Fresh Crop

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, and you know what that means. No, we’re not talking about hay fever. The really momentous bounty sprouting up around the county is the latest flowering of books by local authors, who have produced a bumper crop that’s nothing to sneeze at. Reviews are by Shelley Lawrence, Patrick Sullivan, and David Templeton.

Anne Hill with Starhawk and Diane Baker
Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions
(Bantam; $25.95)
“CIRCLE ROUND, and I’ll tell you a story.” Thus begin several of the tales and legends in Circle Round, a collaboration between Sebastopol author/ songwriter Anne Hill, Berkeley lawyer Diane Baker, and best-selling author-activist Starhawk. The book–identified in the foreword as a resource the authors wish they’d had years ago–is a compendium of stories, crafts, songs, games, rituals, and recommendations, all designed for parents who are raising their children in the goddess and pagan traditions. Clever, inspiring, and jam-packed with ideas, the book divulges the authors’ own hard-learned parenting lessons, with numerous practical examples and step-by-step instructions on the building of altars, organization of kid-oriented rituals, creation of story circles–even a complete guide through the major pagan holidays of the year. Eye-opening for anyone interested in passing on alternative nature-based knowledge to the next generation of Earth Keepers –D.T.

Daedalus Howell
The Late Projectionist
(Soco Arts & Media; $12.95)
THE SONOMA County Independent‘s own theater critic graces us with his first novel, a torrid tale of angst (both existential and not) set in a surreal little town a bit like Petaluma. Our narrator is a frustrated and slightly delusional would-be film director coping with art, love, and life while searching for a leg up (or at least a crumbling foothold) on his foundering career. Is he condemned forever to small-town Dullsville and his career as a beleaguered movie theater projectionist? Or will he reach the escape velocity attained by his former girlfriend, now a world-class concert cellist? Still, a mere summary of The Late Projectist‘s story line misses the book’s true strength, which is the hilarious interaction among the narrator’s charmingly bizarre circle of slackers, swingers, stymied geniuses, and other miscellaneous malcontents. Howell’s gift for dialogue is this novel’s greatest asset.–P.S.

Morris Turner III
America’s Black Towns and Settlements
(Missing Pages Productions; $12.95)
THIS HISTORICAL reference guide by Sonoma County author Turner offers information on approximately 200 independent communities established by African Americans in nearly all 50 states. Many of these communities were founded during the Black Exodus in the late 19th century, when African Americans sought to escape the racist laws, lynching, and land theft that pervaded the South after the Civil War. Turner’s book seeks to recover the hidden history of these pioneers and their unique communities. There are tragedies here, such as the story of Magala Island in Maine, whose all-black population was declared insane so that whites could grab their land. But there are also extraordinary tales of the triumph of courage and self-reliance.–P.S.

Close Encounters with Deadly Dangers: Riveting Reads and Classroom Ideas
(Libraries Unlimited; $19.50)
KENDALL HAVEN–renowned Sonoma County author and educator (and the only known West Point graduate ever to become a professional storyteller)–has learned an important lesson through his many face-to-face experiences with child-filled audiences: Kids like to be scared. In Close Encounters with Deadly Dangers, Kendall has infused the study of natural ecosystems with the same edge-of-the-seat, scare-them-out-of-their-wits suspensefulness he employs in telling ghost stories around the campfire. For use at home or in the classroom, the marvelously innovative book conveys factual scientific information about 17 different natural habitats of the world–from the South American Amazon to the deep blue ocean to the Alaskan wilds–the highlights of which are Haven’s occasionally bloody, often knuckle-biting not-so-tall tales featuring the ravenous adventures of a porpoise-eating tiger shark (the story is called “Tiger Jaws”), a female anaconda putting the squeeze on a very surprised caimen (“Squeeze Play”), a pack of wolves on the trail of an ox (“Howl of the Hunt”), and my favorite (“Feeding Frenzy”), the tale of three boys testing the waters of their jungle river for the presence of piranhas (I’ll let you in on a secret: The piranhas are there!). Along with other tales about scorpions, cobras, crocodiles, and Komodo dragons, Haven’s ingenious book is highly recommended, for teachers, parents, and scare-happy kids.–D.T.

Tosca Lensi
Beloved Disciple; Daughter of Logos
(LP Publishing; $12.95;
call 933-9077 to order)
AT THE END of the Gospel of John, in the apostle’s account of Jesus’ death on the cross, there is a mysterious pair of verses in which Christ looks down and sees his mother, Mary, and “the disciple, whom he loved.” According to the King James version, Jesus calls out to his mother, “‘Woman, behold thy son!’ Then saith he to the disciple, ‘Behold thy mother!’ And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home.” Bible scholars have long assumed that “the disciple” mentioned was in fact John, the author of the gospel. Author Lensi, of Sonoma, has another theory. In Beloved Disciple; Daughter of Logos, Lensi offers her own novelized version of the Gospel, in which “the disciple” turns out to be none other than Magda, otherwise known as Mary of Magdalene. In fact, Lensi’s entire gospel is told more or less from the point of view of the women in Jesus’ life. It’s a valuable and fascinating perspective, as challenging–and certainly as thought-provoking–as it sounds.–D.T.

