Launches - Left Coast Writers

Book Launch: The Return of the Bees by Marianne Betterly

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: The Return of the Bees by Marianne Betterly

Marianne Betterly

Saturday, November 12th, 2016 || 7pm Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Marianne Betterly’s new book of poetry The Return of the Bees focuses on nature, love, loss, the streets of San Francisco, fairy tales and the synchronicity of events. A believer in auguries, old and new, she loves to discover hidden meaning floating on a double latte, in a swarm of bees or in a murder of crows.

“A wild ride, a rollercoaster, an invitation to engage—these poems are like jazz: sweet, sexy, sad, full of joy. They can color a planet, lift a spirit, carry us away …”
—Linda Watanabe McFerrin, author of Namako, The Hand of Buddha, and Dead Love

“The Return of the Bees, by Marianne Betterly, is a deeply moving book. The subject (more…)

Book Party: Showdown at Shinagawa by Bill Zarchy 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK PARTY: Bill Zarchy, Author of Showdown at Shinagawa: Tales of Filming from Bombay to Brazil

Bill Zarchy

Saturday, October 8th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Showdown at Shinagawa is more than a travel memoir. It is also a book about the film and video industry, a workaday account of doing business in a myriad of locations across the U.S. and around the world. Where many travel narratives detail searches for interesting encounters, environments, and experiences, Showdown at Shinagawa tells of going places with an agenda–a job to do, a crew to hire, a production to shoot. Unlike tourists visiting to see the sights or seek enlightenment, the author and his colleagues deal with the locals in substantive ways, and the results are often poignant, (more…)

Book Launch: Charleston and the South, A Sampler of Stories, Poetry, Recipes & Art 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Charleston and the South: A Sampler of Stories, Poetry, Recipes & Art

Saturday, September 10th, 2016 || 7pm Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

It’s another celebration of all things Southern! Please join the writers and artists of the Southern Sampler Artists Colony as they evoke the dreamy, sometimes steamy world of Charleston and beyond in an exciting sampler of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction and other delights at Book Passage in San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza. You don’t have to go there to be there, but if you want to be spirited away, you’ll be able to do that when you join the fun. So please drop by for a glass of wine, munchies, and a toast to what we all love most about the (more…)

Book Launch: More Point Reyes Sheriff’s Calls by Susanna Solomon 🗓

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Susanna Solomon, Author of More Point Reyes Sheriff’s Calls

Susanna Soloman

Saturday, August 20th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

When Susanna Solomon read her first short story about the day nothing happened in West Marin, called “Sheriff’s Calls”, to a packed house at Pints ‘N Prose in Fairfax, California, the house exploded with laughter. Now, onto something, she used the sheriff’s calls entries in the “Point Reyes Light” as inspiration for more. Susanna asks, “How can I run out of material with the intriguing people of West Marin, California as my inspiration?” Her collection of short stories, entitled “Point Reyes Sheriff’s Calls”, has been published December 2013 by HD Media Press.

Her success with short story writing came as a complete surprise after over twenty-five years of struggling with (more…)

Book Launch: San Rafael Sizzle by Nicola Trwst

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Nicola Trwst, Author of San Rafael Sizzle

Nicola Trwst

Saturday, July 9th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

It’s another intriguing evening with local author, Nicola Trwst!

Journalist Briana Kaleigh’s ex has tracked her to Marin County, California hoping to rekindle their marriage. But Briana has set her sights on smoking hot sheriff’s detective, Dusty Arkansas.

When the body of a leading stem cell researcher is discovered beside a cooler of iced placentas, Briana is the first journalist on the scene. She and Dusty team up to work the evidence. Until Briana’s ex is arrested for the murder.

Now, Briana must work against Dusty and the authorities to prove her ex is innocent. Torrid emotions and her ex’s stubborn silence don’t help. Add in her high-strung poodle and her task is almost impossible. Thank heavens for Doggy Daycare.

When a fire destroys the researcher’s lab and all the lab employees disappear, finding the truth is crucial. A sinister killer is taking aim again and Briana could be his next target.

Nicola Trwst resides in California, but has lived in Virginia, Georgia, France, and Canada. She loves languages and speaks several, including Pig (more…)

Book Launch: Bamboo Secrets by Patricia Dove Miller

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Patricia Dove Miller, Author of Bamboo Secrets: My Quest through the Shadows of Japan

Patricia Dove Miller

Saturday, June 11th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

While living in Japan in 1993, Patricia Dove Miller’s dream of a year of exploration and personal growth was shattered when her husband was suddenly detained on drug charges.

Bamboo Secrets: One Woman’s Quest through the Shadows of Japan weaves together four story strands: a mature woman in search of herself; a marriage in trouble; an American’s love of Japanese culture and her study of its traditional arts; and an outsider’s struggle with Japan’s dark side.

As a special feature: Patricia will play a brief piece on her shakahuchi flute for you.

