NEWS
21 November 2023: Congratulations to Melissa Giomi on the publication of her second book, Divine Appointments..., the follow-up to her first book, Divine Encounters...!
Divine Appointments
Melissa Giomi
And, thank you to everyone who attended last weekend's talk on Better Humans: What the Mental Health Pandemic Teaches Us about Humanity with Janeane Bernstein EdD and Kelechi Ubozoh!
13 November 2023: Mark your calendars! Please join us this Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 11:00 AM for a thought-provoking book talk and signing with mental health consultant and writer Kelechi Ubozoh and Jeaneane Bernstein, EdD, author of Better Humans: What the Mental Health Pandemic Teaches Us about Humanity:
This has been a tremendous time of reflection on how to be better to ourselves, and to humanity as a whole. What can we learn from this global disruption and how can we become better humans? To start, we can't look away anymore. The suffering is vast, and the stakes are high. The voices of the pandemic have insightful lessons to teach each and every one of us. It's time to silence our distractions, listen, and create transformative, sustainable strategies that prioritize the health and wellbeing of humanity.
Better Humans: A thought-provoking book talk and signing
11 November 2023: Our Local Authors bookcase is growing with Jack Champlin's debut work of historical fiction set on a Hawaii-bound ship in 1880, The Captain and the King!
The Captain and the King
Jack Champlin
9 November 2023: Welcome to local educator and movement specialist Kay Hogan, who joins our Local Authors bookcase with Up Right: Changing Our Thinking about how we Stand Up and Move!
Up Right
Kay Hogan
19 October 2023: Congratulations to local author Monica Voicu Denniston on her new children's book, Maggie the Military Rat! Monica is an active duty Air Force spouse and mom to three military brats. She has a law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law, where she currently teaches legal writing.
Maggie the Military Rat
12 October 2023: The Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church is helping Bay Area Rescue Mission with a food drive this holiday season, and Rosalind and Jamie have kindly brought a barrel to the shop for your donations!
Rosalind and Jamie
21 September 2023: Congratulations to Amy Landgraf on her second Rollie Pollie Pea book for children that will delight and inspire their best, Cool To Be You!
Cool To Be You
Amy Landgraf
And on a related note, Betty and I are doing our best to put together some Saturday events for children's and young reader authors, and hope to have some news soon :)
20 September 2023: We're very happy to welcome Elaine Kelliher to the Reasonable Books Local Authors bookcase with a tragic yet hopeful fictionalized memoir, Do You Think I Cried Too Long?
The coroner rules the death a suicide without any real investigation, though suspicions linger that the jealous-hearted husband is guilty. Will the tragedy and the town gossip that follows tear the family apart? This story takes you down winding paths filled with in-depth perspectives from friends and relatives, trying to determine what really happened.
Do You Think I Cried Too Long?
Elaine Kelliher
19 September 2023: Thank you to everyone who attended our Mystery+ Writers Panel on Saturday! It was a beautiful day for a lively conversation, and please stay tuned for news about future events. We have copies of Jo's latest novel Incident in India available in the store or online!
Saturday's Writers Panel
We are very pleased to have a number of new local authors joining our Local Authors Bookcase, including A. P. Wynn, who brings us three novels of post-war historical fiction that examine issues of memory and regret, deep secrets and love.
Live Free or Die by A. P. Wynn
This novel is a work of fiction, but it is based on one small true event. Living in Rome during the German occupation in 1944, the author as a young girl and the daughter of a minister came across a small valise abandoned in their home which often harbored those trying to escape or fight. This story is about the young woman who never returned.
The Healer by Anna Veneziano
It is 1950 and Amato must travel to an isolated village in the mountains of southern Italy, untouched by a world at war yet poisoned by secrets, superstition and deceit. In the small town where all is known, a blind eye is turned to shameful truths. The young doctor Amato tries to unravel the mystery of what happened to a sixteen year old girl with psychic healing powers and discovers his own.
The Sense of a Beginning by A. P. Wynn
Regrets and sorrow abound at the Ashton Manor in Surrey. Philip Ashton’s life began when he was secretly delivered to the Manor’s butler in a brown leather bag by the woman who gave him life. Duty bound he followed in his father’s footsteps and became trapped as a junior partner in the London firm of Ashton and Wesley. In his sixties, married, father of a daughter, and grandfather to the joy of his life, Philip finally reconciles his regrets and the Manor’s past and finally allows himself to embark on a new beginning.