Marijuana: Not Guilty as Charged
(Good Press; $24.95)
RIGHT OFF THE BAT, Sonoma County author David R. Ford lays out his informative Marijuana: Not Guilty as Charged in a clear and interesting manner. The author provides a strong argument, supported by studies, research, and personal anecdotes from people around the world, in favor of the use of marijuana and hemp. With its discussion of marijuana’s virtual harmlessness compared to other drugs, its validated medical use, and other benefits, the book is an interesting educational reference source that doesn’t turn flaky as so many “legalize it, man” marijuana books are wont to do. Even for those who aren’t positively inclined toward Cannabis sativa, Ford’s book provides a levelheaded look at a controversial issue.–S.L.

Jonathan London
COUNT ON Graton’s best-selling children’s book author to keep the pen rolling and his imagination working overtime. Each season, the hard-working London produces a bevy of new stories that are paired with beautiful illustrations. Here we synopsize his three most recent books.–P.S.

Froggy Plays Soccer
(Viking; $15.99)
FROGGY’S BACK (and so is his underwear) in this story any kid can appreciate. This time out, the ever-popular young amphibian takes on the sporting world, and getting dressed up in his soccer gear and out onto the field is only his first challenge. “Don’t use your hands,” his father reminds him, but that’s no simple matter when the ball keeps coming straight at his head. Can Froggy remember the rules and help win the game? This latest entry in the Froggy series is illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.

The Waterfall
(Viking; $15.99)
A TOWERING waterfall proves an irresistible challenge to two young brothers on a camping trip with their family. Jill Kastner’s beautifully impressionistic artwork illustrates a simple story about having fun in the outdoors.

Wiggle Waggle
(Harcourt Brace and Co.; $13)
YOUNGER KIDS will enjoy this chance do an “animal dance,” as creatures ranging from elephants to penguins to camels show off their walking styles. The book comes complete with sound effects (“How does an elephant walk? Clomp, clomp, clomp”) and appealingly expressive illustrations by Michael Rex.

From the April 8-14, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Wonder Girl

Michael Amsler

Emma Kallok is an athlete, a musician–and a newly published author. But what will she do in the seventh grade?

By David Templeton

FOR EMMA KALLOK, the last couple of days have been unusually, well, unusual. Let’s see. The Sebastopol sixth grader was sent home from school yesterday with a bee sting. Ouch. Her much-anticipated basketball practices have just begun, and she’s, you know, kind of amped up, looking forward to some serious athletic competition. Oh, and her brand-new novel hits the bookstores this week.

They announced it over the loudspeaker at school and everything.

“That was so embarrassing,” Kallok recalls with a shy grin, her eyes widening at the memory. “Everyone in class was staring at me. But I guess it’s pretty exciting.”

You bet it is.

Just today Kallok came home to find a big box waiting for her, crammed with shiny, hot-off-the-press copies of The Diary of Chickabiddy Baby. It’s her “author’s allotment” of the children’s novel she wrote when she was 10, and just last year sold to Tricycle Books, an imprint of Ten Speed Press. This makes Emma Kallok one of the youngest authors to have ever published a novel. The Berkeley publisher, which is releasing the title in both paperback and hardback–the hardbound versions are intended mainly for libraries–has already seen so much bookseller interest in Chickabiddy that it has increased its first printing from 6,600 books to 10,000. On April 14, Kallock will be making her first official bookstore appearance, reading and signing her book at Sebastopol’s Copperfield’s Books.

Now she’s doing her very first interview.

Cradling a copy of Chickabiddy fresh from the box, Kallok gazes down at the book in her hands. There’s her smiling face on the book jacket, beaming back up at her.

“I think I’m a little overwhelmed,” she succinctly remarks.

THE DIARY of Chickabiddy Baby–and the good news is that it’s good–is a first-person account of the summer-long adventures of one Prudence Brinker, whose mother chews with her mouth open while calling her daughter embarrassing names like “Chickabiddy Baby” and whose father, a children’s book writer, always seems to be suffering from writer’s block, which he cures by taking long baths with his clothes on. Prudence has a best friend named Mouse, two annoying brothers (Emma’s own twin sister, Hannah, is credited in the book’s acknowledgments as “my very first editor”), a boy she thinks is cute, and a brand-new neighbor she thinks is even cuter. She also has a mystery on her hands, since someone has been leaving “Ethiopian proverbs” on the magnolia bush she uses as her secret writing place. Continuously funny, well crafted, and well thought out, with some surprising plot twists and an refreshingly honest view of family life, Chickabiddy is truly delightful. It’s an accomplished work, on a par with Paula Danzigger’s Amber Brown books and the Walk Two Moons novels of Sharon Creech.

