Southern Sonoma Country Life

REBUILDING TOGETHER PETALUMA'S SPRING VOLUNTEER WORKDAY APRIL 18th, 2020 8:30 TO 3 PM.

 

REBUILDING TOGETHER PETALUMA'S SPRING VOLUNTEER WORKDAY APRIL 18th, 8:30 TO 3 PM.

TO VOLUNTEER: REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.RTPETALUMA.ORG

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE AS SOON AS IT IS FULL SO DON'T DELAY!

photos: Frank Simpson/Rebuilding Together Petaluma 

Home is where the heart is. Some of our neighbors who are disabled and very low income are struggling with heavy hearts to live in dysfunctional and unsafe homes. With your time and skills, these situations can be greatly improved.

Join Rebuilding Together Petaluma to rebuild these homes (and hearts) with 200 fellow volunteers to benefit our neighbors in need!

Teams will be working on improving accessibility, health and safety in seven homes in Petaluma. One project will serve a veteran who has recently become blind and needs accessibility upgrades, another will serve a single mom with three children in need of a functioning kitchen and bathroom and another project will benefit  COTS Kids First Emergency Family Shelter which is in need of a fresh coat of paint, new flooring and repairs. Each one of these projects will make a critical difference in the lives of others.

Over 200 volunteers are being sought, a variety of skilled trades people and general volunteers that can haul, rake, carry, paint and clean. There is something for everyone. If you're able to sign up, you, your family, co-workers and friends will help make these projects a success.

In return, Rebuilding Together promises lunch, T-shirts and an inspiring day making a difference in the lives of others.

If you are unable to volunteer but want to help in some way, please consider making a donation to RTP either online at www.rtpetaluma.org or mailed to Rebuilding Together Petaluma at 301 Payran Street, Petaluma, CA 94952. A cash donation to RTP produces four times its value in home repairs because of all of the wonderful volunteers. 

Call Rebuilding Together Petaluma with any questions at 707-765-3944. 

 

 

Big Green Country Goes to Bodega Head — Literary Locations — Sonoma Coast, Northern California

When I wrote my novel, Big Green Country's timeline with road trip action at the start of the book taking place during the month of February, I never imagined blue skies as bright and clear as the February day I returned to the spot where characters Bridget and Bobby, Maggie and Marcus pull up in their truck to eat fresh crab sandwiches, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Bodega Bay at Bodega Head. 

It was pouring with rain in the story and a serious storm was headed their way. 

As you can see from these photos and (rather windy) video clip, if the weather had cooperated as well for the McCleery women and their companions, the story would have taken a very different turn.

If you are familiar with the rugged landscape of the Sonoma Coast and tucked-away Bodega Harbor, with its fleet of salmon and crab fishing boats and small, bustling seafood shacks, you'll immediately identify with the sights, sounds and flavors of this part of the book. 

If you've never been in these parts, you'll feel like you have as soon as you open the pages of Big Green Country. 

Northern California has its own distinct microclimates from coast to valley to mountain, depending on impact of Pacific fog and topography and it has been thrilling to write about the geography and natural history of the region from the Sonoma Coast, through the Russian River watershed and up into the Emerald Triangle of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties.

I'm thankful that Big Green Country is making its early rounds in book groups in Sonoma and Marin Counties and there has been such a lot to discuss given the contemporary subject matter of this novel which touches on so many major elements of modern life in this part of the world, not least, a family struggling to maintain its multi-generational ranch property, while its youngest member has gone missing after leaving home to trim weed in the north. 

Without throwing in any significant spoilers, the part where the four adults stop for a bite to eat at a favorite crab shack is a fictionalized version of Spud Point Crab Co in Bodega Harbor. 

I made a pit-stop for mid-day lunch and to think about the characters in my book who I've talked about and analyzed with so many readers that they feel quite real to me now. 

