As July slips into August, much of summer is behind us. With school starting in just a few days, it’s Back-to-School Season, and the ads have begun. Though I’ve been retired from teaching middle school for over a decade (!!), I never tire of walking the aisles of Staples during this season, filling my basket with pens, binders, colored markers, and folders! I’ve lived much of my life on the Academic Calendar—as a child, during college, for my career—so it’s in my blood even now! The season signals a chance for a fresh, new start, a second New Year’s Day!
It’s also Fire Season! I follow the news, read local updates on the Watch Duty app, and view the video clips posted online. My two Go-Bags (one near the front door and one in my car) stand at the ready. It’s Eastern Washington, Canada, and Western Europe that are terrifying to watch this week. Friends post photos of smoke and flames. I’m reminded of similar scenes here in California in recent years. It’s horrible! I’m sending love and courage to everyone facing these wildfires and their devastating aftermath. Above all else, stay safe, please.
The last days of July found me in Nashville, a city I’ve never visited before. I joined my Black Rose Writing author friends and colleagues for our annual AuthorFest at the beautiful century-old Noelle Hotel in the heart of Music City. This was my fourth time at the conference hosted by my publisher, Black Rose Writing.
It still sounds so strange to my ears every time I say “my publisher” in a sentence. I’m beyond grateful that my first book Force of Nature was selected by such a terrific publishing house and that I’m part of such a dynamic, welcoming community of writers. The fact that my second book, the forthcoming Strangers in My Blood, already has a home there brings me great happiness, because I know it will be in good hands.
In addition to two days filled with sage advice and inspiring author talks, many of us grabbed an evening of Nashville Music at The Listening Room. I’m not knowledgeable about Country Music, but I’m told the singer-songwriters who entertained us that evening are well known—Josh Phillips, Rotundo, and Beau Bailey! When they found out there were three tables full of authors in the audience, they posed for photos with us—songwriters & authors, storytellers all, unite!
Have you seen it yet? I was hesitant when I saw the trailers so full of violence, but then the positively raving reviews came pouring in from every direction. It was all those English majors loving on the movie that convinced me I needed to see it. It’s hard to find a movie that satisfies book lovers! I watched it at the Onyx Theatre in Nevada City, my absolute favorite movie-watching venue.
I have to agree—the movie was over-the-top good. [Though I had to cover my own eyes a couple of time!] The Odyssey has been re-written and re-translated scores of times. The very first English translation by a woman author is recent, however, and it’s been praised repeatedly for providing a more accurate portrayal of the women characters in the story. It turns out that, in the original telling, they weren’t really secondary characters providing foils for the strong and brave men—the women were strong and brave and smart in their own right. Christopher Nolan’s retelling of the epic drama was based on that 2018 translation of The Odyssey by Emily Wilson. I read it shortly after it was released and definitely recommend it.
Please share your thoughts about the movie, the book, the fanfare, the women.
Each month, I review two or three books chosen from my Read Your Way Through Earth Month list of thirty titles, one for every day in April. What all the books have in common is a central nature and/or environmental theme. For August, I shared two Women’s Historical Novels set in the Dust Bowl Era of the 1930s. [Thanks to Auburn Community Television, ACTV, and manager-director Philip Jacques.]
Watch Reading in the Wild on ACTV or on YouTube by clicking on the image below. In the video, I introduce two fun and inspiring stories with strong women in starring roles: Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor and Unspoken by Jann Alexander. From the same time and place, with similar protagonists, these authors have created two very different tales. I know you’ll enjoy both of them!
For more information about Book Club visits, click here to go to the Book Club page on my website.
I thought it would be fun this month to change up the way I share my book recommendation. Usually, I tell you about the random collection of books I’ve read in the previous few weeks. This time, I’m highlighting books written by my BRW author colleagues, all of which I’ve read in 2026. Some I read as a member of our BRW monthly Zoom book club, some I read as pre-publication “advanced copies,” some I just automatically read everything that author writes. All of them I recommend. One thing that’s fun about making a practice of reading my BRW colleagues’ books is that I get a chance to read in genres and on subjects I’d ordinarily not seek out. Variety is the spice of the reading/writing life!
Rat Town Blues: Slag Ferguson, Book One by Brian Kaufman
Highly entertaining, fast-paced detective novel of the Sam Spade variety.
Under Two Flags: A Novel of World War I by Janis Robinson Daly
Women’s historical novel based on the life of an American opera singer in Germany at the start of World War I.
