Author Event: Saturday, May 28, 2022 from 11am to 2pm
Walla Walla's Blue Mountain Railroad in 1879
Please join us on Saturday, May 28, 2022 from 11am to 2pm when Clark Colahan will be signing copies of Walla Walla's Blue Mountain Railroad in 1879, and On the Banks of San Simeon Creek: San Simeon Pioneers.
Clark Colahan relives his recent adventure of stumbling upon the lost map of the Blue Mountain Railroad.
The author is a retired Whitman College professor and the author of several books on literature, especially on Don Quixote and the Spanish Renaissance.
On the Banks of San Simeon Creek: San Simeon Pioneers
A new book presents the first edition of diaries and letters by the earliest pioneers to settle on San Simeon Creek. In the 1850’s and 60’s, decades before Hearst’s Castle was a gleam in the eye of William Randolph, phenomenally hard-working and family-focused American pioneers were living in cabins along the creek at the foot of what would later be called the Enchanted Hill - farming, ranching, establishing schools, roads, medical services, and a legal system. One clan was the Clarks, Mathers and Pinkhams, who have left a detailed and highly personal record of their astonishingly varied activities, hardships, and emotions in a Hispanic region that still struck them as thoroughly foreign.
Author Event: Saturday, May 21, 2022 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, May 21, 2022 from 11am to 2pm when author Teri Zipf will be signing copies of her book Vertigo of All Those Stars.
From the back cover...
Teri Zipf’s first book, Outside the School of Theology, received the William Stafford Memorial Poetry Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. She has also received the Washington Artist Trust Fellowship, Fishtrap Fellowship and other awards. Her poems, essays, and stories have been published in Salon, terrain, the Melic Review, in Spanish translations in Revisatlanticas 21, and many others.
Author Event: Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 11am to 2pm when authors Charles Harley and Marika Esarey will be featuring Cut-Outs From Paper.
From Folk Art to High Art, To Walla Walla from Warsaw
When Charles Harley decided to publish a translation of a book produced long since in Poland about styles of paper cut-out unique to that country’s folk art, he sought expert help and guidance from friends in Walla Walla. The original work, though by a Pole and published in Warsaw, was written in French. Harley requested and received criticism of his translation from his neighbor, Martine Purcell. Harley mentioned to Shanna Fledderjohann of Kingfisher Gallery his need for someone fluent in Polish to translate an inscription on the cover of the book, write letters, and address copyright and bibliographic issues relating tothe new edition. Shanna put him in touch with one of her clients, Dominika Dickerson, who took care of those concerns. To realize his project, Harley above all needed an expert in book design, making, and conservation.
Cut-Outs from Paper preserves as much as proved practicable of the character and format of the book it translates, Les Decoupures de Papier, which was issued as a large paperback, in Warsaw, in 1928. To photograph its color plates for Harley’s English language version, the Warsaw edition had to be taken apart–and afterward put back together, complete with hand-stitched spine. The spines of the English edition–in this regard fortunately a very limited edition!–are also hand stitched.
The new offering, besides reproducing all the lithographs and plates of the original, also reproduces its front cover, which bears an inscription by the author, Dr.Eugenjusz Frankowski, sometime director of the Warsaw Museum of Ethnography, which Dickerson kindly translated as,‘To Miss Betty, a delightful lady, I offer this gift.’
‘Miss Betty’, travelling by train between the French Riviera towns of Nice and Hyeres, struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger, Lydia Delectorskaya, who revealed that she modeled for, and managed the studio of, Henri-Emile Matisse.Miss Betty, recently returned from her sojourn in Poland, was en route to Hyeres to meet her father. Lydia, enjoying a day off, was going to Hyeres to view the town’s magnificent palm trees and, at the request of Madame Matisse, to buy a box of scrumptious nougat, for the making of which Hyeres also is renowned.
The young women hit it off. On Betty’s showing Lydia her copy of Les Decoupures de PapierLydia asked whether she might borrow the book on behalf of Matisse, who, Lydia explained, had recently been experimenting with paper cut-out techniques and themes. Betty agreed to this proposal and Lydia promised that the book would be returned to her.
