West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
This Thursday, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s monthly online author series, Words, Writers, Southwest Stories, features Donna Sandstrom, author of “Orca Rescue!” – telling the story of lost orca Springer‘s successful rescue – and founder of The Whale Trail. Here’s the SWSHS announcement:
Working Together to Save the Whales
Stories of Hope, from Springer to the Southern Residents
In 2002 a young orca named Springer was discovered near West Seattle – lost, alone, and 300 miles away from home. Six months later she was rescued, rehabilitated, and returned to her pod on the north end of Vancouver Island. Today she is thriving, with two calves of her own. It’s the only successful orca reintroduction in history!
Join the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and local author Donna Sandstrom for our next Words, Writers, Southwest Stories at 6 pm Thursday, October 10. Sandstrom will share the inspiring story of Springer’s rescue, and how it led her to found The Whale Trail. Learn about current initiatives to protect the endangered southern resident orcas and how you can participate in their recovery.
Donna Sandstrom is the Founder of The Whale Trail, a west coast-wide series of sites to watch whales from shore, In 2002 she was a community organizer on the successful effort to return Springer, an orphaned orca, to her pod. Donna recently served as a member of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Orca Recovery Task Force, where she championed solutions to reduce noise and disturbance around the endangered southern resident orcas. Prior to founding The Whale Trail, she was a team and project manager at Adobe Systems. She is the author of “Orca Rescue, the true story of an orphaned orca named Springer” (Kids Can Press 2021), which is a 2025 Sasquatch Award nominee. She is a long-time resident of West Seattle.
Register here to attend, and SWSHS will send you the link before the talk on Thursday.
P.S. “Orca Rescue” was recently published as an audio book – in which you can hear Springer’s actual calls!
Another nightlife phenomenon in West Seattle is the monthly convening of what was the West Seattle Silent Book Club – aka “introverts’ happy hour.” It’s grown to a dozen venues every month where people gather to read and then chat – or not. It’s BYOB (bring your own book). This week, a big two-part announcement from organizers, as their October reading night approaches – a new partner and new name:
We are becoming an independent organization named West Seattle Book Club that is rooted in and local to West Seattle and White Center rather than being connected to a global organization. We are so very grateful to have begun as a chapter of the global Silent Book Club organization, and over the years (and because of the incredible support of this neighborhood!), we have become more than a chapter. We have become a neighborhood-wide reading night. As our gatherings have grown, there has been added complexity to organizing, and we have recognized the need for more substantial local support.
We are so excited to share that West Seattle Book Club is becoming part of the West Seattle Junction Association to support our sustainability as a reading community. As part of the West Seattle Junction Association, we will continue to gather all across the neighborhood, from White Center up to Admiral, and we will continue to be led and organized by the same team of local volunteers. The West Seattle Junction Association will provide the support and organization we need to sustain our neighborhood-wide reading nights. We are thrilled to be embedded in such an important neighborhood institution.
The newly renamed West Seattle Book Club‘s next gathering is this Thursday, October 3, 7-9 pm. For Thursday’s reading locations – from North Admiral to White Center – see our calendar listing.
It’s fun, it’s free, and it’s open for signups right now (limited space so don’t wait) – here’s the announcement of the next “Write YOUR Story,” starting soon:
Write YOUR Story
Fall 2024
Enrolling nowTheme: We’ve got this! Tales of innovation and make-do
Who is invited? People age 7-11 who like stories
When? Every Wednesday, September 25—December 11, 2024, 4:30—5:30 pm
Where? Upstairs activity room, Curious Kidstuff toy store
4740 California Ave SWWrite YOUR Story, est. 2012, is a free workshop led by local writers for local kids – “We read, we write, and we have a lot of fun.”
For info or to enroll, contact: juliawsea@gmail.com
We will read The Whirlys and the West Wind and “Old Sultan”: two tales that begin in calamity and show how to carry on!
When the 2024 Washington State Book Awards finalists were announced this week, we saw a West Seattle writer on the list: E.J. Koh. Three years ago, we told you about honors for her memoir “The Magical Language of Others,” including a Washington State Book Award. Now, Koh has published her first novel, “The Liberators,” and it’s a finalist. “The Liberators” is already an award winner, receiving the New York Public Library‘s 2024 Young Lions Fiction Award. From the publisher’s summary of “The Liberators”:
Daejeon, South Korea. 1980. At twenty-four, Insuk falls in love with her college classmate, Sungho, and with her father’s blessing, they marry. But then, as the military dictatorship, martial law, and nationwide protests bring the country precariously to the edge, Insuk’s father disappears.
