My latest book Amador City: A Haunting History (2024) takes readers to California’s roots and the small town of Amador City. It’s known for being the smallest incorporated town in the state with a population of just 200. I visit frequently and became fascinated with the undiscovered history that encompasses this .3 square mile Gold Rush era town.The town hasn’t changed much since the picture shown above, but has added amenities such as indoor toilets! The book is larger than my others (8.5 x 11) and has over 100 photos in color and black and white. In it you’ll find stories of murder, saloon brawls, stage coach robberies and perhaps a ghost or two.

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In 2023 I published the Pacific Squab and Poultry Farm,  which I promised my friend Polly Johnson Harnett I would work on with her. Unfortunately, Polly passed away in 2020, but

I felt Polly would want me to finish what she and her Aunt Ivy (1891-1983) had started so long ago. I had read some of the stories Ivy had written and knew it had a much larger audience than just the family. It was a chronicle of immigration, the hardships the family faced and how the City of Long Beach has grown.  I published the book under Ivy’s name (Ivy Harnett) which is what Polly had planned to do.

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My book for 2022 was Animal Tales (Some a Little Fishy!). I scoured through 130 years of humorous newspaper accounts of the past giving me fodder for the book.  And yes, my own cats  told me they had to be in it! And they are!  I was fortunate to have my sister-in-law contribute black and white illustrations. Here are a few I have colorized:

Animal Tales (Some a little fishy) was a fun break I turned to while writing the often disturbing history of African Americans in Long Beach and Southern California: A History. That 2021 book begins in the 1800s and continues to 1970, reaching into later years to describe what that history has led to today. Over five years was spent researching recently digitized African American newspapers which allowed me access to the black perspective on issues rarely written about in the white press or by other authors. Here is a video of me discussing the book. Also, several of the stories I’ve written after the book was published can be found on this website’s blogs under African Americans.  

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In 2018 I wrote The Red Scare, UFOs & Elvis: Long Beach Enters the Atomic Age. It’s the 4th and final of a series of books  which began with Murderous Intent?  covering the 1880s-1920, followed by Prohibition Madness  which dealt with the 1920s & 30s, then came Fighting Fear which  talked about World War II.

If you want to learn more about these and my other books, be sure to click on the book link in my headline bar.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Check out the categories listed on my blog/journal site. I write on a variety of topics. Perhaps you’ll find something of interest.

I have also have written about Seal Beach and Signal Hill. An internet search will lead you to those pieces.

Oh, yes! I’m pleased to announce I was listed as one of the top 9 Long Beach writers (with Upton Sinclair, John Fante, Richard Bach, Wendy Hornsby, John Leonard, James Hilton, and more) in the Long Beach Post.