That one and only encounter between the Anglo-French Betty and Lydia, self-exiled from Soviet Russia, took place in the spring of 1935. In 1940, Germany’s invasion of Poland jolting her memory of her promise to return Betty’s book, Lydia belatedly kept her word.
The Germans’ destruction of Warsaw accomplished the loss in its entirety of the Warsaw Museum of Ethnography’s collection of the country’s paper cut-outs. The 1928 edition of Les Decoupures de Papierwasits sole edition and today the book is scarcely to be found. Harley’s Cut-Outs from Paper offers for wider, contemporary consideration the images of many of the finest examples, created during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and so barbarically incinerated in World War II, of a folk art form unique to Poland.
Harley hopes that his reissue in English of Dr. Frankowski’s work will gain support for his contention that illustrations in the book Lydia Delectorskya borrowed for Matisse’s consideration to some degree inspired the French master’s demonstration–innovative technically, thematically and functionally–of what the paper cut-out could achieve, which in turn promoted acceptance of the form as an artistic endeavor distinct and valid as any other.
In response to Harley’s assertion that Matisse was inspired by Polish paper cut-outs, John Klein, author of Matisse and Decoration, writes,‘The book you sent is exceptionally beautiful… It is true that Matisse was interested in popular arts of all kinds and I have little doubt that he was drawn to the illustrations in Les Decoupures de Papier. Who can say what residual impact they may have had on him?’ ‘Matisse,’ Professor Klein continues, ‘had already used paper cut-out forms as maquettes for large paintings… But in the mid 1930s he had not yet turned to the medium of the cut-out to make independent art works. Perhaps when he cut out white seagulls to be pinned to his wall during nights of insomnia in the mid 1940s he was creating distant echoes of the birds that seem to be a popular motif in that Polish tradition.’
Harley believes that the influence of Polish paper cut-outs on Matisse’s transformative development of the form is demonstrably stronger than Professor Klein concedes. Harley is, however, eager to insist that, unlike Professor Klein, he is by no means an internationally acclaimed specialist in the French master’s work.
It was over the tea-table, just under sixty years ago, that Harley learned how, as recounted here, the original Polish edition of Cut-Outs from Paper was brought to Matisse’s attention. With Harley that tea time were ‘Miss Betty’, who as well as being ‘a delightful lady’ was his mother, and his grandfather, Henry-Emile Sevrez, who besides having forenames in common with Matisse had passed his boyhood within a few miles of Le Cateau-Cambresis, the artist’s hometown.
Marika Esarey is the craftswoman to whom Harley entrusted the design and making of Cut-outs from Paper, and the disassembly and putting back together of Decoupures de Papierher task entailed. This commission Esarey, artist, bookbinder, book creator, carried out at Sacred Artisanship, her Walla Walla studio. Esarey has made a magnificent clamshell box that, open wide, simultaneously reveals the book in its Walla Walla and its Warsaw edition. This box and the books it contains will be on display when Esarey joins Harley for a discussion of their collaboration at Book & Game, 38 East Main, Walla Walla, Saturday 14 May, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. All are welcome!
Author Event: Friday, May 6, 2022 from 3pm to 5pm
Please join us on Friday, May 6, 2022 from 3pm to 5pm when author Patricia G. Kay will be signing copies of the book The Passage of Vines: Clara.
Clara, a successful Chief Financial Officer of a New York investment firm finds herself faced with a life altering decision after her mother’s death. She discovers she has inherited the Long House Winery, in Walla Walla, Washington, as the fourth generation woman.
Prepared to travel to the family winery put it on the market and return to New York Clara becomes entangled in unplanned circumstances. As Clara’s explored the winery home, she reflected on childhood memories, discovered her Native American roots, and sought soul searching answers of owning the winery as another generational woman. Clara becomes a captive student of local history by reading letters written by her grand grandmother, a Native American Nez Perez from 1901.
After accidently injuring her ankle, she found herself in the care of Stephen, the most eligible bachelor in the valley and owner of the award-winning Bennington winery. As she is recovered, he begun to teach her about wines, wine making and she acquired a taste for both red and white wines. Stephen offers to oversee her winery, assuring her he will wait patiently as she determines where her life’s journey will take her either returning to New York or moving to the wine valley permanently.
