Area authors tackle nature, fiction, poetry

By: TERRI SHUTE - Staff Writer | Thursday, January 18, 2007 6:08 PM PST ∞

Fact, fiction, prose and poetry ---- this listing of recent releases by local writers runs the gamut.

Sheri McGregor of Escondido has written "Day & Overnight Hikes: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park" (Menasha Ridge Press, $12.95). The book profiles 32 top trails in the largest desert park in the U.S. The author has explored the region extensively and offers information on how to enjoy the desert, secret oases, and the wildlife and plants that inhabit the area.

Allison Ewing of Encinitas has written "Awakening Beauty" (PublishAmerica.com, $16.95). In this dark un-fairy tale, the story of "Sleeping Beauty" is turned on its head.

Vista's Theodore Gregg has written "Last Request" (Dorrance, $15), a thriller in which a son is falsely accused of his father's murder and pursued by the world's most dangerous assassin in a novel of violence, retribution and redemption.

Former Escondido resident Tom Layne has written "The Assassination of Rush Limbaugh" (RedGingerPublishing.com, $29.95), a novel that answers "yes" to the question of two immigrant families: Should Rush be assassinated? The families struggle in search of the American dream ---- and end up on Limbaugh's doorstep.

Wolf Berger of Solana Beach has written "Feed Me! The Story of Penny the Penguin Chick" (Xlibris.com, $20.99). The collection of more than 40 original colorful illustrations depicts the life of the penguin, accompanied by simple text to enable young readers to understand the animals' lives.

Writer P.J. Young and artist Michele Klee Greulich, both of Temecula, have collaborated on "Bird Boy" (Xlibris.com, $20.99). This story about acceptance and compassion features a young boy and a bird learning to be happy with their lives and natures.

San Diego author Vince Huntington has written "Reprisal," (BookSurge.com, $29.99) an examination of how spies can infiltrate the U.S. interests. In his thriller novel, former naval officer Huntington looks at the world of spies and the military.

Ivan Maxwell of San Diego has written "Inspired Vibrations: In Touch with the Mind, Body and Spirit" (PublishAmerica.com, $12.95), a collection of poetry examining the many stages of life.

Dr. Stephen C. Beeson of San Diego has written "Practicing Excellence: A Physician's Manual to Exceptional Health Care" (Fire Starter Publishing, $28). In it, he addresses five reasons medical groups and hospitals striving for change must get physicians on board. Beeson, a board-certified family medicine physician practicing with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, address issues of care, workplace conditions and culture.

San Diego's Susan Schenck has written "The Live Food Factor: A Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind & Spirit" (Awakenings Publications, $27.95). This cutting-edge book is the first complete guide to the raw food diet, a diet gaining rapidly in popularity.

Oceanside's James E. Schell has written a nonfiction tale, "We Call Our Daddy 'Mister'" (The HiBisCUn Press, $19.65). It is the story of Burrell Harrell, the son of a Confederate soldier who took up with a mulatto woman who bore him nine children. The children were not accepted as white, and the book tells the story of their struggles and Harrell's.

Bill Forbes of Carlsbad has written an autobiography, "An Anchor in the Prairie" (PublishAmerica.com, $16.95). Growing up in Middle America in the 1940s and '50s in Illinois, this small-town boy would witness the wonders of the Pacific Ocean, serve in the U.S. Navy in wartime, sell encyclopedias door-to-door, interview four U.S. presidents in a 20-year broadcast journalism career, and wind up his working years as a Navy civil service employee in the nation's capital.

Debra Ginsberg of San Diego has written "Blind Submission" (Shaye Areheart Books, $23.95), set in the publishing industry and stars Angel Robinson, book lover and newest member of the Lucy Fiamma Literary Agency, agency to the stars. Angel begins to receive a mysterious manuscript that is e-mailed to her office chapter by chapter, and soon her own life is sounding more and more like the outline in the mystery manuscript.

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