Saturday, March 28, 2026
10:00 a.m. – 2 p.m.
This event will be held in person in Room 5 of the Senior Wing at the Finley Center.
FREE for Members, Guests
& General Public
(please register so we know you’ll be joining us!)
The event will be recorded for later viewing and sharing.
Questions? Please contact Author Launch chair Nancy Econome at authorlaunch@redwoodwriters.org.
A New Freedom
Alex Alexander
Non-Fiction
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The New Freedom is a cross-disciplinary work about a scary future that’s barreling down on us like a freight train. We all know that jobs will soon disappear by the millions, and that they’re being eliminated by the twin forces of technology and capitalism. What Alexander shows us in this book is…what happens next.
Alex Alexander is a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Business School, a decorated veteran of the Viet Nam war, and a survivor of a multi-dimensional career including the US Army, commercial banking, management consulting , academia (teaching leadership and business strategy at two respected colleges), and now, columnist for a local newspaper.
strange grace
Amrita Skye Blaine
Poetry
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As I write this, I am seventy-nine years old, and in my ending season. Lately, death who has come for some of my friends and family is whispering in my ear, pay attention. This collection reflects the pathways I’ve been exploring. I would appreciate companions. Come, walk with me.
Amrita Skye Blaine develops themes of impermanence, disability, awakening, and the state of our world. In 2024, she received a PocketMFA in poetry. Two collections came out Spring 2025. She has been published in sixteen poetry anthologies, numerous literary magazines, and is a 2025 Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Anthology nominee.
Shadow Zone
Barbara Cottrell
Horror
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A daring daylight robbery. A graveyard teeming with unnatural activity. A shadowy creature stalking the halls of an Arkham retirement home. Coincidence? Or the first signs of something far worse?
Ellen and Carter reunite to investigate these strange events. Their path takes them down a twisted path where they find evil in an unusual place.
Barbara Cottrell is a former professor who gave up her career to write weird fiction. The latest release in her series, Shadow Zone, has been praised as “enigmatic, imaginative and thoroughly entertaining” take on the world of H.P. Lovecraft. “Cottrell drags the Cthulhu mythos kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.”
Finding My Olympia
Nancy Econome
Historical Fiction
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Yianna, a spirited 18-year old Greek-American immigrant woman, together with her Uncle Stavros, search northern California in 1955 for her sister Olympia who has been missing for months. Defying local authorities who do little to find Olympia because she is an immigrant, Yianna perseveres and in her journey comes to know more about herself.
Finding My Olympia is Nancy Econome’s second novel of historical fiction. She continues to honor her heritage by creating Greek-immigrant characters and stories that reveal their struggles and successes while making their lives in America.
Love Notes from the Soul 2.0
Cynthia Gregory
Anthology
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LOVE NOTES From the Soul 2.0 picks up where LOVE NOTES (2024): Maiden Voyage left off, expanding the exploration of love into new dimensions and elevating the frequency of this anthology’s soul wisdom. Within these pages, courageous leaders, soulful creatives, coaches, and cultural visionaries share their s/Hero’s Journeys.
Cynthia Gregory is an award-winning writer and author of Journaling As Sacred Practice (2016), What Is Possible From Here (2021), LOVE NOTES From the SOUL (2024), and LOVE NOTES From the SOUL 2.0 (2025). She is a member of the California Writers Club, Redwood Writers Chapter, as well as the International Coaching Federation.
Teaching Black History Through Art
Carol Jacobsen
Non-Fiction
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Teaching Black History Through Art brings history to life by pairing original portraits of trailblazing Black women with student artwork and reflections. This powerful book shows how creativity helps young learners connect deeply with overlooked stories and lasting legacies.
Carol Jacobsen is an artist and author who uses portraiture to bring overlooked Black women out of the margins of history. Through her Women of Color and Accomplishment series, she blends art and storytelling to inspire learning, reflection, and social change across generations.
Once Upon a Continent
Susanna Janssen
Memoir
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Unaware that she would fall into a cannibal-size soup pot in Peru, risk losing toes and fingers on a train high in the Andes, and high-jump out of a marriage proposal in a Bolivian discotheque, Susanna Janssen launched into freefall out of her Comfort Zone and chose the challenge of adventure, danger, discovery, and a different version of herself.
Wordsmith and World Explorer Susanna Janssen is the multiple award-winning Author of Once Upon a Continent: A Memoir of South American Adventures Unplugged; and Wordstruck! The Fun and Fascination of Language. She entertains and teaches as a Foreign Language Educator, Humorist, and Speaker on Words, Language, Cultures and Travel.
Somehow, I Haven’t Drowned
Robin Gabbert
Poetry
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The poems in Robin Gabbert’s Somehow, I Haven’t Drowned emerge from the hands of a keen and candid observer who speaks her mind and her heart. These courageous poems “slip into the space between stars and trees… make bones light up…make your every breath rattle.” This poet is fearless and does not shy away from hard truths and harsh realities.
Robin Gabbert’s prior books of poetry include The Clandestine Life of Paintings, in Poems (2022). She is the 2025 winner of the Fran Claggett-Holland Award and is a 2026 Pushcart Poetry Prize nominee for her poem The Palm Reader. For more information see, www.robingabbert.com. Her new book of poetry is: Somehow, I Haven’t Drowned (2025).
