Celebrate the success of Bay Area authors at the annual Redwood Writers Author Launch event. Listen to excerpts from new books published by our members since last July, and meet local authors online on Zoom.
Scroll down to check out the stellar lineup of featured authors during the 2021 Author Launch.
Saturday
February 20, 2021
1 p.m.
Due to the global pandemic, this event will be held online on Zoom.
You will receive a link after you register.
Price:
FREE
for Members, Guests
& General Public
CLICK BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND THEIR BOOKS
BRENDA BELLINGER
Brenda Bellinger writes from an empty nest on an old chicken farm in Northern California. Her work has appeared in Small Farmer’s Journal, Mom Egg Review, Persimmon Tree, THEMA, the California Writers Club Literary Review, and in various anthologies. Taking Root, a story of betrayal and courage, is her first novel.
Taking Root
Alienated from her mother, 17-year-old Delaney Moran is trying to make it on her own but panic attacks threaten to undermine her fragile independence. Luella, a determined social worker, and Murray, the owner of a music store, want to help Delaney but in doing so, they uncover a secret from her past that must be shared with her.
Must Like Dogs
Rowan and her dog Zephyr have deepened their mind communication. This connection becomes important during her mom’s challenging pregnancy. Must Like Dogs is a story of obstacles, anguish, and love. Readers of Unleashed will be reconnected with the Westburys, now struggling to find their way through a complicated time without being torn apart.
SKYE BLAINE
Skye Blaine writes fiction, memoir, and poetry, developing themes of aging, coming of age, disability, and awakening. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in 2003. She has been published in eleven anthologies. Her first novel, Unleashed, earned an IndieBRAG medallion. Must Like Dogs is the second in the series.
MARLENE CULLEN
Marlene Cullen offers inspiration to writers through her series of “The Write Spot” books. Marlene’s blog includes writing prompts, places to submit writing, encouragement to write, and techniques to improve writing. Marlene is the producer of Writers Forum where diverse presenters talk about the craft and business of writing.
The Write Spot: Writing as a Path to Healing
The Write Spot: Writing as a Path to Healing is a collection of short pieces illustrating the healing power of writing. The resources section contains information about self-care when writing about difficult subjects. Contributing writers reveal their vulnerabilities and share lessons they’ve learned. Their courage is written on every page.
Krisanthi's War: In Hitler's Greece
Krisanthi’s War: in Hitler’s Greece is a novel about three women struggling against tyranny and rape in Nazi-occupied Greece. It’s also about the strength and wisdom of women-friends so closely bonded they will risk shame and death to save one another. The novel speaks to the power of love to transcend years of separation, war trauma, injury—and death.
IDA RAE EGLI
Ida Rae Egli taught English and was Chair of the English department at Santa Rosa Junior College. Her first two books were No Rooms of Their Own: Women Writers of Early California and Women of the Gold Rush. She spent twenty years researching, interviewing for, and writing Krisanthi's War: in Hitler's Greece, a novel.
ROBIN GABBERT
Robin Gabbert is a lawyer who finally escaped the drudgery of the law and returned to writing poetry. Her poems have been published by Redwood Writers in their 2020 Poetry Anthology, And Yet…, and the California Writers Club in their 2020 Literary Review. Her first book of poetry, Diary of a Mad Poet, was published in October 2020.
Diary of a Mad Poet
Diary of a Mad Poet comes out of pain, loss, fire, and cancer, but they are also poems of healing and joy, family ties, and friendships. Gabbert's individual poems add up to a portrait of a life lived fully. They offer hope to readers who have come through troubles and those who delight in the powers of memory and the rigors of the English language.
The Kiminee Dream
Influenced by folklore and magic realism, The Kiminee Dream is a lyrical work of fiction with characters equally charmed and challenged while living where the ordinary and miraculous coexist seamlessly. With depth, whimsy, and arresting twists, it also offers an eloquent exploration of acceptance in a tender tribute to the people of Illinois.