Big Green Country is available in print and via Kindle on Amazon.com around the world, at Barnes & Noble.com, Bookshop.org and to order at indie bookstores, and also directly from me via the Paypal button on the homepage of this blog post. 

Please take a few minutes to post a review on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org if you've already finished reading your copy. Let me know if you are within driving distance and your bookgroup is interested in a visit from the author. 

Lots of people have asked me about the McCleery ranch and house. Is it real? Does it actually exist? Where is it? It's not one actual ranch but an imagined homestead that I conjured in my mind from my many journeys around coastal Sonoma County. I've always been intrigued by the dilapidated old Victorian ranch homes with their rustic grandeur and long-forgotten beauty. 

The McCleery ranch is, in my mind and in the book, somewhere remote in setting though not all that far to the north of the small coastal town of Tomales, tucked into the rolling hills, overlooking the Pacific. 

Bodega Bay is about a nine mile drive from this fictional ranch, which would take about 20 minutes on the winding roads.

 

 

 

 

Exceptional Trip Tip — Writing Italy — A Week of Writing Masterclasses Deep in the Tuscan Countryside Oct 4th-10th 2020

Here's something special for my writer friends here in Sonoma County and reader/writers elsewhere in the world. Who wouldn't love to find themselves in a writing class deep in the Tuscan countryside for a week, this fall?

This wonderful retreat is on my radar via my dear friend, Michael, a fellow British/American Petaluman who is friends with one of the co-hosts and tutors, award-winning and Sunday Times best-selling author, Helena Attlee.

Close your eyes and take your fingers off your keyboard. Now picture yourself with six days of masterclasses await amidst the comfort and bohemian atmosphere of a 13th-century castle deep in the Tuscan countryside.

Guided by Helena and acclaimed biographer and travel writer Julian Evans, what an extraordinary opportunity to forge new writing skills and ways of seeing and experiencing your surroundings. Whether you wish to write about travel, history, biography or autobiography, landscape, food or nature – any form of creative non-fiction – six days at Castello di Potentino would be an ideal moment to start a new project or look at an existing one with fresh eyes.

During the week you'll view Tuscan shepherds making cheese, taste wines made from the castle vineyards, explore unspoiled landscapes with a local botanist, learn to make pasta and immerse yourself in village life at the market: lived experiences to capture on the page. Working in a small group, learn crafted techniques to strengthen your writing voice and enable you to create storytelling truth from fact. Helena and Julian will also offer one-to-one tutorials.

Special guests include Rachel Roddy, whose weekly column in the Guardian has won her many fans, and Derek Johns, who has recently stepped down from running London’s oldest literary agency.

This six-day stay is priced at around $2000 per person all-inclusive (give or take exchange rate), except for travel to and from which you'll cover the cost of yourself. This seems very reasonable considering the quality of accommodation, meals and instruction. October is a great time to travel to Italy from the U.S. Flight prices aren't too prohibitive after the summer season wraps up.  

Click here to learn more about Castello di Potentino, an ancient castle built on an Etruscan site in a secret valley. 

Click here for more information on how to sign up to attend.

        

 

 

Journey into the Ancient Redwood Forests of Northern California in A Big Green Country Video Excerpt With Author, Frances Rivetti

Pleased to release a book trailer featuring yours truly reading from Chapter 22 (Maggie) of Big Green Country — my newly released novel.

Thanks to trailer director/producer Rocco Rivetti for making this happen at the tail end of his busy Christmas visit home to Sonoma County from LA. We spent a lovely morning together in magical Armstrong Woods. Part of the action of Big Green Country takes place along the Russian River en-route through the Redwood Curtain of Northern California's Emerald Triangle. 

Dominic Rivetti recorded my sampling from a chapter that fit the video recording location perfectly and just as he was leaving home to head back to UC Davis. It's a family production!

This is me wandering the redwood forest in all its mid-winter glory and perusing the landscape of which I've been writing. Enjoy! 