Redwood Seeds
Mara Lynn Johnstone, Editor in Chief
Anthology
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Writing Advice from Redwood Writers to celebrate the branch’s 50 year anniversary.
The Adventures of Cabeza de Vaca
Karl Kadie
Historical Fiction
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The Adventures of Cabeza de Vaca recounts the life of a 16th-century conquistador lost in North America and living with the Indians for nearly a decade. His survival as a refugee, Indian trader, and faith healer is a testament to human resilience. Fiction and art tell his story as historical fiction, an adventure story, and an educational aid.
Karl Kadie is the author of The Adventures of Cabeza de Vaca, a work of historical fiction a fictional and art, as well as two poetry collections, Revenge of Nature and The Burning House. His work has been widely published, including in Redwood Writers anthologies.
Amoran
Debra Koehler
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
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Kerrin Scott yearns to reclaim the creative life she put on hold years ago. Just when she might succeed, she’s sucked through a portal in her family room and learns she has to help save two planets. To train for her perilous role? She’ll have to shuttle back and forth between worlds. On her lunch hours. In secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Debra Koehler cut her novel-writing teeth with the fantasy Amoran, the first volume of The Amoran Chronicles. She also writes songs, poems, and the occasional memoir piece, and has been published in the anthology Vintage Voices and the poetry anthology And the Beats Go On. She is a member of the California Writers Club and the Authors Guild.
Beyond Recovery (10 Year Anniversary Edition)
Shawn Langwell
Memoir
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Recovery Doesn’t End—it Deepens
A raw, real and evocative inspirational memoir about the pain of addiction and the resilience it took to learn how to face fear without needing to numb out. Beyond Recovery reminds us that real freedom begins with honesty, open-mindedness, willingness, and finding the courage to change.
Shawn Langwell is an Inspirational Author, Speaker, Teacher and Gap Mindset Coach & Consultant. He has written several transformational books including, Beyond Recovery, Ten Seconds of Boldness and its companion workbook. He’s also the Past President of The California Writers Club (CWC), Redwood Writers. Find him at shawnlangwell.com.
The Long Red Hair
and Other Short Stories
Nancy J. Martin
Short Story Collection
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INDIES TODAY:
“With something special for every reader, The Long Red Hair and Other Short Stories is a heartfelt tribute to the craft of storytelling, the faces that inspire it, and the communities that nurture it.”
Nancy J. Martin, the author of From the Summer of Love to the Valley of the Moon and The Long Red Hair and Other Short Stories, was born in San Francisco, raised in Marin County and migrated north to the Valley of the Moon, where she has resided since 1976.
The Argonauts
John T. Newman
Historical Fiction
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Brannan raised his gleaming totem and it glinted in the sun, dispelling the last shadows of their doubt. The faithful clutched at each other and climbed on one another’s shoulders to get a closer look at the legend made manifest.
John T. Newman recieved his B.A.from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and received both his M.A., and M.F.A., from San Jose State University. In 2011, he was awarded a Steinbeck Fellowship from the Center for Steinbeck Studies. His previous works includes 2 works of non-fiction, and 1 novel.
Between Wounded and Well
Debra Palmer, PhD
Memoir
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A nurse practitioner memoir written for all who seek a deeper understanding of trauma, recovery, and the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. Four stages of wound healing frame her story as a metaphor for emotional and spiritual healing. It will inspire those still navigating their own journey from wounded and well.
Dr. Debra Palmer, nurse practitioner, educator and business owner with over 40 years of experience across diverse health care settings is the debut author of Between Wounded snd Well:Lessons in Healing. Her achievements include dual nursing doctorate degrees, a PhD and Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of of San Diego.
The Badass Widows
Valerie Saul
Mystery
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How do badass women deal with grief? They form a secret band of crime fighters. What could possibly go wrong?
For 30 years, Valerie Saul worked as an audiologist in the U.S., New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore. Always a voracious reader, she grew frustrated by the narrow depiction of older women in contemporary fiction. “Society underestimates us and we underestimate ourselves.” Now she writes characters that defy the stereotypes.
The Legend of Damndrake
N.E. White
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
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Can a shapeshifting dragon hold down a job long enough to protect her adopted sister? Of course she can—she’s a legend.
N. E. White is a fantasy and science fiction author from Northern California. She’s been writing since 2005, but only recently self-published her first trilogy, The Mapmaker Trilogy, and is working on a second, The Draghi Chronicles, starting with The Legend of Damndrake. In another life, she creates geospatial models and maps.
The Showrunner
Tommie W. Whitener
Literary Fiction
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Stuart Bennett, Hollywood showrunner, is struggling for a comeback when he falls in love with a Russian television journalist with a fifteen-year old daughter. When he brings them to the U.S. instead of the bliss he expected, he has to deal with not only his own troubles, but with ones of assimilation, coming-of-age and alienation.
Having retired as an attorney several years ago, Tommie W. Whitener’s novel’s reflect his fascination with California’s culture, institutions, and people, as well as his lifelong interest in all things Russian. This is his seventh published work of fiction.