Patricia Dove Miller is a third-generation Californian, born and raised in the Berkeley hills. She has lived in the mountains outside of Cali, Colombia, in a tiny rice-farming village in North Thailand, and also at the edge of the northeastern hills in Kyoto, Japan. She attended (more…)

Book Launch: Nine Lives of Morris by Morris Taylor

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Morris Taylor, Author of Nine Lives of Morris: Great Tales from One Cool Cat

Morris Taylor

Saturday, May 14th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

as we celebrate along with Morris Taylor in the publication of his extraordinary word/image memoir Nine Lives of Morris: Great Tales from One Cool Cat. In it Morris has collected poems, tales and images of his varied life. The thirty narratives recount episodes from his childhood in the Great Depression of the 1930’s to his eighty-fifth birthday. Forty of his original watercolors illustrate the 124-page book in full color. Four photographic montages picture various aspects of Morris career as a concert pianist, a professor of music, a watercolorist and leather man.

From the first memoir, which tells about finding his biological father’s family in Appalachia, to the last memoir, which tells about marrying a man, the author hugs his reader. As a child Morris discovers many aspects of his personhood. Through experiences in the U. S. Army and World War II, Morris tells his tales. Morris reveals the sorrow of soul upon the fatal accident of his wife and the suicide of his gay son, Leonard. He shares the spiritual journey as a Seventh-day Adventist in raising up a church only to find out how difficult it is to find his own place as a gay man. Morris shares the adventures of his retirement years when he joins the leather community with vigor and starts a new career as a watercolor artist. Even when diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow, the author maintains his equilibrium and honesty. The nine disparate elements do not tear apart the protagonist. Rather than disintegrate, Morris thrives as he integrates his roles as a Child, Pianist, Artist, Soldier, Father, Missionary, Professor, Gay Man, Master and Leatherman.

Morris Taylor is a contemporary version of the Renaissance man. Throughout his fourscore and more years he has displayed a keen interest and considerable skill in the (more…)

Book Launch: Three Corner Rustlers by K. Hamilton

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: K. Hamilton, Author of Three Corner Rustlers

K. Hamilton

Saturday, April 9th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Inspired by real-life events, author K. Hamilton artfully combines the elements of a Western with the 21st century. Paths intersect and twist from Silicon Valley, to Colorado, to the wide-open spaces of the high desert of the Three Corner country of Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. Three Corner Rustlers is a contemporary story featuring an estranged daughter, Carson, who is returning to her childhood home; C.J., an ex-con whose life is changed by an unusual mentor: a wild mustang named Rio; plus a criminal network of cattle thieves, Federal agents, and a rancher (more…)

Book Launch: Days of the Dead by James A. Jacobs

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Days of the Dead, with author James A. Jacobs

James A. Jacobs

Saturday, March 12th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Join us at a book party for journalist and emeritus professor, James A. Jacobs.

Jacobs’ second novel featuring Daniel Mendoza takes us on a storied journey through the festivals and furies of a complex world that should be shockingly familiar to readers concerned with the glories and agonies of Mexico today. Mendoza works hard to keep the lid on extreme violence exercised by the Mexican government, including enforced disappearances of hundreds of the nation’s children. But that’s just the first act of Mendoza’s complicated mission to seek justice, retribution … and just possibly salvation. A searing but very satisfying story.

—Timothy Kennedy, PhD, University of Tampa, author of Where the Rivers Meet the Sky: A Collaborative Approach to Participatory Development

James A. Jacobs, an ex-Marine, worked for United Press International in Mexico City 1968, and witnessed many of the events described in the novel. The author earned BS (English) and MA (Newspaper Journalism) degrees from Syracuse University. Upon his return from Mexico, he also earned a MSS degree (Interdisciplinary Social Science), also at Syracuse University, focusing on Latin American Studies and Cultural Anthropology with a special interest in Revival (Millenarian) Movements. He is professor (more…)

Book Party: Linda Watanabe McFerrin & Laurie McAndish King

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK PARTY: Linda Watanabe McFerrin & Laurie McAndish King introduce writers on the topic of “Love in the 21st Century”

Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Laurie McAndish King

Saturday, February 13th, 2016 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Linda Watanabe McFerrin & Laurie McAndish King, editors of Hot Flashes: Sexy Little Stories and Poems, will introduce writers on the topic of “Love in the 21st Century”.

Poet, travel writer, novelist and Left Coast Writers® founder Linda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) is a contributor to numerous newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She is the author of two poetry collections, past editor of a popular Northern California guidebook and a winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber, was named Best Book for the Teen Age by the by the New York Public Library. In addition to authoring an award-winning short story collection, The Hand of Buddha, she has co-edited several anthologies, including the Hot Flashes: sexy little stories & poems series. Her latest novel, Dead Love (Stone BridgePress, 2009), was short-listed as a finalist in the 2007 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Competition and was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel in 2009.

Linda has judged the San Francisco Literary Awards, the Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence and the Kiriyama Prize, served as a visiting mentor for the Loft Mentor Series and been guest faculty at the Oklahoma Arts Institute. A past NEA Panelist and juror for the Marin Literary Arts Council, she has led workshops in Greece, France, Italy, Ireland, Central America, Indonesia and the United States and has mentored a long list of accomplished writers and best-selling authors toward publication.

Laurie McAndish King grew up in rural Iowa, studied science and philosophy at Cornell College, and has traveled to nearly forty countries, observing with an eye for (more…)

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