March 6, 2014 (Crest)-- Kurt Koontz, author of A Million Steps, will be speaking and signing books at the Crest Library on Tuesday March 11^th at 6pm.

A Million Steps recounts Koontz's journey across the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago, a Spanish pilgrimage route dating to medieval times. Those million steps inspired Koontz to write about his life-changing adventure when he arrived home.

After his remarks, Koontz will answer questions from the audience. Books will be available for purchase.

Silent Bird by novelist Reina Lisa Menasche

Book review by Ariele Johannson

With podcast interview by editor Miriam Raftery on "East County Magazine Live!" radio show KNSJ 89.1 FM: Listen.

Silent Bird, a novel by Reina Lisa Menasche, could be remembered for its exotic French landscape and romance, or for its treatment of difficult subjects. Maybe it will be reread for its charming humor, an inner view of two young lovers moving too fast, or Pilar, the protagonist learning to adjust to a new culture with its linguistic challenges. There are great descriptions of the meeting of two divergent cultures through the budding and then continually strengthening relationship of Pilar and her lover.

It could also be remembered for its irresistible combination of all of these, but it will be remembered.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 10

Win prizes for your prose--including admission to a writers conference and a literary festival

April 25, 2014 (San Diego's East County)-- Love to write?  East County Magazine invites you to enter our 1st annual East County Writing Contest.  Description: Crank up your creative juices and send us your best short story, or first chapter of a novel, set in our inland region, East County (mountains, deserts, cities or towns east of I-15 in San Diego County).  Your story can be historical or contemporary, in any genre or style you choose – dramatic, romantic, mystery, humor, time travel…The only limit is your imagination!

February 13, 2014 (Crest)--It seems that almost every day a new scam appears. From trickster emails to fake phone calls, fraudulent websites to people you meet, the opportunities to get taken are everywhere. “Tips to Stay Ahead of the Con” is intended to raise your awareness about these opportunities to get taken.

January 30, 2014 (San Diego) –The winter series of the San Diego County Library Acoustic Showcase continues in February with seven concerts taking place throughout the month—including East County performances in Rancho San Diego, El Cajon, and Lemon Grove.

The Acoustic Showcase series offers a wonderful variety of some of San Diego's very best singer/songwriters, folk music performers and story tellers. These concerts are free to the community. To date, More than 12,000 people have attended these concerts.  Scroll down for a full details on this month’s artists  performances in East County, or visit the San Diego County Library Acoustic Showcase website for a full list of all performances countywide.

Off My Rocker, by Kenny Weissberg (Sandra Jonas Publishing House, Boulder, Colorado, 2014, 311 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

January 15, 2014 (San Diego)--Kenny Weissberg, the former producer and promoter of the internationally acclaimed Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay series in San Diego, has lived the life that many of us could only dream about.  It is reflected in his wildly entertaining tell-all book, Off My Rocker.

Book Launch at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore January 11

January 2, 2014 (San Diego)--Reina Lisa Menasche, radio host for East County Magazine’s “Bookshelf” radio program on KNSJ, 89.1 FM, has released her new novel, Silent Bird, and will be hosting a book launch open to the public at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore on Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.

Reina Menasche calls her first love “writing fiction,” though she fulfills many other artistic and professional roles.  In addition to hosting “Bookshelf” (highlighting “local literary luminaries—and some great books to read!”), she is also a social worker, university instructor, and actress.Her first novel, Twice Begun, was a finalist in the 2013 San Diego Book Awards, and her new novel, Silent Bird, won the Outstanding Fiction Award from the Southern California Writers Conference in 2009.

Click to buy this book

On Teaching Well: Using Classroom Instructional Strategies to Increase Your Teaching Effectiveness, by Dr. Dee L. Fabry (Ready or Not Press, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 2012).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

January 5, 2014 (San Diego)--Dee L. Fabry, Ph.D, along with 18 eighteen high school teachers in a graduate level course on effective teaching practice, shares their journey of improving the cognitive skills of students in Fabry’s groundbreaking book; On Teaching Well: Using Classroom Instructional Strategies to Increase Your Teaching Effectiveness.

The author, Associate Professor at National University, School of Education, Teacher Education Department in La Jolla, serves as the Master of Arts in Teaching Program Lead, teaching classroom teachers returning for their post graduate degrees. This makes her eminently qualified to lead these high school teachers in a graduate level course in effective teaching practice, which has resulted in this innovative book. Her research and scholarship is focused around improving teaching and student learning outcomes.

December 3, 2013 (San Diego) – For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org

FOR ALL SAN DIEGO COUNTY LIBRARY EVENTS, go to: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/index.shtml

December 3 (Tuesday, 7:30 pm) — Warwick's will host Fannie Flagg, the bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, as she discusses and signs her new novel The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. This event is free and open to the public, however Reserved Seating is available. Please call Warwick's for details. Only books purchased from Warwick's will be signed.

November 20, 2013 (San Diego) – For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org

FOR ALL SAN DIEGO COUNTY LIBRARY EVENTS, Go to: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/index.shtml

Murder Is A Family Affair, by Donalie Beltran, (Killing Time Press, LLC, 2013, 352 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

November 8, 2013 (San Diego)--Donalie Beltran, an author with strong religious convictions, has written an historical true crime novel that uncovers the ancestry of a sordid and evil past that belies her faith: Murder Is A Family Affair. The author sets the stage for this story and  the tone of this well-written novel by asking a rhetorical question: “Do you have a murderer in your family – maybe a violent tempered wife beater – those who feel they have a right to take a life?”

The Black Book: Lessons from American History – Abraham Lincoln to Modern China, by Senator Adlai E. Stevenson, III (The Stevenson Family, 2009, 299 pages).              

Book Review by Dennis Moore            

  “Once a man holds public office he is absolutely no good for honest work.” --Will Rogers

September 22, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)-- The Black Book: Lessons from American History – Abraham Lincoln to Modern China  is a guide-- a road map for future politicians authored by Adlai E. Stevenson III.  He  laments changes in the electoral process and the loss of civility in politics, also speaking of opportunities in politics being limited by money and a media which restricts comments to one or two minutes while focusing on the game, the trivial and the sensational.

The book began as a brown loose-leaf binder in which the author ‘s great-grandfather, Adlai E. Stevenson  (1835-1914), collected anecdotes and maxims, stories and sayings during his life as a county prosecutor, congressman, assistant postmaster general and U.S. vice president under Grover Cleveland. His grandson, known to friends and family as “the Guv,” expanded the collection in a large black binder during his life as an official in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, governor of Illinois, Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  

September 9 (Monday, 7:30 pm) — Warwick's will host debut local novelist Lacy Crawford, who will discuss and sign her book Early Decision. This event is free and open to the public. In order to be signed the author's most current book must be purchased from Warwick's.

Background: A delightful and salacious debut novel about the frightful world of high school, SATs, the college essay, and the Common Application-and how getting in is getting in the way of growing up.

August 29, 2013 (El Cajon) – The presidents of sister colleges in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District will be among the performers in a pair of staged readings of the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe at 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 6, and Saturday, September 7, in Room 220 of Building 26 on the Grossmont College campus.

Presidents Mark Zacovic of Cuyamaca College and Sunita V. Cooke of Grossmont College will read some Poe poems that have held them in their thrall since their childhoods.

By Janis Mork

August 26, 2013 (El Cajon) - On August 12, Brian Castner, author of  The Long Walk, delivered a speech to faculty and staff at Grossmont College on how to reach out to military veterans.

His book, The Long Walk, tells the story of Castner’s outward struggle of serving in combat and inward struggle to find himself again after he had been home for a couple years.