AltWeeklies Wire
John Bassett McCleary's 'Hippie Dictionary' Captures Peace & Love for Posteritynew
At first, McCleary says, "The Hippie Dictionary sounded almost like an oxymoron." Yet the more he thought about it, the more he realized that "many new and exciting words and emotions were developed during this profound period of time."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
08-12-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Kate Christensen Assesses BFFs in 'Trouble'new
Writing about female friendship appealed to Christensen, whose previous novel The Great Man won a 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award, "because of a very painful misunderstanding I had had with my own best friend."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
07-02-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Novella Carpenter Raises Goats, Pigs and Produce in Oaklandnew
When they moved into their Oakland apartment a few years ago, Carpenter and her partner "definitely had our eyes on the abandoned lot next door, with an eye toward farming it," Carpenter says. As they set to work, Carpenter charted the project in a blog and in a memoir, Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
06-17-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
David Thomson's Memoir Invokes '50s London, Fave Films and an Absent Fathernew
Born in London during World War II, Thomson grew up in its rubble-strewn aftermath, a time and place when "people were steadily unwell in ways that made illness seem the norm," he remembers in his new memoir Try to Tell the Story.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
02-18-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
How to React to the Recession in '09new
"Live during a good year as if it were a bad year," urges financial planner Kate Wilusz. And during a bad year she advises staying strong, keeping close track of every cent spent, and investing in real estate, stocks, and bonds.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
01-15-2009 |
Economy
Tags: economic issues, Personal Finance
Steve Fainaru's New Book Gives the Mercenary in Iraq a Face and a Soulnew
Although mercenaries have a bad rap around the world, "I didn't really blame most of them," Fainaru recalls, "even though a lot of people did, demonizing them and calling them all kinds of names."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
01-14-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Leslie Carol Roberts Insists We Can All be Antarcticansnew
"I was tired of coffee-table books and BBC documentaries that showed Antarctica as this haunted, blue ice world -- that insisted Antarctica was 'not of this world,'" says Roberts, who teaches at California College of the Arts.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
11-19-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Henry H. Neff's Fantasy Fiction for Kids Mixes Magic, Mythology and Fearnew
Although comparisons to the Harry Potter books are inevitable, Neff points out that his series isn't "defined solely by spells and wizardry."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
11-06-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Poachers Meet Their Match in Kirk Russell's Eco-Thrillersnew
For Russell, writing about a California Department of Fish & Game Special Operations Unit -- and creating his protagonist, sensitive-but-tough Lieutenant John Marquez -- isn't a mere gimmick.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
10-29-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Joshua Henkin's Novel 'Matrimony' Celebrates the Writing Lifenew
"Although Matrimony isn't autobiographical, it's about things that are close to me," the author asserts. "It's about the writing life."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
10-22-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Joshua Henkin, Matrimony
'What Rhymes With Bastard?': Best. Book. Title. Ever.new
Linda Robertson's memoir recounts the crash-and-burn of her relationship with a tall, thin, slope-shouldered, coke-snorting, ecstasy-swallowing, vodka-swilling chainsmoker who loved anal sex. (She hated it.)
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
09-24-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Religions Battle it Out in 'Wag the Dog' Author Larry Beinhart's New Thrillernew
From the outset, Salvation Boulevard was meant to be much more than a garden-variety murder mystery. "I woke up one morning in the 21st century and thought I was having a bad acid flashback of the 12th," Beinhart muses now.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
09-17-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Melanie Saxer Johnston's New Book Preserves Her Father's Memories of Liberating Buchenwaldnew
Although he spoke little to others about the worst of what he saw, Johnston is grateful that he shared those details with her. It allowed her to empathize with victims of all kinds.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
09-04-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Thieves, Bigamists and Killers Walk the Walk in Mary Monroe's Novelsnew
The real shocker in Mary Monroe's new novel She Had It Coming isn't that a high-school girl murders a man on prom night. Rather, the shocker -- and the moral quandary it spurs -- is that sixteen years later, the killer's best friend is secretly married to two different men at the same time ... and wants to stay that way.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
08-20-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Mary Monroe, She Had It Coming
Barbara Quick Brings 18th-Century Venice to Life in 'Vivaldi's Virgins'new
What drew the Berkeley author to its intoxicating setting was mainly her love of the stage: In 18th-century Venice, Quick says, "daily life itself was theater. There were masks, costumes, and intrigue for much of the year."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
08-07-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Barbara Quick, Vivaldi's Virgins
