.

Come and see:  I'll be at the Duarte Festival of Authors on Saturday October 8th with my books. Come and say hello; we'll talk history and share thoughts about books. I'd love to hear your comments on my work and to have your ideas about what Many Moons Press should publish in the future. We are looking for new projects.

Mantra: Thanks for listening, and here's my mantra for all book lovers and book people: "May the writers write and the readers read !"

Guest Author: Margo Sorenson and Aloha for Carol Ann

I had heard good things about Margo Sorenson's popular children's books ages ago. We scheduled her guest post long before I realized this was Banned Books Week! (I doubt you'll find her books on the banned list, but never say never.) Margo will be appearing at the Friends of the Duarte Library Festival of Authors October 8th on the Children/Young Adult panel at 10:30am. Please welcome today's guest author, Margo Sorenson.

As a kid growing up, I used to take the bus to the Pasadena Library, spending hours there, going over the books, making my choices, always keeping in mind I’d have to carry them all the way from the bus stop at the top of Lake up the hill to my house. Those were some hard decisions! There was a little delicatessen right by the bus stop, and I’d stop and buy one of those gigantic cookies with the chocolate drop in the center. That cookie lasted through at least a first chapter, but I’m not sure which I looked forward to more – the cookie or the chapter!

Those summer days filled with reading in the Pasadena area have influenced my writing, even though my most recent children’s book, ALOHA FOR CAROL ANN, takes place in Hawaii, as do others, since I lived on Oahu for ten years with my own family. Where you live when you’re young seeps into your cells and colors your perception of the world, and little bits of Pasadena, Arcadia, Glendale, San Marino, and Altadena still end up in my books.
 

DANGER CANYON actually takes place in Eaton Canyon and Henninger Flats, where I used to hike with my John Muir High School classmates. We were so foolish on one of those hikes that we almost didn’t make it back, and that scary, helpless feeling is one I tried to communicate in the story. When I do author school visits, the kids are in shock that, yes, I really was that stupid!

One of my unpublished YA* novels (and I have plenty of those!) takes place in Pasadena during the Beach Boy days. How well I remember telling my parents I was going to the Pasadena Library, and instead drove with my friends to Bob’s on Colorado Blvd. to check out the guys, “Little Deuce Coupe” blaring into the night air. I blush to think I earned my first ticket speeding through Bob’s alley.

When I was writing FUNNY MAN, another YA novel, I saw protagonist Derek as going to John Muir, even though I’d taught in other high schools myself. Of course, I won’t share the name of the teacher who ended up as his nemesis, Dowling the Dragon!
 

I’ve lived many places, Spain, Italy, Orange County, Hawaii, and Minnesota, but those junior high and high school experiences in the San Gabriel Valley are part and parcel of what I write for young readers. With any luck, they’ll have more common sense than I did during my own adventures!

*Young Adult