Betty Barr's fourth book, Around Sonoita, was released in July by Arcadia Publishing, as part of their Images of America series. Located at the foot of the majestic Santa Rita Mountains, Sonoita is known for its rolling grasslands, grazing cattle, and working cowboys in well-worn jeans. Ranching blossomed in the early 1880s with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The first Sonoita Post Office was established 30 years later. The area would remain unincorporated but boasted of a community spirit that still exists today Sonoita's neighboring communities of Patagonia, where a historic train depot evokes memories of the town's role as a distribution center for area mines and ranches, and Elgin, where old-time cattle ranches now share fence lines with the lush vineyards of Winery Row are also featured.
In this volume, Betty illustrates the stories of these hardy pioneers with more than 200 vintage photographs gathered from personal family albums. Books are available online through Amazon.com or directly from the author at www.BrockingJbooks.com.
Lili DeBarbieri, Yuma, AZ, is pleased to announce publication of her travel feature, "Take a Dip: Southwestern Hot Springs offer Minerals, Mud, and Mountain Majesty," in the July, 2009 edition of Earth Odyssey Magazine. (web version www.earthodysseyonline.com). Another, "Green Eyes A' Shining: Spotlight on Arizona's black-footed ferret," was published in the June, 2009 edition of the same publication. Lili is a news writer for Ethical Traveler, copy editor of China Travel and a frequent contributor to the Tucson Green Times. Her writing and photography have appeared in dozens of print and online publications in the U.S. and abroad including E: The Environmental Magazine, Earth Island Journal, Nature Alberta and Alabama Living.
Patricia Etter introduced and edited: California Odyssey: An Overland Journey on Southern Trails, 1849, by William R. Goulding. Published by the Arthur H. Clark Co., an imprint of the University of Oklahoma Press, 2009. Foreword by Howard R. Lamar. This is an extraordinary first-person account of the gold rush by way of Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. You can find it at
www.ahclark.com
Sharon "Sherry" Farmer has become a published children's book author. Her book, Sights I See With My Desert Lemon Tree, has adorable illustrations and is a story about her desert backyard. Google Mirror Publishing.com for more information, and click on Authors. The book is online with Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Elizabeth Gunn reports that the trade paperback edition of New River Blues, the second book in her new Tucson series, will be published in October 2009. The Ten-Mile Trials, latest novel in her Jake Hines series, will be in stores some time in January 2010. Both are from Severn House.
Lisa Harris, Mary Ann Hutchison and Vija Lipins were among 32 authors chosen to have their stories published in Thanksgiving to Christmas: A Patchwork of Stories. This is the first of two anthologies of holiday stories and memoirs planned by Dixon Hearn, Ph.D.
Over 120 submissions were received from across the U. S. and Canada and pared down to the final thirty-two. The book features a heartwarming blend of memoir and short fiction,punctuated with humor, reflection, and tender reminiscence.
The book can be purchased from Amazon, local bookstores by order, or from the publisher AWOC Publishing. It will also be available at SSA's Conference and at the Book Fair in November. Contact Mary Ann Hutchison at douglashutchison@comcast.net for further information.
Allen Kates' article "PTS Can Attack Years Later: Even With No Previous Symptoms" was published in the July/August 2009 issue of Sheriff magazine. He we also quoted in the article "New Des Moines police unit helps officers fight job stress"—Des Moines Register 7-29-09. You can read the article at http://m.desmoinesregister.com/BETTER/news.jsp?key=498638
Jude Johnson's newest novel, Dragon's Blood, the third installment in her historical saga set in the Arizona Territory in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has been released by Scorched Hawk Press. The adventures of the Welsh Jones brothers continue with their children in Dragon's Blood: It's 1904. Jamie Jones, eldest son of Welsh immigrant Evan Jones and his Mexican-Mayan wife, Reyna, is coming of age as Tucson and the Territory fills with Anglos.
At press time, arrangements for a live telephone interview with popular Welsh personality Roy Noble on BBC Radio Wales [www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/roynoble] were being set for early October. For a list of signings, Arizona bookstores carrying Jude's novels, and to read excerpts from all three books, go to www.scorchedhawkpress.com.
Sheri McGuinn is offering the first 10-12 minutes of screenplays for Running Away and Michael Dolan McCarthy at www.sherimcguinn.com. She also posts a new short story every month. "Read it before it's gone!"
Molly McKinney's first book, Crocodile Tale, is available from moon cactus books. Inspired by Molly's memories of growing up in southern Africa, Crocodile Tale captures the heartbeat of a dramatic era in a fast-paced adventure spiced with humor. For information about ordering autographed copy contact mtmwriter@gmail.com.
Bob Natiello continues to receive recognition for his creative writing. Against hundreds of competing authors, his short story, "Dog Fight," won Manhattan Media's fiction contest, "Eight Million Stories." The award-winning story appeared in print editions of New York Press, Our Town and West Side Spirit plus various websites and blogs. Bob is grateful for the guidance, clarification and support provided by Carol Costa
Dave Anderson, Dean of New York sports writers, based one of his final Sunday New York Times columns on Bob's memoir, How Jiminy Cricket Helped Me Even The Score With The Dodgers.
Marilyn Pate invites you to visit her newly completed website, www.marilynannepate.com to learn about herself, her new book, Everyday Evil and read some of her short stories.
On October 20 and 21, 10:00-12:00 and on the 24, 12:00-2:00 Marilyn will participate in a benefit book signing at DAZEE'S in Green Valley. DAZEE'S is a high quality gently worn women and men's clothing shop that uses all profits to support Genesis House, a shelter for battered and abused women and children.
Surprised that Green Valley needs such a shelter? It is sad but true.
Please join us at the October 18 Writing Contest Winners Forum where the contest winners in the categories of Poetry, Short Stories, Personal Essays/Memoirs and Children's Stories will be announced.
Sunday, November 15th—there will be NO FORUM. Instead, SSA holds its 5th Annual Holiday Book Fair at the Four Points Sheraton Conference Center. The doors will open to authors and volunteers at 11:00 AM. Admission is free
to the public 11:30AM—3:00PM.
