This is the cover of the new book by Dr. Roseanne Chambers, who hired me to help her plan the content and structure of a book she wanted to write about geology’s influence on ancient Andean cultures. Within the next two years we created her outline and I reviewed her chapters as she wrote and polished them. The Monumental Andes: Geology, Geography, and Ancient Cultures in the Peruvian Andes was published by The University of Utah Press. Copies are available on Amazon and at this link above. It’s a fabulous, fascinating book.
Roseanne earned her PhD in paleontology from the University of California at Berkeley. She worked for 35 years as a consulting geologist, evaluating potential earthquake, volcanic, and other geologic hazards around the world. The Monumental Andes explores many interconnected aspects of ancient Andean life, including climate, topography, agricultural methods, natural hazards, the construction of monumental structures, the creation of sophisticated art objects, and the plant-based hallucinogens and narcotics used in religious rituals. From earthquake-resistant structures to shrines on the tops of active volcanoes, ancient Andeans left behind relics that amaze and inspire today.
Marianna Marlowe is a Latina writer who focuses on creative nonfiction that explores issues of gender identity, feminism, cultural hybridity, intersectionality, and more. I was her editor and story consultant, working with her as she wrote, polished, and published many of the short memoirs included in this book, Portrait of a Feminist: A Memoir in Essays.
Through braided memories that flash against the present day, Portrait of a Feminist depicts the evolution of the author’s identity as a biracial and multicultural woman—from her childhood in California, Peru, and Ecuador to her adulthood as an academic, wife, and mother. How does the inner life of a feminist develop? How does a writer observe the world around her and, from her earliest memories, kindle a flame attuned to the unjust? Click the link above to get a copy.
Dancing into the Light: An Arab-American Girlhood in the Middle East is a book the author, Kathryn Abdul-baki, hired me to review and edit as she prepared the manuscript to submit for publication. Kathryn was born in Washington, D.C. to an Arab father and an American mother. She grew up in Iran, Kuwait, Beirut, and Jerusalem. The book has won the 2023 Sarton Awards Shortlist for Memoir and was silver medalist for the 2023 Nonfiction Authors Association award.
Set against the backdrop of the early American presence in Iran under the Shah and the years of Kuwait’s early oil boom, Dancing into the Light is Kathryn Abdul-Baki’s memoir of growing up within both the expatriate Western communities and the larger Middle Eastern society of Kuwait and Jerusalem. Hers is a story of belonging to two vastly different cultures and finding her place within both, and the search to find the inherent harmony in worlds at odds with each other. You can get a copy of her book at the link above.
Some authors I work with self-publish, and Gail Lynn is one, with her memoir Bell Bottom Blues. An Iowa native, Gail came to me with an idea for a book based on a pivotal summer in her life, the summer of 1972. A few years after we planned the book’s structure and I edited and polished the chapters as she wrote them, Bell Bottom Blues was published. The book is a sentimental account of a young woman’s coming-of-age experiences throughout the summer of 1972, including searching for acceptance and falling in love for the first time. The memoir explores her efforts to find and confidently claim her place within her family, her friendships, and the world in general while also honoring American music and culture in the 1960s and 1970s. It tells timeless stories of hope, rebellion, and heartache that can resonate with readers from any generation. You can find Bell Bottom Blues at Barnes & Noble, BookBaby and Amazon (at the link above).
Be the Captain, by James Evenson, is a book for offshore sailors who want to learn from a master with many years of experience at the helm. James is a veteran offshore sailor with a wealth of info on his popular YouTube channel, Sailing Zingaro. His videos share more of his engaging lessons and educational stories from life on seas around the world. To buy his hardcover book or order the audiobook, go to: https://bethecaptain.com/.
Besides being an offshore sailor, James is an experienced delivery captain and skilled educator. He’s owned six bluewater boats, delivered dozens more, and spent much of his adult life at sea—under sail and underwater. His hands-on experience spans thousands of miles, from solo passages to long-range deliveries, and his no-nonsense approach has helped countless new sailors prepare for offshore cruising.
I am hardly a sailor myself, but I was riveted editing his book, as he generously, heartfully and skillfully shares his wealth of knowledge about choosing a boat, maintaining it for its health and your safety, and sailing through the day and night in storms and into the paradise of turquoise waters.