Unspoken: Secrets & Survival in the Texas Dust Bowl by Jann Alexander
Historical novel set in the Dust Bowl Era featuring strong women as heroes.
Everest and the Rest of Us: Four Journeys in Search of Adventure by James Nehring
Memoir filled with challenging adventures and a fascinating investigation into why we seek out adventure in our lives.
Diverted: A Town, A Tune, A Secret by Cam Torrens
The latest in one of my favorite adventure-mystery series all set in the Colorado Rockies. (To be released Fall 2026. I read an early copy.)
Braving the Dawn: A Novel of New France by Peggy Joque Williams
Women’s historical novel chronicling the life of one of the Daughters of France who sailed to the New World to help settle New France.
Descartes’ Demon: A Cyber Satire by Ross Hightower & Deb Heim
Hysterically funny satire set in the high-tech world that includes both viruses and ghosts.
Finding Naomi by Diane Hawley Nagatomo
Contemporary fiction set in Japan and the American Midwest with the young woman protagonist searching for family.
Mall Goddess by Marilee Dahlman
Delightfully funny story with an artistic and eccentric female protagonist set mostly in a dying mall, the small town’s heart. (Release date August 6, 2026)
Smokey Blue Sunrise by Lucille Guarino
A nanny, a young family, and Hurricane Helene all come together in Western North Carolina, where love abounds.
Following Sunshine: A Voyage Around the Mind, the World, the Heart by Niamh McAnally
A memoir about a woman’s chosen life of adventure that takes her around the world and ends in unexpected love.
Willie - Rum Running Queen by Louella Bryant
Historical novel set during the Prohibition in Rural Virginia, the heart of the bootlegging business, and based on the true story of Willie Carter Sharpe.
July-August 2026 is the 20th Anniversary of the John Muir Trail adventure that became my adventure memoir, Force of Nature: Three Women Tackle the John Muir Trail. It’s also the 1st birthday of my friend and colleague Jann Alexander’s historical novel Unspoken: Secrets & Survival in the Texas Dust Bowl (see above for details).
Final call to enter the book giveaway Jann and I are hosting. The LAST DAY to enter is AUGUST 7! Click the image above to find the entry form. There are FOUR days left and FOUR opportunities to win one of the books.
My Aunt Doreen passed away in July. In her nineties and “with it” until the very end, she was the last of my parents’ generation to leave us. My parents and aunts and uncles, the four Griffin brothers and their wives, had nine children among them, my cousins, who have scattered across the country from coast to coast.
I’ve been working on Strangers in My Blood, my adoption memoir, for months now. I was already digging deep into my family’s history and lore. Aunt Doreen’s death has sent a wave of nostalgia over me, sparking sweet memories of events and gatherings I’d not thought of in years. I was so fortunate to grow up in the little City of San Fernando in Southern California back when The Valley was still filled with orange groves and horse property. It was a Wonder Years world that doesn’t exist anymore. [That makes me sound old, doesn’t it? I guess I am!] Aunt Doreen’s passing has me really missing my folks, too!
In June author James Nehring announced a Flash Nonfiction Story contest on his Substack The Daily Adventure. I entered a short story based on Chapter One of my upcoming adoption memoir, Strangers in My Blood. Judges chose my entry titled “Phone Call From a Stranger” as the winner.
I’m honored and grateful! Thank you, Jim! The other winners are:
“The Grand Adventure” by dRae Sutherland
Nicolle Goldman’s “Picnic of the Lost Pilgrims”
Honorable Mention, Cam Torrens’ “Anatomy of a SAR Mission—Iowa Gulch”
You can read my entry and the other three winning stories here on Jim’s Substack: Flash Nonfiction Contest Winners. While you’re there, I highly recommend subscribing to his Substack. He puts out a weekly post. They remind me of the weekly newspaper columns written by “columnists” like Jack Smith and Irma Bombeck back in the heyday of print journalism and the daily newspaper.
The classic Eric Carle storybook, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is available in both English and Spanish. Kids love its call-and-respond rhymes and bold illustrations. I have fond memories of reading it with my son when he was little. I can’t wait to read it with my granddaughter. I grabbed one in each language for my soon to be bi-lingual Lia. I’m going to have to learn Spanish right along with her!
For me, fish ceviche positively screams summer! Until this year, though, I’d never made it myself! My friend Holly recently shared this recipe with me, and I’ve already made it three times! She got it from her husband, who seems to remember he got it from Rachel Ray’s TV cooking show. Wherever it originated, it’s easy and delicious!
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