My Quest for Creation
By local author K.C. Rolek
398 pages
$19.99 paperback and $29.99 hardback
Xlibris.

Summary (per press release):

My Quest for Creation reveals that early in life, the author became curious about some of the great aspects of Catholic teaching which his entire family follows. After finding no clear answer to the question, "How did God become God," he started his pursuit for answers and truth as a youth. Since that time, Rolek went on to experience many unforgettable encounters with his family, dreams, and the spiritual world to name a few. Through this release, readers will learn the lessons he learned about the spiritual world, the physical universe and more. Each and every encounter is completely authentic and the stories are told according to facts and established verifications.

Author bio (per press release):

K.C. Rolek was born in Poland. He received his diploma from an architecture and building projection with a grade of A, and later learned many other interesting skills. His most cherished credential was his inheritance from his paternal side—a supernatural connection with nature. These genetically passed abilities are only adding to the huge number of already naturally obtained proficiencies from the celestial bodies and significant qualities like for instance: mysterious intellect and psychic perception, magic spirituality, healing, vision and clairvoyant abilities and influences.

Source: Gizmodo.com

The NY Times reports that Tucson author Lydia Millet was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for her short-story collection, Love in Infant Monkeys.

The Pulitzer committee notes:

Also nominated as finalists in this category were "Love in Infant Monkeys," by Lydia Millet (Soft Skull Press), an imaginative collection of linked stories, often describing a memorable encounter between a famous person and an animal, underscoring the human folly of longing for significance while chasing trifles.

From the NYT review:

Lydia Millet’s stories uniformly begin with arresting lines, all of them guns on the wall, waiting to go off. “When a bird landed on her foot the pop star was surprised.” “The dog was serious, always had been.” “I knew a great man once.” High stakes, yes, but also the promise of a bit of fun, a promise that this collection rarely forgets.

“Love in Infant Monkeys” is Millet’s first story collection (after six novels), and it centers on the interactions between celebrities and animals. But of course it’s really about plain old humans — life lurks in the civilian under­world, it’s clear. We may get David Hasselhoff’s dog and his walker, Noam Chomsky and a rodent cage, Thomas Edison and the elephant he filmed being electrocuted, but these setups are often decoys; the narrative mostly belongs to those beneath the headlines.

How's this for a date tonight: Pablo Peregrina is having a CD release party for Traveling Soles. He'll be performing, writers will be reading from their work between songs and the ZUZI! dancers will perform.

One of the writers on hand: TW's own Margaret Regan, who will be reading from her book The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Borderlands.

On top of all that: Wine from Callaghan Vineyards and desserts from Feast at the reception afterwards. And it's a benefit for Humane Borders.

It all goes down at 7 p.m. tonight at ZUZI! Theater in Historic YWCA, at 738 North Fifth Ave.,
at Fifth Avenue and University Boulevard. 629-0237. $10.

Carlos Solorzano has written his first novel.
Through Time & Eternity
372 pages
$16.99, CreateSpace
www.ienovel.com

Summary:

Joaquin Alameda is a high school religion teacher and kick-boxer with a lonely heart. Little does he know that he is about to become the center of a cosmic struggle.

Lucifer and his demons have created a plot to reorganize the cosmos by preventing the death and resurrection of Jesus. The key member of this plot is a disciple named Cain that Lucifer will send back in time along with some unusual accomplices to change history once and for all.

Local author Mary Ann Hutchison has written her first novel. She will be signing copies of her book during the Mariachi Conference on Saturday, April 24, at Reid Park.

Moochi's Mariachis

Open Books Press

194 pages, $15

Summary:

Their teen friendship is tight. It’s forged by their love of music and their dream. It seemed so easy to Moochi, Chico, Ladybug and Turo — work hard and save the money needed for the trip from their small Arizona town to Tucson, to take part in the Annual International Mariachi Conference.

No worries, until the strength of their friendship is tested and then shaken by unforeseen problems, including self-esteem issues that threaten to break up their band. Soon after the arrival of JJ, a teen with attitude, their savings are stolen which almost destroys their dream, casts suspicion that shatters their security and trust, and forces them to deal with an intolerance they’ve never felt before. The answers they need may lie in the desert that surrounds their world and has always offered them peace, as well as danger.

UA lecturer Beth Alvarado and several UA alumni have been published in Dedicated to the People of Darfur: Writings on Fear, Risk and Hope.

Rutgers University Press

$23.95, 224 pages

edited by Luke and Jennifer Reynolds

Contributions from 46 authors, including UA alumni Sherwin Bitsu, Robert Boswell, Ann Cummins and Peter Turchi.

Summary (from Rutgers University Press):

Life’s changes. They happen every day. Some large, some small. A few are very personal. Others impact the world. Dedicated to the People of Darfur: Writings on Fear, Risk, and Hope includes original and inspiring essays that celebrate the glories gained from taking risks, breaking down barriers, and overcoming any obstacles.

Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, a gallery of O.Henry award recipients, and many best-selling authors come together to share personal and compelling challenges and experiences. From contemplations on past drug use to reflections on gun control, social justice, passion and its sacrifices, and adventures such as skydiving, mountain climbing, and golfing, the topics vary greatly. This kaleidoscopic anthology is a commentary on the lives of prominent literary artists and ordinary citizens who have made simple, yet powerful choices that provoked change in one’s self and for humanity—much the same way that Luke and Jennifer Reynolds do by building this invaluable collection for readers and the world of human rights.

Oro Valley resident Marvin Von Holten has written an inspirational poetry book:
Choices, Tate Publishing and Enterprises, 88 pages, $9.99

Summary:

Can one wrong choice drastically change a life? People in every walk of life question their choices, and some have even devoted their lives to searching for redemption from wrong choices they’ve made.

Arizona author Marvin Von Holten invites readers to envelop themselves in the deep, enriching poetry found in his new book, Choices, which leads readers into the depths of their soul. It is there the author believes they will find the encouragement they need to search for a path of escape from sins' inner torture.

Yesterday we featured a trailer from the forthcoming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, the sequel to the book that spawned a cottage industry of fusing classic literature with classic horror-film creatures.

Now, Seth Grahame-Smith, the author of the first Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, is out with a new book this month, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Still can’t figure out what happens in the book? That’s why we now have live-action literature trailers (see above).

If you’re thinking that watching our 16th president stake some Antebellum undead might make a decent movie, Tim Burton has already signed on as a producer.

In the meantime, we’re hard at work on our own literary mashup manuscript, tentatively titled Moby-William Howard Taft.

We're introducing a new feature on The Range called Writer's Block. We will highlight local authors and their publications.

On the Winds of Time

by George Hathaway Gardiner

PublishAmerica, 113 pages, $19.95

Summary:
On the Winds of Time is a collection of poems and stories from George Hathaway Gardiner's life. The stories are a combination of fiction and non-fiction. The first story is a true account of Gardiner's personal experience with the race horse Secretariat. Hathaway was a friend with the horse's owner and stood by as Secretariat won the Triple Crown.

Author Bio:
(Written by grandaughter Jessica Hathaway Gardiner)
What can I tell you about my grandfather? He has had a long and fascinating life that began on a farm, where he was left to be raised by his grandparents. When his grandfather died, he had nowhere to go and for a time was taken in and looked after by a group of women. Unknowingly, he was living in a brothel. He ran away when he found out that he was about to be put in an orphanage by the authorities. He became a farm hand and went to high school where he my grandmother at the age of 16. He became a radio DJ, got married, went to war, came home and went into real estate.