East County News Service

Photo: Peter Sokoloski

November 15, 2016 (San Diego) – The San Diego Press Club will host its inaugural “Spelling Bee for Grownups” starting at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 16, at the San Diego Central Library, Neil Morgan Auditorium, 330 Park Blvd., Downtown San Diego. The public is invited to attend. Cost to compete as a speller is $10 per person. There is no cost to attend and watch.

A Foreign Affair: A True Story of Love and War, by Amanda Matti (Available at Amazon.com, 2016, 354 pages).

Preview by Dennis Moore

October 19, 2016 (San Diego) - I can’t wait to get my hands on this book, as the author, an El Cajon resident has indicated to me just today that she will be mailing it out to me for my review in the East County Magazine. She will also appear on our “East County Magazine Live!” radio show to be interviewed with all the salacious details of this book. A Foreign Affair has all the ingredients of true love and intrigue in a foreign country, which the author describes as “love at first sight” between herself, as a U.S. Navy Analyst, and her Iraqi translator Fahdi, in war-torn Iraq.

By Miriam Raftery

October 15,2016 (Borrego)—We sat down for an interview with Mark Jorgensen,  former  Superintendent of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and author of the award-winning book, Desert Bighorn Sheep,  Wilderness Icon. 

He spoke about the progress made to protect these  magnificent animals,  as well as threats to their survival and challenges that remain.  

Listen now by clicking the link to our interview, which originally aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM Radio.

East County News Service

September 20, 2016 (El Cajon) - The Grossmont College English Department's Creative Writing Program is presenting the Fall 2016 Reading Series, Thursday, Sept. 29 – Monday, Dec. 5.

East County News Service

September 16, 2016 (La Mesa) -- Local author and La Mesa Historical Society President James Newland will make a presentation based on his book "Around Mt. Helix" at the La Mesa branch of the county library (8047 Allison Ave.) in La Mesa on Saturday, September 17 at 10:30 a.m.

Edited by Sam Warren. Please send all notices to: SDWriteWay@gmail.com

August 29, 2016 (San Diego) – Upcoming literary events including open Shakespeare readings, author book signings, book discussions, writing workshops, confessions of a writing coach, and a Star Trek anniversary celebration.

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller, author of the free book Between Boyfriends

August 19, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - One of my favorite local authors, Jan Moran, is helping me to talk about romance and writing. Jan and I “met” on Goodreads.com when I reached out to her because she had recently moved to San Diego and my Between Boyfriends protagonist is named Jan as well. We've since done two local author events together and I've found her to be as smart about publishing as she is talented at writing. We also happen to each have a book included in the Finding Love in All the Right Places romance bundle, 12 novels for 99 cents.

How do you think the romance genre has grown? Is it overwhelmed, growing, dying, or in need of a face lift? – Annelle Willard, author of Frosted Sweets

Then No One Can Have Her, by Caitlin Rother (Kensington Publishing Corp., New York, NY, 2015, 435 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

August 8, 2016 (San Diego) - New York Times Bestselling author Caitlin Rother has done it again! Following on the heels of Lost Girls and I’ll Take Care Of You, two true crime novels that this writer had the distinct pleasure and honor of writing reviews of for the East County Magazine in San Diego, is this riveting and brutal novel that examines the personification of evil and depravity; Then No One Can Have Her.

A is Not Only for Apple: English Alphabet Rhymed and Illustrated, by C.K. Thomas Tseng (NOOK Book, 2016, 38 pages).

Illustrated by Anat Tour

Book Review by Dennis Moore

July 19, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - A classic case of “When East Meets West” is this book written by author C.K. Thomas Tseng of Taiwan; A is Not Only for Apple: English Alphabet Rhymed and Illustrated, and illustrated by San Diego’s East County’s own Anat Tour, an established author in her own right. Combining two familiar literary figures of speech – alliteration and end rhyme – A is Not Only for Apple: English Alphabet Rhymed and Illustrated helps very young learners of English obtain their early sensitivity to the sounds of the English alphabet in a natural and linguistic way. This collaboration on the part of Tseng and Tour seems to be the perfect marriage of cultures, East and West.

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller, author of the free book Between Boyfriends

Romance and women's fiction author Julie Farley has joined us today to help define success as an indie author, talk about her recent move to the West Coast, and discuss some upcoming book bundles just in time for summer.

How should small press/independent authors measure their success when the industry standards are set by huge distributors? - Stephanie Yuhas, author of American Goulash

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller, author of the free book Between Boyfriends

At almost every author talk, panel, and book-related event, people ask why authors make their books perma-free, or permanently free. I've heard many authors say they participate in giveaways but would never consider making the actual price of a book $0. It's easy to understand their point of view given the amount of months, if not years, it takes to write a book. Would you work for six months without compensation? Setting aside the reality that unless you have an advance you're effectively doing that every time you write a book, it's still reasonable to do so in hopes of getting paid eventually.

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

June 17, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - Maryann Jordan, author of 17 published books including Sacrifice Love, Gabe, and Love's Taming, is joining us today to talk about an important aspect of the pre-writing stage in a manuscript's development – namely should you already know the ending before you begin? Maryann Jordan is an Amazon and Barnes & Noble best-selling author. Her novel Emma's Home will be included in the upcoming 12-book bundle Finding Love in All the Right Places. The collection is near and dear to my heart as it also will feature one of my novels, Aching for You.

Should an author have the ending of the novel decided before they begin writing? - Travis Norwood, author of Sugar Scars

Answering your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing books

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

Writing duo Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke are dropping by to talk book covers, chick lit and favorite spots in San Diego. Although Steinke currently resides in Chicago both authors are San Diego natives. The writers have been best friends for decades and have some advice for people thinking of writing with someone else. Their published works include The Year We Turned Forty, The Status of All Things, and Your Perfect Life.

They say, "Don't judge a book by its cover" but with today's market, how important are book covers to overall exposure and success, and by extension, does the same theory also apply to e-books as well? - Sahar Abdulaziz, author of Secrets That Find Us

Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the Distortion of American Elections, by Richard L. Hasen (Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, 2016, 241 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

May 28, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the Distortion of American Elections, this scholarly and insightful book by Richard L. Hasen, a leading expert on election law, gives a compelling answer to the dilemmas of money in politics, and comes at a time when presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders has as his mantra campaign finance and reform. Hasen, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, has written this book in the midst of one of the most unusual presidential campaigns in memory, where the character and personas of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders seem to shape our political history and agendas.