There is a knock at the door, and Kallok leaps up to hug Jonathan London, the well-known author of numerous popular children’s books who is now her own “career counselor.” Kallok has been friends with London’s son since the fourth grade, and she got to know London better when he began visiting their class last year as part of an ongoing “writer’s workshop” program at the school. It was there that London first recognized Emma’s gift for words.

“I read one short story she’d written,” he explains. “I was blown away. It was really incredible. The language, the dialogue, the setting, the characters were all well beyond her years.” When London asked to see anything else she may have written, Kallok reluctantly volunteered that she’d written a novel the year before.

“As much as I wanted to read her writing, when I heard the word novel, I silently groaned,” the Graton author admits. “I made the mistake of thinking–in spite of knowing what a wonderful writer she was–that a novel written at that age would probably be a chore to read.” It wasn’t until several weeks later, after a number of reminders from London, that Kallok finally produced the manuscript–a big, fat, handwritten stack of pages.

“I’m a slow reader,” London confesses. “But I sat there and read that book in one sitting. It was delightful and real and full of great observations and funny little details.” In short, he loved the book. “I guess I was relieved that it turned out to be so brilliant.”

RECOGNIZING the book’s potential, he assigned Kallok the task of transforming the handwritten pages into a typed manuscript. Acting as her unofficial agent–London’s own agent turned the book down, a decision he says she’s been “kicking herself about” ever since–the established author ultimately landed a publisher for Chickabiddy when he called Nicole Geiger, managing/acquisitions editor at Tricycle Press, and asked to read her the first page over the phone. It made her laugh, so he read another. Then Geiger asked to see the manuscript. Three weeks later, Emma Kallok had her first book deal.

“My first reaction was to jump up and down and scream,” she confesses. “I was pretty excited.” The advance money has already been invested in a new computer, on which she has been working on a sequel to her book. In fact, she’s already written two other books and is preparing to send them out as well.

“I can’t help it,” she explains. “I kind of have to write.”

When London remarks that other kids will likely take inspiration from Kallok’s success, she brightens even more.

“I hope this does inspire other kids to write,” the young author, now 11, asserts. “If they can see that they have stories and poems and books inside of them also, they’ll start writing them down too. Maybe some of them will be published.

“I think that would be exciting,” she says, flashing that shy smile one more time. “Don’t you?”

Emma Kallock will read from her new book on Wednesday, April 14, at 10 a.m. at Copperfield’s Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol. For details, call 823-2618.

From the April 8-14, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Lust Letters

Seductions.

Michael Amsler

First-time eroticists make a big splash in new anthology of sexy tales

By David Templeton

LESLIE COLE, tucked into a sunny corner of a downtown Santa Rosa coffeehouse, has made up her mind that she’s going to tell a story. She has to think about it a moment, has to consider whether it is an appropriate tale to tell a total stranger.

She apparently decides that it is.

“OK. I was out at the beach, boogie-boarding,” the Occidental teacher and writer begins, leaning forward, hands folded on the table before her. “But I couldn’t catch any waves. Finally, I caught this one wave, a perfect wave. It was incredible! It was fun. It felt great! The only way I can describe it is to say that I was suddenly full of joy.

“Then I looked over,” she goes on, slowly turning her head to demonstrate, “and there was this man. He’d caught the same wave I had–waves are big, right? Lots of room–and there he was, having as much fun as I was. And he looks over at me as we’re both gliding into the shore, and there was this … connection. A strong, strong connection.

“And I had this urge. I suddenly wanted to kiss him.”

Cole pauses, sipping her tea. She lets the big question–did she or didn’t she?–hang in the air for several long seconds.

“But, of course, I didn’t kiss him,” she finally admits, laughing. “He was a total stranger. I’m not going to do that. But I wondered about that for a while: ‘What if I had?’

“Things like that happen to everybody, don’t they?” she adds. “You’re standing in the line at the supermarket and you see somebody really beautiful and you have an urge to do something about it, to say something at least. But you don’t. You just stand there and write out your check.”

What Leslie Cole did do with her urge was write a story, an erotic “what if” that begins with the author’s “same-wave-moment-of-connection” and follows it up with a might-have-been scenario involving saltwater, wet suits, and a certain amount of wet bare skin.

Though Cole has been writing most of her life, the resulting story–“A Conversation about Green Water”–was her first try at erotica. Recently published in Lonnie Barbach’s latest erotic anthology, Seductions: Tales of Erotic Persuasion (Dutton; $23.95), the story is also Cole’s first work to appear in a high-profile book by a major publisher.