Passage of Vines invites the reader to learn about Walla history, become familiar with wines and wine tasting through the unpredictable storylines.
Author Event: Saturday, May 7, 2022 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, May 7, 2022 from 11am to 2pm when Susan Monahan will be signing copies of Walla Walla Past & Present.
Author Event: Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 11am to 2pm when author Sherri Maret will be signing books.
Since The Cloud Artist (in English/Choctaw) was launched, interest in #ownvoices Native American books has grown which is wonderful. The Cloud Artist was a finalist for several book awards, is in the Smithsonian Library, and sold at a handful of museums. I am so thankful that The RoadRunner Press believed in this book to make it come to be!
Author Event: Thursday, December 16, 2021 from 3pm to 5pm
Please join us on Thursday, December 16, 2021 from 3pm to 5pm for author Dennis Dauble signing copies of Chasing Ghost Trout.
Local outdoor writer, Dennis Dauble, will sign copies of his latest book, Chasing Ghost Trout, at Books & Games on Thursday December 16 from 3 to 5 pm. Dauble is the award-winning author of the natural history guidebook, Fishes of the Columbia basin, and three short-story collections about the fishing experience, including, Bury Me with My Fly Rod. His fishing memoir, Chasing Ghost Trout, traces five decades of memories about wild trout found in streams that flow from the western flanks of the Blue Mountains. (Include if word count allows) From the back cover, “Grandpa Harry’s old willow creel—with its faint odors of dried fern and fish scale, remnant of ghost trout—bind these stories of fishing and family….”
Author Event: Thursday, December 9, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Thursday, December 9, 2021 from 11am to 2pm when Dale Hom will be signing copies of "Where’s My Rainbow?".
It’s 1972, Dorothy is a jazz singer in Kansas City, Missouri. She wonders if Jazz is dead in this once thriving jazz town.
She still dreams of singing jazz in New York.
Author Event: Saturday, November 13, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on November 13, 2021 from 11am to 2pm when author Rosanne Anderson will be signing copies of Crimes of the Past.
From the back of the book: Josh Langstrom just wants to concentrate on his new job as town marshal… but instead of the peaceful town he expects, there are sordid secrets … including a critical cold case.
Author Event: Saturday, October 16, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, October 16, 2021 from 11am to 2pm when Dale Hom will be signing copies of graphic novel Walk Tall Y'all.
From the back of the book:
It's the present day.
Wallace has just returned to his hometown for a memorial service of a longtime friend. He's confronted with the pervasive change that's happening to Beacon Hill, Chinatown / International District, and most of Seattle.
Overcrowding, traffic gridlock, towering new construction, and noticeable big city woes have tainted Wallace's view of his beloved hometown. Now, he's worried for his sister and her family. How can they survive in this transmogrified city?
Author Event: Saturday, October 9, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, October 9, 2021 from 11am to 2pm where author Janet Breuer will be signing copies of here book Here Comes Trouble.
Here Comes Trouble is a book about adopting a cat from the point of view of two dogs. It also includes information on the dogs being pet therapy dogs or working comfort dogs and volunteering at hospitals, nursing homes or schools.
Janet Breuer lives in the mountains of northeastern Washington state with her husband, their dogs, Tucker & Ridge and of course Trouble, the cat. They have two sons and seven grand children.
Janet is a member of Pet Partners, which registers her dogs to visit at nursing homes, hospital and schools. She also belongs to HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response. This enables Janet and her dogs to comfort people who are hurting after a crisis.
When she isn't busy with her dogs, Janet spends time serving in her church, reading, gardening and paddling large rivers solo. Here Comes Trouble is her first book.
Author Event: Saturday, October 2,2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, October 2, 2021 from 11am to 2pm where author & artist Alvardo Nunez will be signing copies of Volume 1 in his Seven Comic Series.
From the book cover:
Kace Selica, a clever and misguided girl who always seems to get herself into trouble, just so happens to be a princess from the land of Selica. The King as chosen her older sister Kayla as the official heir to the throne. So, Kace joins the Navy and fights as a LUXRAI to prove to her father that she's the more worthy of the Selican throne!