In the wake of his disappearance, Insuk flees to California with Sungho, their son Henry, and Sungho’s overbearing mother. Adrift in a new country, Insuk grieves the loss of her past and divided homeland, only to find herself drawn into an illicit affair that sets into motion dramatic events that will echo for generations to come.
Spanning two continents and four generations, E. J. Koh’s debut novel exquisitely captures two Korean families forever changed by fateful decisions made in love and war.
Along with her award-winning novel and memoir, Koh has published a poetry collection, “A Lesser Love
Romance-novel lovers have a place to meet their match(es) this Saturday in West Seattle. We just heard about the Emerald City Romance authors and readers event, noon-5 pm Saturday (August 17) in Brockey Center at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) – promising “author meet-and-greets, book signings, flash tattoo art, and more.” More than 50 authors will be there:
There are two tiers of tickets – $10 general admission, $30 VIP admission to get in early (11 am), both available here. Thanks to one of the participating authors, West Seattle resident Annie Marcus (who’ll be there with her first book “Small Town Romance“), for sending word about the event!
Before we get to our list of what’s happening today/tonight, we’re looking ahead to Thursday, when West Seattle writer Steve Duda will launch his first book “River Songs” with an event at Emerald Water Anglers (4502 42nd SW; WSB sponsor). “River Songs,” subtitled “Moments of Wild Wonder in Fly Fishing,” is described in the launch announcement as “a collection of 14 essays that represent the wonders and losses experienced in a life outdoors.”
Distinguished writer and head of Fish Tales at Patagonia, Steve Duda asks what is it about this “ridiculous activity” that connects us to this planet, makes us human, and gives us hope? Avoiding fly fishing’s clichés of romantic elegies, Moby-Dick-like conquests, and play-by-plays of “victory” over a fish, Duda instead offers pieces that breathe lived experience, reveal vulnerabilities, and a broad perspective of what it means to have “a long run with a tight crew.” Interspersed through the essays, readers will discover 14 “river songs”—short pieces of prose and poetry that introduce moments of reflection, insight, humor, and tenderness.
The event Thursday (August 1) at EWA is at 6:30 pm. Duda says, “I’ll be giving a short reading, followed by a discussion with Dylan Tomine (author of “Headwaters” and “Closer to the Ground”) and then a Q&A. Cover artist and River Songs’ illustrator Matthew Delorme will also attend and will have prints of his work available. Food from Eva’s Wild will be served. Beer by Georgetown Brewing.” If you can’t make it to the event, check your favorite local independent bookstore for “River Songs,” or get it through publisher Mountaineers Books (which also is headquartered in West Seattle).
Thanks to Teri for the photo. As noted in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and today’s highlight list, former longtime West Seattle Nursery employee Linda Hornberg has written a book “for children of all ages,” and she’s at the nursery until 3 pm signing and reading from “Picture a Garden“ – all welcome to stop by! The nursery is at California/Brandon.
This Thursday, January 11, is the second Thursday of the month, which means it’s time for the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s monthly online speaker series, Words, Writers, Southwest Stories. SWSHS’s Elizabeth Rudrud gives us this preview – not just of tomorrow’s speaker, but also who’s ahead, and a request for your feedback:
Our first Words, Writers, Southwest Stories program is this Thursday, featuring Maria Chávez, Professor of Political Science at Pacific Lutheran University. Her talk, “The Firsts: Latina Struggles in the United States,” explores the unique challenges Latina professionals in the US face and draws from wide-ranging interviews and her own personal experiences.
The Words, Writers, Southwest Stories program is a monthly speaker series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society with support from Humanities Washington, 4Culture, and the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.
This year, we will present talks on a range of topics including:
February – Nancy Koppleman, “The Oldest Hatred: Coming to Terms with Antisemitism”
March – Harriet Baskas, “Wonderful, Weird, and Worrisome Objects in Washington State Museums”
April – Kestrel Smith, “Fish Wars: Tribal Rights, Resistance, and Resiliency in the Pacific NW”
May – Luther Adams, “A Space for Black History”
July – Shin Yu Pai, “Ten Thousand Things: Artifacts of Asian American Life”These programs are always free but donations are greatly appreciated. Programs are presented online on the second Thursday of each month. [Register here for Thursday’s link.]