Seductions has been receiving a lot of attention of late, with its wide variety of amorous encounters ranging from the humorous kinkiness of a man having sex with his wife’s best friend only to discover it’s really his wife disguised as the friend (or is it the friend pretending to be the wife masquerading as the friend?) to the offbeat supernatural carnality of vampires expressing their surprisingly randy inner selves. With two of its contributors hailing from Sonoma County–that would be Cole and fellow first-timer Nancy Sasha Long–Seductions has been selling so well hereabouts that some local bookstores have had difficulty keeping the book in stock.

As for Cole, her involvement might not have happened at all if not for the intervention of a colleague, Tiny Lights publisher Susan Bono, who’d received a “call for entries” from Barbach, a noted psychologist and author whose books include a number of collections of erotic writings by women.

“The assignment was to ‘write about being seduced,’ ” Cole says. “I treated it like a job. An assignment. I have this many pages to write on this subject.”

Her first few attempts, she says, “were flat as a pancake. I couldn’t get my characters to be explicit enough. It’s like they were too shy to do a sex scene. They weren’t going to play and let me watch.” Eventually, with time running out, she recalled her semi- libidinous adventure in the surf and used it as a starting point.

“I like to begin my stories in the natural world, so two people in the water seemed like a good place to start,” she explains. “I just love water, anyway. I swim and I surf. … Maybe it’s some kind of amniotic thing–we all came from water, the water of life and all that stuff. Being pounded by waves is a pretty accurate metaphor for falling love, too.

“Whenever you are really attracted to somebody, you don’t notice things about that other person. Your friends go, ‘Haven’t you noticed that … ?’ But you don’t, ’cause you’re falling in love. You’re caught in the wave. You’ve been turned upside down like you’re in a big washing machine, and maybe you’re under too long and you feel like you’re drowning, but you come out the other side, or else you get slammed into the shore and get sand shoved up your nose.

“Then again,” Cole adds, bursting into laughter, “judging from my personal life, maybe I’m ready to come up with another metaphor.”

Michael Amsler

Unusual tastes: The darker side of erotic fantasy is the focus of the Seductions story written by Petaluma author Nancy Sasha Long.

NANCY SASHA Long, of Petaluma, tells a different story. “I heard about Lonnie’s ‘call for entries’ from a friend in a writing class in Marin,” she explains, her animated face demonstrating a bit of the nervous anticipation with which she greeted the notion of writing erotica. “I felt very green, but I thought I ought to give it a shot.”

The class Long refers to is a 6-year-old experimental writing workshop, with a core group of eight writer- performers who make up a unique troupe called Writers on the Edge.

“We write our lives, and then we perform our own lives onstage,” she says. “My colleagues encouraged me to send something in for consideration, so I went and looked at everything I’d written over the last several years. I ended up weaving together bits and pieces of several fictional short stories. There is some of me in it, some of my thoughts, but it took on a life of its own. And,” she continues with a laugh, “It turned out to be a much longer process than I’d imagined.”

Long’s story, “A Life of Seductions,” was accepted by Barbach, who suggested a few changes.

“I ended up rewriting it four times over the next 18 months. And I’m quite pleased with it,” she says, laughing again. “For my first attempt it’s not bad at all.”

The story–about an unhappy woman whose richly sexual fantasy life begins to mesh with reality in surprising, increasingly disturbing ways–is certainly among the darker tales in the book.

“There are some very dark images in there,” Long agrees. “Darkness is an important part of sexuality. Even though we’re supposedly in a time where women are free to explore their sexuality, to be sexually healthy and express themselves joyfully, there is still a little bit of darkness in our culture that nobody wants to talk about. Maybe it’s in the psyche of women, some women anyway, to desire some of that darkness and that danger.

“In my story, the main character is confused. She’s not all there. She doesn’t feel good about herself. She’s not healthy. And her sexual fantasies, because she doesn’t know anything different, are dark fantasies. I wanted to explore that darkness a bit, and to look at someone who feels powerless, who allows a seduction to take place because she’s desperate for a sense of power, desperate to make a choice all on her own, to reclaim herself, in this one strange, small way.

“And now that I’ve got that out of my system,” Long adds, laughing once more, “I think I’m ready to write something lighter.” Asked whether she’s interested in writing more erotica, she nods vigorously. “More erotica, certainly, but something playful now, something that explores a more romantic view of lovemaking, maybe even a sense of erotic spirituality.

“It’s hard to tell from ‘A Life of Seductions,’ ” she adds, “but I do realize that sex isn’t all danger and darkness. There’s a lot of joy and playfulness and laughter in sex, too. Now let’s see what I can do with that.”

From the April 8-14, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.