Thursday, April 17, 2008

Just a small update today: one of my poems, "The Uninvited Guest," was published in this month's edition of Tertulia Magazine. It was written during the total lunar eclipse that took place August 27, 2007. Enjoy.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Sorry for the quiet; I am slowly cooking up plans for a new book. :)

Those of you who take a deep and personal interest in the sites in "Sacred Sonoma" may be interested in the fight to keep parks open, despite Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to close 48 in California to save money. Two areas in the book, Amstrong Woods Reserve and the Austin Creek area, may soon be off-limits, despite the fact that taxpayer money is used to protect and maintain them. I have already written to my representatives and said that I would be happy to pay more to continue to be able to use them. There are many efforts in the works, but perhaps the simplest is here:

http://www.savestateparks.org

You may also be interested in getting involved with the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods:

http://www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org

Another site in the book, the Bohemian Gove, could be significantly logged (under the guise of "fire risk reduction," though redwoods protect themselves best from fire when they are denser) in the coming years if its owners get their way. For now, the Bohemian Club's timbering proposal is stuck in an administrative pipeline, but you may be able to keep up with its progress by checking this site:

http://bohemiangrovelogging.org/

All right, enough politics. Get out there and enjoy the coming springtime.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Spiral Nature offers a new review of "Sacred Sonoma: Sacred Sites and Alignments in Sonoma County, California." Follow the link for the full review, or check out this excerpt:

Winegarner describes three ley lines, Goat Rock Ley, Joy Woods Ley, and Bohemian Grove Ley, illustrated with maps and notes the key points along the leys. From there more detailed histories are divided by region, such as the volcanic and seismic regions, North County, Santa Rosa and vicinity, West County, and the Coastal Regions, within which specific points are detailed, especially as they related to the Pomo history and culture and the given area's -- often colorful -- local history.

The text is illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs, accompanied by evocative text. I've never visited Sonoma County, but I can imagine that this would be an excellent guide to explore it with. Local historians and ley hunters alike will find it a useful and engaging aid.

"Sacred Sonoma" is now available everywhere; look it up in your local bookstore and, if they don't already have a copy, ask them to order one for you.

As promised, here are a couple of photos from my June reading. They were taken by Victor Maccharoli:

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I have plenty of good news to share. The first item to report is that last week's reading of "Beloved" went well; many people turned up, seemed to like what I read (Chapter One: Firstlight) and bought many books from the fabulous Bird & Beckett bookstore. My continued thanks to those who came out, and I should soon have some photos from the event to share.

Second, Stuart Moses has kindly posted his review of "Read the Music" over on Hard-Wired. Check it out.

Third, several of my poems are published in the Spring 2007 issue of Hot Metal Press, so head on over there to see their latest poetic roundup.

Also, "Sacred Sonoma" is beginning to show up in online bookstores, which should mean it's available with brick-and-mortar sellers by mid-July.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I have officially launched the new Sacred Sonoma Web site, where you can find out more about the book and read three excerpts, describing the Austin Creek Area, Haystack Landing and the Petaluma Adobe. Haystack Landing is one of the brand-new sites I've added to the updated edition of the book, so think of it as a sneak preview of the new material.

In addition, Sacred Sonoma is now on sale via the publisher's Web site, and should be coming to Amazon and other online sellers within the next month or so. If you've been waiting to buy a copy, now's your chance!

Friday, April 27, 2007

I will be reading from "Beloved" and selling and signing copies of the book in June. Please join me!

WHEN: Thursday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Bird & Beckett Books
              2788 Diamond Street
              San Francisco, CA

To find out more about this fabulous bookstore, visit their Web site.

Tuesday, March 26, 2007

Karl dealership: "After a charismatic, tyrannical king takes control" of the mythical city of Damas, reads the press release for UC Berkeley grad Beth Winegarner's novel Beloved (Lulu.com, $11.04), "capitalism and slavery are forced on its people." The heroine is "a young girl nearly orphaned" -- nearly? -- who "watches as her peers are sold into forced labor." Which, dammit, always seems to happen under capitalism, but luckily she has a magical dagger. Winegarner will give a real dagger to the first reader who can solve a puzzle embedded in the story; send guesses to beth@bethwinegarner.com. "My novel takes its name from the VNV Nation song," explains the author, an ex-Chronicle music critic. "The sociopolitical material is almost straight Karl Marx. ... Marx predicted that capitalism would someday break down because the people who worked in the factories and the fields would eventually come to hate 'the machine,' the powers that controlled their workload, their hours, their pay. When that happened, Marx said the people would rise up and destroy the machine. ... He called this communism. I liked the idea that you could show a society where that had already occurred." You can! It's called Cambodia, circa 1975.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The promotional push for "Beloved" has begun in earnest. To that end, I am making the the press release and the Q&A available on the site. Check it out.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

"Beloved" is beginning to show up at online sellers such as Amazon. This means you can buy a copy through traditional online sellers or you may order it from bookstores.

Readers who have read the book since it was released are saying it's a compelling, gripping book they could not put down.

I want to highlight the fact that readers can participate in the contest to win Kirin's dagger.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

In conjunction with the release of "Beloved" I am announcing a contest to win the dagger that belongs to Kirin, "Beloved"'s main character. Follow the link for complete details.

Friday, March 9, 2007

A short item about "Read the Music" is posted on the news page today at Obskure.com, a French Web site that tracks music news related to goth/industrial/darkwave/metal/punk etc. bands. Check it out.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth -- I've spent much of the past few months putting the finishing touches on "Beloved," my new novel which will be released later this month.

In the meantime, my new Q&A with New York performer Brian Nash is now online over at Undented, the news site for all things Tori Amos. I expect to return with more news soon.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

The Winter 2007 issue of Dispatch is available in downloadable PDF format; it includes my poem "Persephone Sees Her Reflection." Head on over, download a copy, and check it out.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

I have spent much of the past two months finalizing the text and graphics for "Beloved," my novel that will be published in early 2007. Today I launched this Web site's "Beloved" page, with the front cover image and back-cover blurb, the latter of which includes a key excerpt from the story.

In recent news, some of my poems have been accepted to the Hot Metal Press and Dispatch literary magazines. I will let you all know when they are published.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

My poem "Inanna Thinks" appears in today's New Verse News, an online literary magazine that publishes poetry about current events.

I wrote the poem nearly two years ago. I wish it weren't still so relevant.

Monday, September 18, 2006

"Read the Music" is now showing up at a variety of online sellers, including Amazon and Powells. If it's not available through your local bookstore now, it should be available soon.

If you haven't already, click the "Read the Music" link on the right to read the book description and an excerpt from one of the essays, "What You Couldn't See: Days of the New."

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

As of tonight, "Read the Music" is available through the publisher's Web site at the following address:

http://www.lulu.com/content/382660

On that page, you can see the cover, read a description, and preview the table of contents and introduction.

In the coming weeks, the book will also begin showing up at online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and you should soon be able to order it through your local bookstores if you prefer to buy books that way.

Enjoy "Read the Music!"

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

I got this site's/Kirin Books' mailing list up and running this week. To sign up, click the link.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Welcome to my site! I'm planning a number of new books in the coming months. The first to be released will be "Read the Music," a collection of essays on music. Click the link on the right-hand side to find out more about the book. Meanwhile, this page is where you will find further announcements about upcoming projects, release dates, and other related items as they come to light. Enjoy, and happy reading.