A. P. Wynn
17 September 2023: Just in time for Halloween, "Octobert" by Stanley Middle School's own Robert Anke has arrived!
Octobert by Robert Anke
13 September 2023: Our next great in-store author event is happening this Saturday, September 16th, beginning at 11:00 AM with FOUR wonderful local authors, including but not limited to the cozy mystery genre!
Camille Minichino
Camille Minichino is the author of 28 cozy mystery novels in 5 series, plus many short stories and articles. She teaches science at Golden Gate University in San Francisco and writing workshops around the SF Bay Area. You can learn more about Camille here.
Billie Hanson-Dupree
Billie Hanson-Dupree completed her first manuscript, Some Greens for my Blues, set in the early 1950’s in Oakland, California. She co-authored a biography of her grandmother, A Little Piece of Leather Well Put Together, and had a poem published in Spectrum 18. Her essay on racism aired on Perspectives on KQED public radio and can be heard on her website billiehansondupree.net. She is currently completing her second novel Still Kicking but not High, set in post-WWII rural California.
Claire M. Johnson
Claire M. Johnson is an author of culinary mysteries, Jane Austen pastiches, a first-person POV memoir of Pauline Pfeiffer, Hemingway’s second wife, a young adult thriller, and a historical whodunit set in 1930s San Francisco. She is also president of the Northern California Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. Read more about Claire on her website.
Josephine Mele
Josephine (Jo) Mele is the author of: The Odd Grandmothers, a memoir of three generations of her Italian immigrant family, and The Travel Mystery Series including Bullets in Bolivia, Homicide in Havana, Mystery in Monte Carlo, Bandits in Brussels, Death on the Danube, Corpse in the Castle, Sicilian Sanctuary, and Incident in India. She co-authored with her grandson, “ABC’s of Asperger’s Syndrome,” for Parents Magazine. Jo is a member of Sisters in Crime and the California Writers Club.
Our friends Jo and Camille have visited before, and those who were here will remember the lively and illuminating discussion! So please arrive promptly for this free event and hear these writers read from their books, discuss their inspirations and strategy, and take your questions about their work and the craft of writing! Light refreshments will be served.
29 August 2023: Join us at the store this Saturday, September 2nd, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM for a talk including reading and Q&A with the author of the Joe Turner Mysteries, T.L. Bequette! In these mysteries, criminal defense attorney Joe Turner plies his craft in the East Bay with intelligence, biting humor and clear-eyed sarcasm in a series that has been described as “Oakland Noir”, and if you enjoy the mystery/thriller genre and would like to discuss how T.L. Bequette brings his real-world experience to the pages of this series, you won’t want to miss this free event!
A Long Time Dead: A Joe Turner Mystery
T.L. Bequette
21 August 2023: We are very pleased to have AnneMarie Mazotti Gouveia visit us this coming Saturday, August 26 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM to discuss and sign copies of her novel Drifters Realm. AnneMarie is a native Californian and Bay Area resident, a former tech executive and “geek at heart” who has written a lovely adventure suitable for young and young-at-heart readers. With charming fantasy and magical elements, Drifters Realm explores themes of friendship, family and love in this first book in the Drifters Realm Series, and AnneMarie will be happy to discuss her work and writing in general with you! Copies of Drifters Realm are available in the store, online here, and from her website.
5 July 2023: Martinez resident Hank Scheer joins our Local Authors bookcase with a thriller over two decades in the making, Fade to Blue!
27 June 2023: Welcome to Pleasanton-based author Linda Drattell! Linda, despite being deafened in her 30's, has gone on to enjoy a successful second career as a writer and poet, and has just co-authored a children's book titled "Who Wants to be Friends with a Dragon?" It's the story of an unlikely friendship between a dragon and a young boy that encourages children to look past their differences and find kindness in others.
Linda Drattell
21 June 2023: After years of creating stories for television, A.K. Karos decided to put pen to paper and write books that sow the seeds of curiosity and harvest imagination. It is a pleasure to welcome her to our Local Authors bookcase with "The Brave Coin"!
A. K. Karo
15 June 2023: Alfred Garotto's novel Inspector Javert at the Gates of Hell has been a part of our Local Authors books for some time, and it's a pleasure to congratulate him on his latest book, Living Your Art—Loving Your Life, a collection of reflections for professional and aspiring artists of all genres on the intimate relationship between your gifts and talents and your Creator-Spirit who inspires you to speak hope, love, and compassion to our needy, beauty-starved world.