If you haven't yet ordered a copy, head down to your favorite local bookstore and ask them to order you one, or hit the online bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon . . . reviews are coming in online and I'm ever so grateful for all who've taken the time to race through reading Big Green Country and to post reviews on Amazon, AmazonUK and Goodreads. Readers are reaching out from Australia, Spain as well as my native UK. 

Please do share this excerpt with your friends on social media.

Best,

Frances 

 

The Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Second Anniversary AVA Celebration at Hotel Petaluma A Big Hit with Winemakers & Wine Lovers Alike.

It was fun to attend celebrations with winemakers and friends of the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance in the ballroom at the Petaluma Hotel this week. There are so many terrific Pinot Noir wines and Chardonnays especially coming out of our region.  Two years ago in January and following the approval of the Petaluma Gap American Viticultural Area (AVA), Petaluma Gap winegrowers were finally able to submit wine labels for approval by the Alcohol, Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), with the AVA as the source of the grapes for the wine inside the bottle. Today many more wines are bearing “Petaluma Gap” on the label, and many of these are achieving high ratings from notable wine reviewers. Anyone can join the alliance, members include lots of wine loving locals. Click here to check out the website for more info on some of the fun events planned for this year. Each month the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance (PGWA) publishes a newsletter which includes the most recent 90+ Point reviews of wines crafted from grapes grown in the AVA in a special section called “90+ PT Club.” More than 70 wines were included in 2019 . Coverage of the AVA is also appearing in major publications, such as the newly published 8th Edition of the World Atlas of Wine, by Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson, with recognition of the appellation as being “defined by the wind.”    “More winemakers are now choosing to designate their wines as ‘Petaluma Gap’ rather than ‘Sonoma Coast,’ because that previous designation is now considered by many to be too big to be meaningful,” said Mark Theis, Winemaker at Kendall-Jackson. "Putting the more specific ‘Petaluma Gap’ as the AVA on the label validates Kendall-Jackson’s long history of making wines that are focused and exhibit true terroir; it also helps consumers to connect with the unique flavor profile from the region. Petaluma Gap wines demonstrate vivid acidity, structural delineation, and aging potential; they are truly tangible expressions of wind and fog."   In addition to the celebration of two years as an AVA, the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers also announced their 2020 Board of Directors and Officers, with Erica Stancliff (Trombetta Family Wines and Pfendler Vineyards) continuing as President, Tom Gendall (Cline Cellars) as Vice President and Dan Aguilar (Mechanics Bank) continuing as Treasurer. The board is comprised of 12 members including winemakers, growers, and industry leaders from the Petaluma Gap. More information.

About the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance

Founded in 2005, the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance (PGWA) exists to educate members of the wine trade and consumers about the Petaluma Gap and to increase awareness of the region’s unique growing conditions and resulting wine quality. PGWA additionally supports member winegrowers and vintners within the region through ongoing programs and communications designed to help them maximize their success within the industry. The group’s membership is made up of grape growers, wineries, associate business members, sponsors and local community members with a passion for the region and its wine. Throughout the year, the group conducts educational events and tastings independently and through the Sonoma County Vintners.

Join Community Efforts to End Human Trafficking in Our Community and Beyond — Human Trafficking Awareness Day — January 11th 2020

photos via Pinterest

One of the main and most important themes of my newly released contemporary suspense novel Big Green Country is that of raising awareness of the very real and present crisis that is human trafficking in Northern California, specifically as it relates to those held against their will in the underbelly of illegal Cannabis grows in the Emerald Triangle of Humboldt/Mendocino/Trinity Counties. 

Not surprisingly this is a dark and difficult subject matter for people to deal with and the tendency is to stick our heads in the sand and pretend it's not happening. But, disturbingly, it is. And so the more we are aware of these dangers, especially to young women, the more we will collectively be able help prevent human trafficking hidden in our midst. 