Is there a speaker or topic you would like to see included in our 2024 series? The Southwest Seattle Historical Society would like to hear from you! Send in your suggestions to museum@loghousemuseum.org
Got a reader on your holiday gift list – kid, teen, adult? You’ll find a variety of books – and their authors/artists – at the Seattle Urban Book Expo, happening right now at Acts on Stage Theater in White Center (10806 12th SW). We stopped by in the first hour and talked with four of the participants – Sinaya Parrott might be the youngest:
Sinaya’s book “Come Meet the Rabbits” is about her bunnies Sunny and Rooty. She also has a website, pawcastkids.com. We talked with another author whose book is for kids and features animals, La Manda Jeannine Davis:
La Manda explained that her book “Surprise, It’s Just Pee” is a “potty-training” book of sorts, advocating against punishing/shaming pets if they have accidents. She’s also worked on an animation of the story. We also talked with an author/illustrator we’ve introduced you to before, Danitra Hunter:
She’s there with her work featuring Purrdie Burrdie, espousing self-love and self-confidence. … The expo also features adult-themed work, like what CJ Dudley is showing:
CJ is an author and artist as well as a singer, rapper, and poet. His work includes the poetry book “Letters to a Blind Man: America, God, Love, And Myself.”
In all, the Seattle Urban Book Expo – first one in White Center, coordinator Jeffrey Cheatham II told us – features more than 20 BIPOC authors and artists. It’s on until 6 pm, free admission, and if you’re there at 5, writer/publisher Marcus Harrison Green is scheduled to speak.
As we wrap up a day in which the main mantra was “shop local,” here are four reasons to “read local” – four books we’ve recently heard about, all the work of West Seattle writers and/or illustrators:
‘POETRY FOR PUPS’: By author Susan Seah and illustrator Morgan Boyle, this book is already an award-winner (Gold Medal from Literary Titan), and a reading for people AND dogs is planned next weekend, 3-5 pm Sunday, December 3, at Realfine Coffee (4480 Fauntleroy Way SW). The author, who plans to bring her “beagle muse” Koa to the reading, writes from this viewpoint: “Embracing the joys of being a dog mom for over two decades, her journey has been enriched with adventures, inspiration, and the unwavering devotion of her fur babies. Beyond her canine companions, Susan wears the hat of a corporate and technology lawyer, a vocation that stands alongside her dedication to empower women as the CEO and Founder of The Koa Club.” Copies of “Poetry for Pups“ will be available for purchase at next weekend’s event.
‘IT’S NOT (ALL) YOUR FAULT’: West Seattle author Sharon Podobnik recently launched her first book, described as …
… a deeply personal nonfiction exposé on the self-help industry from an insider’s perspective. Rather than being a self-help book in the traditional sense, it is a self-conscious self-help book that reveals the tactics that the industry uses while demonstrating exactly how they work. The book is incredibly approachable, while proving that well-being depends on solidarity, not self-optimization.
Sharon is the founder of The Center for Conscious Leadership, “which seeks to co-create a more peaceful, just, and equitable world.” She recently read from “It’s Not (All) Your Fault“ at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor).
‘BROOMS’: The illustrator of this graphic novel, written by Jasmine Walls, is Teo Duvall, a member of the team at Highland Park Corner Store, which held a launch party earlier this fall. Teo explains that “Brooms“ is about “six young witches of color in an alternate history 1930s Mississippi. In order to raise money for better lives, they participate in illegal backwoods broom racing. It’s a story about friendship, magic and overcoming the odds with lots of joy and love.” You can see an excerpt here. “Brooms” has been acclaimed for a variety of reasons including its inclusion of people living with disabilities.
To buy “Brooms” locally, check Pegasus Book Exchange and (of course) Highland Park Corner Store.
“ALWAYS CARRY YOUR SCYTHE”:
Pip Paisley recently published Always Carry Your Scythe, describing the book as “a humorous, contemporary fantasy set in Seattle (that) features a diverse cast of living and alternative-living beings in all shapes, sizes, colors and orientations.” Pip has been leaving copies of “Always Carry Your Scythe” in (Little) Free Libraries around West Seattle, and whether you encounter the book that way or by buying it, Pip has an offer: “If anyone reads the book and leaves a review on Amazon, drop me a note at pippaisley@gmail.com and I’ll happily send over a Always Carry Your Scythe mug.”