3 June 2023: This year's Pulitzer Prize for biography went to Hua Hsu for his '90s Berkeley memoir, Stay True, and another local author, Suki Jones, brings us a powerful memoir set in the '90s East Bay punk rock scene, Sea, Swallow Me. In this compelling and visceral work, Suki discusses with candor her experience in the world of modeling, music and addiction.
Suki Jones
There is also a Kindle edition of Sea, Swallow Me, and Suki is @suki_jones on Instagram.
1 June 2023: Phil Scimonelli is a retired teacher with over 30 years in education, and joins us with his first book, "Bridget's Rescue"! Phil's passion for teaching started in Child Development, where he specialized in reading to children from ages 3 - 6. Combining his educational experience with his love of dogs led him to write "Bridget's Rescue." He believes passionately in the pet rescue process as the best means to save an animal and acquire a best friend.
Phil Scimonelli
20 May 2023: AnneMarie Mazotti Gouveia "grew up with a library card in her pocket and a stack of books on her desk", and after a career in tech she joins our Local Authors bookcase with her debut novel Drifters Realm!
AnneMarie Mazotti Gouveia
17 May 2023: In the nearly three years since we opened we've been very fortunate to have gotten advice from Linda Grana, the manager of the Lafayette Bookstore, one of our indie bookstore predecessors. Many of you will remember Linda and her signature book recommendations, and we are very pleased to announce that we now have a section for Linda's current book reviews in the store! You can find Linda's hand-written book reviews on "shelf talkers" in the area under the old Papyrus sign, and there will be something for (almost) everyone on the shelves there!
Linda Grana
16 May 2023: Kendell Haynes joins our Local Authors bookcase with a charming book for children who may sometimes find themselves scared of the dark, "Goodnight, Mira: Overcoming Fear of the Dark"!
10 May 2023: Welcome, Melissa Giomi, to our Local Authors bookcase! Melissa joins us with her book, Divine Encounters...:
Melissa Giomi
29 April 2023: Our Local Authors bookcase is expanding with C.A. Gordon's page-turning first volume of the "TEEN JUSTICE" series, Justice Has a Curfew!
C.A. Gordon
29 March 2023: It was a great pleasure having Margaret Lucke visit us along with her fellow Mystery Author Panel members last Saturday, and here is a little more about a few of her books from the Local Authors bookcase. If you like mystery, suspense or the supernatural, there is something for you in these novels! Learn more about Margaret on her website.
House of Whispers
House of Whispers
Snow Angel
27 March 2023: Welcome, Cyndi! Cal alumna Cyndi Spindell Berck joins our Local Authors bookcase with Pocahontas and Sacagawea: Interwoven Legacies in American History, during the research for which she canoed up the Missouri, walked along the silent ruts of the Oregon Trail, gazed over the Cumberland Gap, and visited the Jamestown settlement.
Cyndi Spindell Berck
21 March 2023: Welcome to Marc Paul Kaplan, who joins our Local Authors bookcase with two novels, Over the Edge, and Chasing Klondike Dreams! Marc is an avid outdoors man and successful businessman in the San Francisco Bay Area. His longtime interest in nature has led him to serve for many years on the Board of Directors of The Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California.
17 March 2023: Come join us for a Mystery Authors Panel, this Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 2:00 PM, including the celebration of two new books from local authors! Our panelists will be: Claudia Hagadus Long, Janice Peacock and Margaret Lucke.
Claudia Hagadus Long was one our very first author speakers in the Fall of ’21, where she discussed her novel Nine Tenths of the Law, a mystery based on riveting family history. And now her sequel Our Lying Kin has arrived! In Our Lying Kin, Zara and Lilly are back to unravel a series of family mysteries in a story filled with humor, sibling rivalry and love. Claudia has also written about early 18th Century Mexico, the Roaring Twenties in San Francisco, and modern-day New York City. She lives in Northern California, with her husband and far too many animals.
Janice Peacock is a cozy mystery author who specializes in craft and hobby mysteries. She loves to write about artists who find new ways to live their lives and perhaps catch a criminal or two in the process. The Ruby Shaw Mysteries, which are set in a small hillside mining town, were inspired by her trips to Jerome, Arizona, and Jacksonville, Oregon. While working in a glass studio with several colorful and quirky artists, she was inspired to write the Glass Bead Mystery Series, and her fifth Glass Bead mystery, Born to Bead Wild, was just released this January!