Sonoma County is not exempt from human trafficking, reports of which involve shocking numbers that are extremely challenging for local law enforcement to cope with. It takes investigators weeks even months to stake out any one of the numerous reported locations where girls especially are being put to work servicing groups and individuals who travel to and through various wine county destinations. 

While it is encouraging that our community and multiple organizations are coming together to do the important work of raising awareness and establishing network programs to help those who fall into this trap escape and move forward with their lives, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day being recognized each year on January 11 continues to open important dialog.

In recognition of this specific day and throughout the month of January, Homeland Security Wear Blue Campaign hosts several special events and educational activities.

To continue to raise awareness of human trafficking, the campaign asks people to take photos of themselves, friends, family, and colleagues wearing blue clothing and share them on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – along with the #WearBlueDay hashtag. Anyone can participate, all you need is a piece of blue clothing!

Follow on Twitter @DHSBlueCampaign for more information on #WearBlueDay and National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Here in Sonoma County, the Commission on the Status of Women in Sonoma County works tirelessly to help raise awareness and eradicate human trafficking. Commission Chairperson Trisha Almond says this week that: "In support of our mission statement, the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women supports community efforts to eradicate human trafficking. This includes providing a liaison to Sonoma County's Human Trafficking Task Force - a collaborative effort among local law enforcement, prosecutors, community agencies and victim service providers to provide comprehensive services in order to discover and respond effectively to human trafficking, as well as to raise awareness. Local agencies serve to provide crisis intervention, food, shelter, transportation and trauma counseling."

Trisha, who is also President/Founder/Facilitator of non-profit Guided to Safety added: "While slavery may have been abolished over 150 years ago, there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history."

Salvation Army's Women's Ministries also implements resources in this arena. Here's some info from the ministry's website:

What is Human Trafficking? It is modern–day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Human trafficking is a hidden crime as victims rarely come forward to seek help because of language barriers, fear of the traffickers and/or fear of law enforcement.

Traffickers look for people who are susceptible for a variety of reasons, including psychological or emotional vulnerability, economic hardship, lack of a social safety net, natural disasters, or political instability. The trauma caused by the traffickers can be so great that many may not identify themselves as victims or ask for help, even in highly public settings.

Warning Signs

Signs of physical abuse such as burn marks, bruises or cuts. Deprived of food, water or medical care • Restricted communication • Too many occupants in one residence • Individuals are rarely seen outside of the residence • Unable to communicate • Shows evidence of intimidation or fear • Not allowed to socialize or attend activities and religious services • Always accompanied when outside the residence • Outside locks on doors and windows to keep people in • Lacks ID/documentation

Questions to Ask

If you suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking the following questions are helpful in making that determination:

Can you leave your job if you want to? Can you come and go as you please? Have you or your family been threatened? What are your working and living conditions like? Where do you sleep and eat? Do you have to ask permission to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom? Are there locks on your doors or windows so you cannot get out? •Has your identification been taken away from you? Does someone prohibit you from socializing?

What Can We Do? 

Take notice of young people who have a lot of unexplained absences from class or are overly tired, withdrawn, depressed or distracted and are less appropriately dressed than before. Teens who brag about having lots of money and display expensive clothes, shoes, new tattoos, older boyfriends and gang affiliation may raise a red flag. Likewise, take not if you hear of a young person bragging about wild parties and inviting others to attend. Large malls are a common grooming ground. 

Educate teens not to meet up with anyone they've met online and to keep their personal information private. Encourage young people to tell someone if they are ever made to feel uncomfortable online or in public. 

Pimps/traffickers are skilled in encouraging victims to engage in illegal activities to achieve their goals and dreams and making the victim feel responsible for his/her financial stability. 

If you suspect someone is the victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center: 1–888–373–7888 (a 24–hour, toll free crisis line). 