From the Grateful Dead to Neil Young to Nirvana and beyond, concert photographer Steve Schneider has photographed a half-century of music history. He’s turned much of it into a “coffee-table book” that he’ll be signing at Easy Street Records this Thursday night (August 17th). Here’s how the book is described in the announcement of its publication:
This $60 hardbound book has 220 pages of concert images with 350 photos from five decades of live music, and is printed on archival acid-free matte paper. The book features images of the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stones, and many others. Ten of the concerts featured — including shows by David Bowie, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson — ones where Schneider was the only photographer with access.
The title comes from some acts’ directive that photographers only shoot the first three songs, but many of the best images in The First Three Songs are from when Schneider pushed around that. A shot of the Grateful Dead at the closing of the legendary San Francisco club Winterland in 1978 was taken at 5:30 in the morning. “This was back in the days of film, and I had saved just a few frames for when they would end,” Schneider recalled. “They started on at midnight, but I saved enough to capture their good-bye early in the morning.” The Grateful Dead liked the image enough that it was used on a CD and DVD of the event, and it ended the film of the event. The band signed a copy of a 1977 New Year’s photo from the same location in Winterland. They also gave Bill Walton a 20” x 30” signed copy of the same photo.
Schneider worked for multiple news services, and created images that the announcement says “have appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines,” adding that “the book also serves as a document of how concert photography is transformed with the development of digital photography, and when bands began to light their stage for video.” Thursday’s signing is set for 6 pm to 8 pm; if somehow you haven’t been to Easy Street, it’s on the northwest corner of California/Alaska in the heart of The Junction. (If you can’t get to the event but would like to buy the book, you can buy it directly from Schneider online.)
P.S. You can read more about Schneider, his book, and his work in this Seattle Now and Then installment by West Seattle journalist/historian/author Clay Eals.
Among the new books released today is a rock ‘n’ roll memoir co-authored by a West Seattle writer who sent us this announcement:
Writer Adem Tepedelen has co-authored a grunge memoir with Mudhoney guitarist Steve Turner. Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion is being released today in North America via Chronicle Prism.
Mud Ride is a down-and-dirty account that chronicles the birth and evolution of the Seattle grunge scene. It features a foreword by Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard and more than 100 illustrations and photographs, many that have never been seen before. Tepedelen — a highly respected music magazine journalist, author and former editor of Seattle’s iconic The Rocket — collaborated with Turner to tell the story of grunge’s underground origins in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when Turner and his friends — Seattle skate punks, hardcore kids and assorted misfits — started forming bands in each other’s basements and accidentally created a unique sound that spread far beyond their once-sleepy city.
Mud Ride offers an inside look at the tight-knit grunge scene, the musical influences and experiments that shaped the grunge sound, and the story of Turner’s bands, Green River and Mudhoney, which went from underground flophouse shows to selling out stadiums with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Including stories about the key moments, musicians, and albums from grunge’s beginnings to its come-down from the highs of global success and stardom, this is the first account of the musical phenomenon that took over the world – from someone who was there for it all.
Tepedelen says you should be able to get the book through West Seattle’s independent bookstores Paper Boat Booksellers and Pegasus. Turner, meantime, has a promotional appearance at 7 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, June 14th) at Elliott Bay Books on Capitol Hill.
Summertime is internship time! West Seattle writer/educator Julia Douthwaite Viglione has an opportunity to share:
This summer a new course will be offered for kids at the South Park Community Center and you can help!
It’s called Write YOUR Story.
Opportunity for two unpaid internships, for 18- to 24-year-old people who seek to learn some aspects of teaching writing and working with children.
Help plan and co-teach “Write YOUR Story” at the South Park Comm. Center on Thursdays, 4:30-5:30 pm, from late June to early September, during summer session 2023 with local writer / professor, founder of WYS.
Volunteer; unpaid but rich in possibilities…
Prerequisites for application: High School juniors or graduates, detail-oriented. Applicants will submit a cover letter and a one-paragraph writing sample to juliawsea@gmail.com by June 6, 2023.
That’s Tuesday – so apply fast if interested!
