Susan Straight
Susan Straight’s latest novel, Mecca, was a finalist for a 2022 Kirkus Prize. This story is adapted from Black Star Canyon, a novel in progress that picks up three weeks after Mecca ends.
Fiction: ‘Oasis, California’
“All these baby scorpions hatched inside the bricks. Came crawling out of the walls. And Lolo’s baby girl was in her crib.”
Thirsty Burros
The herds of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties are caught up in the most western of troubles: the need for water.
Novel Excerpt: ‘Mecca’
Susan Straight presents a panoramic view of Southern California.
Biddy Mason and Hannah Embers Were Here
The Fort Benson historical marker memorializes an incomplete version of events that took place at the site.
Hearts Aflame
The violence inflicted upon Black men is persistent across six generations of a family’s history.
Talking with Keenan Norris
The author of “One Coyote” describes writing about the Inland Empire, his family’s history of activist athletes, and what he misses most about Southern California.
Badass Women of the West
Ann Nguyen fled Saigon to carve out a new life in Southern California. She put her sons through school as she worked, like many first-generation Vietnamese immigrants, at the local nail salon.
‘Ribs, Muscle, Bone’
Watching the dissolution of her parents’ relationship, a butcher’s daughter learns lessons about life and love.