Tickets Now on Sale for the California Artisan Cheese Festival, March 27th to 29th, 2020

Tickets are now on sale for the country's premier cheese festival, the California Artisan Cheese Festival, March 27-29, 2020.  This year’s weekend-long Festival  takes place in and around the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa’s historic Flamingo Hotel, and at various local farms, restaurants, creameries and tasting rooms of artisan producers. The Festival brings together cheesemakers, farmers, educators, authors, chefs, cheese mongers, brewers, distillers, and winemakers from all over California for three days of cheese tasting, education and celebration.     Tickets are also on sale for  the ever-popular Farm and Producer Tours; Saturday night’s Cheese, Bites and Booze! celebration; an exciting new crop of educational hands-on Seminars and Pairing Demos; Sunday’s delectable Bubbles & Brunch; and the weekend’s grand finale Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace.  Some of the noteworthy Seminar topics being offered this year include a Hands-On Cheesemaking seminar where attendees will learn to make mozzarella, chèvre (fresh goat cheese) and burrata; and a Build Your Own Cheese Board seminar where guests will learn tricks for creating their very own visually stunning, Instagram-worthy cheese board. Details about more of Friday and Saturday’s exciting tours and seminars are as follows:   Farm and Producer Tours & Lunch      Back by popular demand are two days of intimate producer tours taking place on Friday and Saturday around Northern California, where guests will explore various local farms, creameries and artisan purveyors. During the guided walking tours, guests learn how cheese, ciders and other products are made, meet the producers, farmers and cheesemakers behind our favorite local products and, of course, taste the fruits of their labor. This year’s Festival is offering six tours on Friday, and two on Saturday, and every tour includes round-trip transportation and lunch.   Many of the tours grant behind-the scenes access to new producers who do not regularly offer tours. For example, Friday’s Tour B gives attendees the opportunity to meet and taste one of the state’s newest cheese and butter producers, Bivalve Creamery, which operates out of the former Cowgirl Creamery space. Guests will also wind their way up Highway One to enjoy lunch in Point Reyes Station at the original Cowgirl Creamery, where their famous Red Hawk cheese is produced using milk exclusively from Bivalve Dairy. Finally, attendees will tour Bivalve Dairy, overlooking Tomales Bay, and learn about their commitment to sustainable farming practices. As always, every tour allows guests to observe behind-the-scenes aspects of the farms and meet the hardworking farmers behind the state’s incredible artisan cheeses. Each tour includes round-trip transportation as well as cheese tastings and lunch. Cheese is also available for purchase at many of the farm stops.    The Farm and Producer Tours are always the first to sell out; for specific details including locations, timing, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.artisancheesefestival.com; $150; Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28.    Seminars and Pairing Demonstrations  Bringing attendees face-to-face with the experts who work with and create some of America’s best artisan cheeses, the Saturday seminars and pairing demonstrations tend to sell out early every year. Taking place at Santa Rosa’s historic and beautiful Flamingo Hotel Conference Resort & Spa; Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg; and Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates & Gardens in Fulton, industry experts will engage and enlighten guests on a variety of topics, such as:  “Taste the Future: California’s Newest Cheesemakers,” an intriguing exploration of the state’s rich dairy history and a delectable introduction to the newest cheesemakers on the block with author and cheese expert Clark Wolf;  “Build Your Own Cheese Boards: Get Your Knives and Go!,” an interactive and informative lesson about how to build gorgeous, Instagram-ready cheese boards while sipping wine and sampling cheese with author and cheese board aficionado Laura Werlin; “Cheers to Cheese,” kicks your cheese tasting up a notch by pairing local favorites with fine sparkling wines from California’s acclaimed Roederer Estate, with author, journalist and Planet Cheese publisher, Janet Fletcher and Roederer’s very own winemaker Arnaud Weyrich; “Cheese and Cocktails: The Basics of Bitters, Booze & Cheese,” a flavorful lesson that teaches attendees why bitters and spirits aren't just for happy hour. Vanessa Chang, ACS CCP and Lassa Skinner, Author and Co-Founder of Culture: the word on cheese, will distill the basics of the various spirits, demystify the universe of bitters, and help identify the cheese to round out cocktails like Manhattans, Mai Tais, and more; “Hands-On Cheesemaking: Mozzarella, Chèvre, Burrata,” this hands-on, three-hour class will teach attendees how to make three fresh cheeses while talking through the history of cheesemaking, important facts about milk quality and differences, as well as the complex biology and chemistry behind turning milk into tasty cheese curds and protein-rich whey.  This seminar will be taught by ACS Certified Cheese Professional and founder of FARMcurious, Nicole Easterday; and “Cheese & Wine: Better Together,” a delicious and unique lesson about cheese’s favorite pairing partner with one of Sonoma County’s foremost cheese experts, Chef Tracey Shepos Cenami of Jackson Family Wines. Set at the picturesque Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates & Gardens, Chef Tracey will guide tasters through five cheese courses, pairing each with wines from Kendall-Jackson and her homemade, signature accompaniments.   Seminars and Pairing Demonstrations to take place at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa, Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg, and Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates & Gardens in Fulton. Tickets are from $75-$125. Seminar details, including price per seminar, location and start time may be found at www.artisancheesefestival.com.    In the week leading up to the California Artisan Cheese Festival, cheese aficionados can expect to find special cheese-focused dishes and menus at some of their favorite local restaurants, tasting rooms, and businesses around the state for the second annual California Artisan Cheese Week. These businesses will be showing support for their favorite cheesemakers and guests will have the opportunity to enjoy their favorite standbys and discover new artisan cheeses in creative dishes, impressive cheese plates, special discounts, unique pairings and more. Specific details on participating restaurants and other businesses to be announced soon.   The Flamingo Hotel and a number of other Santa Rosa hotels are offering special discounted rates on rooms for Festival-goers.   Links for discounted booking can be found here:  https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/lodging.