Love it or hate it, the Highway 99 tunnel is inarguably an “engineering feat,” as photographer/author Catherine Bassetti describes it. She was official photographer for the project and has published a behind-the-scenes book. She is sponsoring WSB to ensure interested readers know about it:
Discover everything about the historic deep-bore tunnel drive that changed the face of Seattle’s waterfront forever. Catherine Bassetti, the official photographer for the SR99 Tunnel project, introduces “Supertunnel – Journey from Light to Light.” This 190-page, hardcover book chronicles the engineering feat that broke records and beat the odds in the global tunneling industry. In a grand tour behind the scenes, the book offers a refreshing perspective on Seattle’s transportation project of the decade with commentary from key participants, civic leaders, and entertaining ‘On the Job Spotlights’ from laborers.
“After five years working above and below ground, photographing the six worksites, all events, and milestones of this giant undertaking, I realized that the public audience was not privy to more than reports of the setbacks and politics surrounding the project. By producing this book, my hope is that readers can sense the magnitude of engineering and dedicated labor that built Seattle’s new tunnel. There was no shortage of opportunity to make the innate come alive in the lens. I met skilled men and women whose energy was unstoppable. This book came to life as they shared their own experiences on the job. This was one of the most surprising, demanding, fulfilling, and thought-provoking assignments of my career.”
In an article for the Seattle Times Traffic Lab, Mike Lindblom, veteran transportation reporter wrote: “The Highway 99 tunnel has generated another milestone: a photo retrospective that’s a hefty three pounds and 190 pages. ‘Supertunnel – Journey from Light to Light,’ by Catherine Bassetti, celebrates the epic feat of building the 53 1/3-foot-diameter tube, two miles from Sodo to South Lake Union.“Photographing the tunnel was grand, even in the smallest detail”, she writes. The pictures will bring back memories for tunneling fans, or anyone explaining the giant tube to visitors. Bassetti underwent safety training and became friends with tunnel forepersons and laborers, gaining access deep inside. Many of them wrote short reflections for pages between the photos. The book provides some fresh images, such as close-ups of workers assembling the concrete rings, beyond areas available to local news media.
Miner/segment erector operator Cody Heck maneuvers the world’s largest tunnel wall segments into place
In a stunning image, Bassetti leaned off a catwalk over a 120-foot-deep vault, where Bertha’s damaged front end was being repaired and strengthened, to shoot straight down at the cutting disc and new steel teeth, tinged gold by some rare winter sunshine.
The newly repaired ‘Bertha’ cutterhead is lowered into the 120-foot rescue shaft
Another memorable chapter features construction divers working in four times atmospheric pressure. They replaced the 75-pound steel teeth, then rested for hours in the decompression chamber. “Even though you couldn’t see too far below, you knew it was 60 feet down. When something like a piece of rock fell, you could definitely hear it hit the water. It didn’t feel so high because it was so dark in there,” writes worker Cody Heck.
Control-room operators are pictured, taking pride in their post-repair success. Soil settlement was nearly too minute to measure beneath downtown buildings, the result of accurate steering and soil measurement.
But this book, focused on the dig, isn’t a place to learn about the litigation, nor Seattle’s political arguments about whether to build highway infrastructure during climate change, or the eight years of debate and advisory votes pitting a new viaduct vs. a tunnel vs. a surface road.
“As the machine came to a halt, the elated shouts and whistles of the crew from within the machine marked the end of Bertha’s arduous and triumphant journey,” she writes.
“Hats off”! The crew celebrates the end of a successful drive at the North Portal exit site
“Supertunnel” is a thorough account of all that went into the two-mile underground highway, including thirty separate topics, and hundreds of original photos and renderings. Rather than a fast read, the book is the type that will linger on the living room table for readers to continue viewing over time.
A Seattle native, Catherine Bassetti grew up in the eastern foothills, overlooking the city and Puget Sound. Her career began in Madrid, Spain, focusing on commercial work and photojournalism for fifteen years. Returning to the Northwest, she opened her business for corporate, public and private clientele. Documenting the tunnel was, in a small way, her own contribution to the city where her family has roots in its early urban growth and development. Catherine’s connection to West Seattle stems from her maternal grandparents, Joe and Marjorie Wilson, who built one of the first homes on Fauntleroy Ave., and her aunt, Jane MacGowan, who was a lifelong resident nearby.