Margaret Lucke lives in the East Bay, in Hercules, where she writes tales of love, ghosts and murder, sometimes all three in one book. Her most recent novels are House of Desire, the second book in her paranormal suspense series that stars a Marin County real estate agent who specializes in haunted houses, and Snow Angel, in which artist/PI Jess Randolph finds himself in a search for a child who goes missing just as her father is about to be the star witness in a high-profile murder trial. A former president of the Northern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America, Margaret teaches fiction writing classes and has authored two how-to books on writing: Writing Mysteries and Schaum’s Quick Guide to Writing Great Short Stories. Her other publishing credits include more than 60 short stories, feature articles, and scripts for mystery weekends.
If you are able to RSVP for this event, we will be able to plan seating as well as light snacks accordingly. Please feel free to reply to this invitation with your RSVP, or to email us at books@reasonable.online. See you there!
8 March 2023: Mark your calendars!: Tickets are available for a conversation with Angela Harrelson, aunt of George Floyd, at the Town Hall Theatre on Monday, March 13th, at 7:00 PM.
Angela Harrelson has had a remarkable journey, starting life as the child of sharecroppers in North Carolina, being the first in her family to attend and be graduated from college, achieving officer rank in the military against formidable odds, and practicing a career as a professional nurse in Minnesota, where her nephew George Floyd moved in 2014 as part of rebuilding his life after struggles with crime and addiction. He died there in an incident with police that gained worldwide attention and was central to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and which resulted in a conviction for murder.
Angela has written a moving story of her life and experience after being thrust into the milieu of protests in 2020—against the backdrop of a pandemic and fraught political contests—and will be speaking about her book at the Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette on Monday evening, March 13th, at 7:00 PM. Angela will be signing copies of her book as well, and we will be taking preorders for copies of “Lift Your Voice: How My Nephew George Floyd's Murder Changed The World”. (Please mention your 10% pre-order discount.) This is a pay-what-you-can ticketed event, with an optional donation. You can reserve your tickets here.
2 March 2023: Just in time for the coronation of Charles III! Moraga resident Blair Hoffman joins our Local Authors bookcase with a fascinating and timely look at the heirs to the British throne who nearly, but never quite, ascended to the regency.
Blair Hoffman
16 February 2023: Did you know that children's book sales are nearly one third of all book sales in the United States? With that in mind, we're very happy to welcome Amy Landgraf to our local authors bookshelves with Good Night, Sweet Peas, a charming, humorous, and beautifully illustrated story about getting ready for bed.
Amy Landgraf
14 February 2023: Happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate! 2023 is looking to be another exciting year for our local authors, and today we are pleased to welcome not one, but two new titles! First, congratulations to Elaine Gast Fawcett and Sue Schwartzman on the recent publication of Two Measly Spots!, an enchanting children's book lovingly illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell:
One...two... Two measly spots!
Sue Schwartzman
3 February 2023: Welcome to Lafayette native and Meher School and Sonoma State alum Chris Pancoast! Chris joins our Local Authors bookcase with two books, Animal Tales ABCs and Why Play? Learning Through Play.
Chris Pancoast
Animal Tales ABCs tells the story of a child and his beloved alien friend that comes to life taking him and his siblings on an “around the world” adventure learning about animal conservation, endangered species, and ways that youth in todays society can help protect animals.
Chris earned his Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University, and Why Play? Learning Through Play is the result of his research into the critical importance of play for children (and for adults!)
4 January 2023: Congratulations to John McCormick on the publication of his book Chinese in Napa Valley: The Forgotten Community That Built Wine Country! Many of you know John and Colleen McCormick as the owners of Lafayette's own Lamorinda Music, and in his book John explores the little known history of Chinese laborers in Northen California during the late 19th century, a significant proportion of the total population of the young state at the time and critical contributors to the development of the economy of the Napa Valley region.
Chinese in Napa Valley by John McCormick
3 January 2023: We are honored to receive a grant from Sisters in Crime, the women's crime writing association! Since we opened our store in September of 2020 we have had the pleasure of getting to know more than a few members of this prestigious organization, including Jospehine Mele, Camille Minichino, Claudia Hagadus Long, Janice Peacock and Donna Darling. You can find their books in the store, and we're looking forward to more in-store events with your local mystery writers in 2023!
Sisters in Crime mysteries
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