Author Event: Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 11am to 2pm when author Clark Schwartzkopf will be signing copies of his book Random Recreational Violence.
Author Event: Friday, September 17, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Friday, September 17, 2021 from 11am to 2pm for Into the Fire by Sandra Mason.
The 1910 fire was the largest forest fire in U.S. History. It burned over 3.5 million acres, torching timber stands in Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, and Canada. The story is a fictionalized account of Edward Pulaski’s heroic efforts.
Author Event: Saturday, September 4, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, September 4, 2021 from 11am to 2pm for author Robert Keatts and his book Postal History of Southeastern Washington.
Author Event: Saturday, August 28, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Author Event: Saturday, August 21, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Larry Duthie Author of Return to Saigon will be signing books Saturday, August 21, 2021 from 11am - 2pm.
You are with the author when he ejects from his burning Navy jet onto a ridge near Hanoi.
What follows in this meticulously researched memoir is an account of one of the most implausible and heroic rescues of the air-war--and the aftermath.
Author Event: Saturday, June 26th from 11am to 2pm
Please join us on Saturday, June 26, 2021 from 11am to 2pm for author Monica Hardie, who will be signing copies of her book The Thorn.
Author Event: Saturday, June 19, 2021 from 1pm to 3pm
Please join us on Saturday, June 19, 2021 from 1pm to 3pm for Barbara Braendlein and her book Olive.
Olive is good at seeing things. At five years old, her world is cozy and small, full of her Mommy and Daddy, her grandma, and a lot of doctors. Her body does not ever do what she wants it to. Her legs don’t walk, her hands shake, and when she talks, no one understands her words.
Until one person does.
The more Olive learns all the ways that she is different from other people, the more she realizes how much she needs that one person who always understands her, who is maybe even just like her. So what happens when that one person is suddenly gone?
Olive is a thoughtful, enchanting look into the mind of a non-verbal, medically fragile girl. Through her eyes, we see the struggle of growing up without words and with a body that has to work hard for every triumph, and yet triumph she does. In “Olive”, we are reminded that sometimes all it takes is one person for you to never be alone again.
About the author
Barbara Braendlein is an author, an urban farm wife, and the homeschooling mother of her four special needs kids. Her writing seeks to shine light on the deep joys that are found in seemingly ordinary lives, the extraordinary that lurks in every corner of the mundane. Her new book, “Olive”, released by Atmosphere Press, tells the story of the world through the eyes of a non-verbal, medically fragile five year old girl and is fiction drawn from her very real life adventures raising kids with mitochondrial disease.
Author Event: Friday, June 18, 2021 from 11am to 2pm
Please join us for Susan Matley and Beyond Big-G City, Friday, June 18, 2021 from 11am to 2pm.
The year is 2025, and Hermes is on the Olympus, Inc., hot seat. He has two short years to halt climate change before the irretrievable tipping point is reached, an existential treat to mortals and immortals alike!
The year is 2025, and Hermes is on the Olympus, Inc., hot seat. He has two short years to halt climate change before the irretrievable tipping point is reached, an existential treat to mortals and immortals alike!
The Greek immortals are at it again in Beyond Big-G City, the third book in Walla Walla author S. D. Matley’s contemporary fantasy/mythology series. In addition to the troubles faced by Hermes:
Will David Bernstein discover the identity of his unnamed mortal father?
Has evil force The Power escaped containment and co-fathered an Olympian baby?
Will the seawall protecting a major transit tunnel breach, sending thousands of mortals to a watery grave, in spite of the best efforts of top-notch computer and architectural genius Clifford Essex?
From the City of Mount Olympus to Petra, Jordan to Seattle, Washington, much is afoot Beyond Big-G City!
About the author
Susan D. Matley writes contemporary fantasy/mythology. Beyond Big-G City(by S. D. Matley), the third book in her series featuring the Greek Pantheon, is her latest release from WolfSinger Publications. Susan’s short stories have appeared in THEMA Literary Journal, GlassFire Magazine,Dark Pages (Blade Red Press) and many other print and online anthologies. She lives in southeastern Washington State- -the land of wheat, wine and windmills- -with her 4-legged kids.