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade . . . And It's Into The Roaring Twenties We Go!

Photos via Pinterest

“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...”  Alfred Lord Tennyson 

 

“Each age has deemed the new-born year
The fittest time for festal cheer.” - Sir Walter Scott

 

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” - Neil Gaiman

 

 

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas Filled with Comfort & Quiet Cheer

photos via Pinterest

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”

Bob Hope

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”

Roy L. Smith

“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”

Charles. M Schulz

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness.”

Bob Hope

“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.”

Garrison Keillor 

“No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear.”

Greg Kincaid

Frances' Favorite Things — Time to Wrap Up the Holiday Gift Guide 2019 with Some Locally Sourced Home Comforts

Are we ready to wrap up the holiday shopping? Yes, please, I know I am. No matter how streamlined and simple we try to keep things, if we've a lot of good people in our lives (which we all need) then there's likely a long list of little and large niceties to share in the season of giving.

If you're anywhere near downtown Petaluma you can get the job done in a couple of square blocks. One of the sweetest little stores within a store at 122 Kentucky Street is Monarch Apothecary and Trading Company with its small batch artisan herbs and soaps, teas, chocolates and other such delights. Monarch has done the job for us by putting a selection of gift boxes together, something for everyone on our list.

Given the nip in the air this December, an old-fashioned hot water bottle keeps the heating bill down at night! I have one of these little wonders from Maude at 10 Western Avenue and highly recommend. In fact, I love all the gift items in Maude. Such a beautifully curated store. 

Every once in a while I make it up to the top floor of Sienna Antiques on Petaluma Boulevard, downtown, especially for a browse through Sonoma County designer Wendy Owen's sumptuous textile offerings. Look at this gorgeous star cushion. Lovely! Click here for Wendy's website. 

I'm finally closing in on finishing my holiday shopping, I hope you are too! I've been dashing around town with book deliveries. Don't forget my new suspense novel Big Green Country is also available in Copperfield's Petaluma and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and on Kindle.