For detailed information on the book and Catherine’s work, visit www.thesupertunnel.com
If you’re tired of online presentations, this month’s Words, Writers, Southwest Stories event has an in-person option. Here’s how to see it this Thursday:
Southwest Seattle Historical Society Presents Words, Writers, Southwest Stories: STEP, STEP, JUMP: Transforming Trauma to Triumph from the 46th Floor
Thursday, March 9, 2023 6 pm
Zoom and In PersonAnnabel Quintero’s book “STEP, STEP, JUMP: Transforming Trauma to Triumph from the 46th Floor” is an in-depth, first-person account of escaping the 46th floor of the Tower One of the World Trade Center on 9/11, but it is not only a story of that day.
This book is a fascinating examination of the American-Immigrant experience, a study of spirituality in a secular world, a look at divine intervention, and an exploration of empathy against the backdrop of the financial and societal forces that shape the globe. A rich source of inspiration for others who want to drive radical positive change in their own lives.
Quintero, a West Seattle author and resident, is a Speaking coach, DEI strategist, and is a Husky who holds a Master’s in Education Policy & Organizational Leadership. She is inviting the community to in-depth discussion – read the book or listen now to the audiobook beforehand.
The presentation will be via Zoom and in person at the Log House Museum (3003 61stAve SW in West Seattle).
Thursday, March 9 2023 at 6 pm
Space is limited at the museum, requiring an advance reservation.
Register online at loghousemuseum.org
West Seattle author Ari B. Cofer is publishing a new collection of poetry and prose, “Unfold,” on Tuesday (February 7th). Her book is described as “a poetic, aching, and hopeful retelling of realizations made while on the journey to healing from both loss of love and loss of self. Through poetry and short essays, ‘Unfold’ shows that true growth comes from being unafraid to face what’s hidden inside, to be vulnerable, and to be unashamed of what we find when we finally open up.” Cofer shares more about it here. Her previous book, also a collection of poetry and prose, is last year’s “Paper Girl and the Knives That Made Her.” Her new book is available through Central Avenue Publishing, and you are also invited to the “Unfold” launch event – it’s happening next Friday (February 10th) at Elliott Bay Book Company on Capitol Hill, starting at 7 pm.
They call themselves the Silent Book Club – but they’re a roaring success. Last month almost 200 readers gathered in five West Seattle locations on Silent Book Club night – just to sit and read for an hour, followed by an optional chat time if you want to. “The ideal introvert happy hour” is how organizers describe it. Tomorrow’s the next Silent Book Club West Seattle night, and this time they’re meeting in six locations:
The Nook (2206 California SW)
Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral Way)
Good Society Brewing (California/Lander)
Easy Street Records (California/Alaska)
C & P Coffee (5612 California SW)
Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW)
As noted in our calendar listing, you can show up as early as 7, read from 7:30 to 8:30, then chat if you feel like it (or keep reading).
On a soggy day like today, in a usually damp city like ours, it may be hard to imagine a world without water. But that’s what West Seattle author Susan Whiting Kemp did for her new novel “The Climate Machine.” Pre-orders are being accepted now for the e-book, officially publishing February 4th. Her announcement says the movel is about “a botched effort to combat climate change.” Here’s the synopsis:
No one seems to know why the waters are vanishing from the Northwestern United States. In the greater Seattle area — an area of over three million people — crime and chaos reign as society collapses.
Marella Wells, a young employee at a worldwide chemical company, thinks she may have discovered what is happening to the water. But there is no way to alert authorities and no time to spare.
With her mentor-boss and a displaced college student, Marella travels through the depleted regions of the Pacific Ocean to stop the run-away Climate Machine.
Along the way, the small band of unlikely warriors must battle for survival through unprecedented droughts, storms, and fires. To make matters worse, a violent religious doomsday cult is at their heels. If Marella and her companions fail in their mission, all life on Earth will perish.
This is the author’s first novel; she is one of three short-story writers who contributed to “We Grew Tales,” published in paperback and e-book formats. Options for “The Climate Machine” pre-orders can be found here and here.
You’ve seen their glow all around the city – neon signs past and present. Many have backstories. You’ll get to see and hear some of them during the first “Words, Writers, & Southwest Stories” presentation of 2023 – online on January 12th. Here’s the announcement:
Join us for a colorful presentation of “Words, Writers, & Southwest Stories” as Matt Hucke, photographer and bestselling author, shares the brightest sights in the area from his new book, “Seattle Neon: Signs of the Emerald City.”
Sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, this first-of-the-year event will be available, the second Thursday of the new year, on January 12th, 2023, at 6:00 PM via Zoom.
Author and photographer Matt Hucke is drawn to disappearing and endangered historic places and artifacts, some of them hiding in plain sight. His first book, Graveyards of Chicago (with Ursula Bielski), explored the history and personalities behind (and beneath) Chicago’s best cemetery monuments. Now in Seattle, he’s brought this same idea to a newer form of historic art: vintage neon signs.
Registration is required. Registered participants will be emailed a link to the presentation on the date of the event.
Please register for this event by CLICKING HERE.
Now that it’s Thursday, the Mariners‘ next playoff game is just hours away (12:37 pm our time at Houston). And we have two related notes:
NEW FERRY NAMES: Washington State Ferries says it’s temporarily renaming all the boats in its fleet for as long as the M’s are in the playoffs, as directed by this proclamation. The new names are mostly M’s players. The two currently on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run, for example, M/V Sealth and M/V Kittitas, are temporarily M/V Robbie Ray and M/V Mitch Haniger. See the full list here.
BOOKSTORE DEAL: Also for as long as the M’s remain in the playoffs, West Seattle independent bookstore Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW) is offering a deal – buy one hardcover book and get another of equal/lesser value for 30 percent off. In-store only; hardcovers only. And no, the books don’t have to be baseball-related!
(WSB photo: L-R, Katy E. Ellis and Susan Rich)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Like to read? Like to eat pie? There’s one place to be this Wednesday night, when the trio of writers who long produced the WordsWest Literary Series “re-reunite” to celebrate the newest books by two of them.
Katy E. Ellis is launching her first full-length prose-poetry novel “Home Water, Home Land.” Susan Rich recently published “Gallery of Postcards and Maps: New and Selected Poems,” her fifth poetry collection. They’ll be joined Wednesday by their longtime WordsWest collaborator Harold Taw, who’s currently co-writing a “steampunk musical.” The event starts at 7 pm Wednesday (September 28th) at WordsWest’s longtime hub for happenings, C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).
That’s where we sat down with Ellis and Rich recently to talk about their books and the challenges of being a writer at this moment in time:
Not watching the Seahawks-Broncos game? Here’s an option – award-winning West Seattle authors Lyanda Lynn Haupt (seated) and Donna Sandstrom are reading and signing their books at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) right now, until about 8:30 pm. It’s in celebration of both having been chosen as finalists for this year’s Washington State Book Awards, as noted in the event announcement. This is the first of three author events in West Seattle this week, as previewed here.
You have four chances to celebrate local authors and booksellers in the next six days! In case you haven’t seen these already in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
PAPER BOAT BOOKSELLERS ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND: Tomorrow and Sunday, the independent bookstore at 6040 California SW celebrates three years in business. On Saturday (open 10 am-6 pm), Paper Boat is having a sidewalk sale; on Sunday (open 11 am-5 pm), they’re celebrating with treats and drinks. Both days, you get 10% off your purchase (excluding gift cards and sale items).
BOOK AWARDS FINALISTS @ C & P: As noted here last month, West Seattle authors Lyanda Lynn Haupt and Donna Sandstrom have books on the finalist list for this year’s Washington State Book Awards. Monday (September 12th) they’ll both be at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) to read from their acclaimed books (“Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit” by Haupt and “Orca Rescue! The true story of an orphaned orca named Springer” by Sandstrom), 6-8 pm. They’ll also be signing their books, which you can buy from Paper Boat while at the event.
‘AT HOME ON AN UNRULY PLANET’ AUTHOR @ C & P: The next night – Tuesday (September 13th) – West Seattle journalist and author Madeline Ostrander will be at C & P Coffee for a conversation about her new book “At Home on an Unruly Planet” with KNKX environment reporter Bellamy Pailthorp, 5:30-7 pm. (We featured Ostrander and her book in this recent story.)
‘RUN WITH IT’ AUTHOR @ WEST SEATTLE RUNNER: We’ve reported on Joe Drake, a local marathon runner living with Parkinson’s. He’s also now an author, and at 6 pm Thursday (September 15th) he’ll be at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) for a reading and signing of his book “Run With It: A True Story of Parkinson’s, Marathons, the Pandemic, and Love.” (He’ll be just back from his Blue Ridge Relay adventure by then.)
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