LAURA McHALE HOLLAND
In her work, Laura McHale finds hope in unlikely places. Her memoir Resilient Ruin won a National Indie Excellence Award for new adult nonfiction. Prior award-winning books include her childhood memoir Reversible Skirt and Sisters Born, Sisters Found anthology. The Kiminee Dream is her first novel.
Learn more at LauraMcHaleHolland.com.
Grandmother's Devil & Other Tempting Tales
Grandmother’s Devil & Other Tempting Tales is a collection of six unconventional stories about imaginary grandmothers doing what they do best. These are not the author’s grandmothers. Perhaps they are yours. Perhaps not. It doesn’t really matter. Their stories will capture your imagination. The grandmothers will steal your heart!
MARTY MALIN
Marty Malin is a semi-retired psychotherapist who began his writing career as the editor of a small college weekly newspaper. His recently published collection of short stories, Grandmother’s Devil & Other Tempting Tales, is available on Amazon and through independent booksellers. He is currently working on a novel.
NANCY MARTIN
Nancy J. Martin was born in San Francisco, raised in Marin County, and migrated north to the Valley of the Moon, where she has resided since 1976.
From the Summer of Love to the Valley of the Moon
San Francisco, 1967. A teenager comes of age during the Summer of Love at her rock & roll wedding. An inspirational narrative of one woman’s perseverance, creativity, and stamina to overcome the cultural norms of patriarchy through years of controlling abuse and moving on through the learning curve of personal growth. From the Summer of Love to the Valley of the Moon was inspired by #MeToo.
The Old Block
Shortly after his father dies, 24-year-old Nick Castle discovers what seems to be a draft of the novel his father had always hoped to write. But a clue at the end causes Nick to fear that this story of a serious federal crime and escape from the U.S. may not be fiction at all. What would you do if your father wasn't who you'd always thought he was?
MARK PIPER
A multi-genre author with a Ph.D. in English, Mark Scott Piper's debut novel, You Wish, earned first-place gold by 2019 American Eagle Book Awards. His second, The Old Block, was published in 2020. More than fifteen of his short stories have appeared in Short Story America, The California Writers Club Literary Review, and online literary magazines.
JOAN PREBILICH
Aside from her Michael Paxton novels, Joan Prebilich loves to write light-hearted stories such as Hey, Mr. Ballerino Man!
Hey, Mr. Ballerino Man!
When British ballet dancer Stanley Pinkerton and San Francisco social worker Susan Flowers meet at Aquatic Park, there is instant attraction. Both have reasons to be cautious about a new relationship, but their lives become entwined as Stanley helps Susan establish a ballet program for underprivileged children.
Hippie Chick
A deeply personal story about a young girl thrust by the death of her mother into a lifestyle that challenged all previous notions of how one behaves. It is 1963, and we are brought along as she becomes completely immersed in the unfolding of the Sixties during the earliest days of sexual freedom, psychedelic drugs, jazz, and rock n’ roll.
ILENE ENGLISH
With a mother seriously ill most of her childhood, Ilene English became something of a lost child, though her life was fueled by an innate sense of optimism and determination. Now a licensed psychotherapist, Ilene helps people reunite with their innate wisdom, so they can experience more of the love and connection she believes is every human’s birthright.
BRITTANY SWEETING
B. K. Sweeting is a bi-coastal artist and author of the poetry collection, Bubbly By The Sea. Her passion for the sea and life experiences are best reflected off the surface of her canvases, through photography and writing. You can find her related works at BKSweeting.com
Bubbly By The Sea
Bubbly By The Sea is a pithy collection of short poems. Consisting of two parts; "Head" and "Heart." Like floating in the ocean, these pages will rock you in and out of hot topics. Shedding overdue sunlight on diverse love, sustainability, equality, modern dating to loss. Then back up to the surface with self-love and encouragement.
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