On Saturday, January 11, I had the opportunity to participate in the Local Authors Fair held at the Eastvale Community Library in Eastvale, California. Eleven published authors, including myself, were on hand to discuss our recently-published works and to sign copies that were available for purchase. This is the third such fair that I have been involved in, and I have to say, I find these opportunities exhilarating! One of the best aspects of participating in a local authors fair is meeting and networking with other authors. On Saturday, I met an absolutely fascinating author by the name of Sharon Edwards, author of the fiction work Pioneer Boulevard. Her book, a collection of short stories set in the Indian community of Los Angeles, was named for Artesia Blvd. in California, a street that is known as Little India. Most of the protagonists are, like the author, women who have migrated to Los Angeles from their native India, but the book is also populated with characters from other countries, including Mexico, El Salvador, Vietnam, Pakistan, and England. In this way, the novel reflects the multi-cultural and poly-lingual flavor of metropolitan Los Angeles.
Set in the context of the recent economic crisis, the sense of an overstretched, underfinanced world pervades the narratives of Edwards' book. One woman must clinch the job that is required for renewal of her work permit; another has to sell her wedding necklace to pay her bills. A third learns about an unplanned pregnancy days after her husband received a layoff notice. "Farcical and somber, wry and tender, these stories draw us into the chaotic, comic world of the pioneer, where habits of consumption and ways of relating—and even of speaking—are constantly in flux," explains Sharon. I personally bought this book, and I can wait to read it! You can find Sharon's book at this link on amazon: Pioneer Boulevard.
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