by Lily Grace

Following her debut success with Wild Divinity, Lily Grace returns with a poignant exploration of life’s complexities, celebrating the beauty found amidst brokenness.

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by Kim Boege, Illustrations by Cate Hartenstein

Want To Play With Me? isn’t just a children’s book—it’s an open invitation to adventure, friendship, and boundless imagination!

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by Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Paintings and Poetry by Patti Sullivan

With the poetry and art collection Haven, the husband and wife team of Kevin Patrick Sullivan and Patti Sullivan capture the essence of romance, a glimpse into the joy of human connection.

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by George Asdel

A mostly whimsical book of art and poetry, ranging the gamut from haiku, tanka, limerick and free verse.

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by Chris Moody-Schulz LCSW

Delight your senses by traveling with Chris to witness the birth of a single seed, as well as the births of a million stars. Follow her whimsical journey through the challenges of growing up and growing old. You may find yourself laughing, discovering your forgotten stories and scratching an itch to write… or opening the door into your own experience of awe.

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by Jennifer Kirn, paintings by Kathleen Crawford

Explore San Luis Obispo County using the alphabet. Find hidden letters long the way, check off all the places you visit, and enjoy the magic of the SLO area.

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by Dianna Jackson

Whether you cook or not, you should read this book. Whether you travel or not, you should read this book. If you need a laugh, you should read this book. Think of it as a family cookbook gone rogue.

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by John Stevens Berry

In this profoundly moving free verse memoir, John Stevens Berry gives us unforgettable insights into war, small town America, and a life fully lived.

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by Chris Alba

A humorous and profoundly moving book of memoir poetry, released posthumously. Edited by Elizabeth Aires and Dianne Gross-Giese.

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by Heidi Blue

A gathering of historical works about the Hotel Charlotta, official historical site and craftsman-style hotel in Escondido, California. Follow the owners, guests and their families through photos and local newspaper articles from 1915, when the hotel first opened. Experience the joys and sorrows at this beautiful hotel over the course of a century.

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by Eileen Shibley

“My art is my escape into the world of the possible. I see life in bright, bold colors. My art reflects that vision and perspective. I’m happiest when I’m painting. Life is all about the journey, and my art is my interpretation of that. My greatest hope is that you will enjoy this glimpse into my world through my paintings and their stories.”

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by Rick Schlaud

Golf is more than just a game. It’s about the people we meet, the challenges we face and the memories we make out on the course. Whether you are a scratch golfer, weekend warrior or a hack, golf gives us a break from our everyday life.

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by Paul Lobo Portugés

“This book of poems is imbued with magical beauty, epiphanic pathos, and timeless wisdom. Each poem is masterfully crafted into simple perfection that conceals profound depth. Paul Lobo Portugés has gifted us with a spare yet stunning landscape.”
– Yun Wang

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by Judy King

Everyone has a story, you know, the ones often repeated around the campfire or at family gatherings. They are often followed by bouts of laughter, then someone will say, “You should write a book.”

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by Ashley Howard-Walter, M.Ed

Did you know that the Silence will speak to you? Just ask Wee Bee who finds her purpose through listening to profound messages that she hears when she takes the time to quiet her busy mind.

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by Ivan BrownOtter

A humorous and profoundly moving book of memoir poetry, released posthumously.

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by Andy Greensfelder

In a story that mixes sincerity with satire and humor, sometimes combining all three, George must learn that he has to let life come to him rather than make choices based on his values.

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by Carolyn Chilton Casas

A poetry collection exploring themes of daily life — family, connection with nature, evolving beliefs, impermanence, energy healing, and reflections on the 2020 pandemic.

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Edited by Glenna Luschei

A collection of poetry written to commemorate the Tassajara Zen Center.

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by Lani Steele

Lani Steele was lucky enough to live among the 7000 beautiful islands of the Philippines, where she spent as much time as possible in the water, gazing down at bright fish living among fanciful coral castles. Wonder, beauty, imaginative and sometimes silly rhyme make up the twenty-four poems, a book of hours of the day. They are fun reading for all ages. Steele’s poems are beautifully complemented in paintings by students from the school where she taught. A feast for eyes and hearts.

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by Lily Grace

Lily Grace’s first collection of poems span a wide arch; through childhood, adolescence, maiden, mother and crone. She explores the harsh and beautiful realities of discovering one’s sexuality set against the turbulent backdrop of the Vietnam war. Her poems are fearlessly intimate, a source of radiant wisdom, a poetry of the body and soul linking the human and the divine.

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by Adare Toral

An exploration of mental health and growing up. Poetry to inspire conversation.

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by Nixson Borah

Poetic narratives selected from fifteen years of free verse and prose poems, this collection sketches a professor’s history. Whole decades have been omitted in order to focus on this man’s early struggles with what is now called gender identity and a later-in-life choice to accept being gay.

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by Frances Leitch, Illustrated by Anna Lindgren

Illustrated poems. Discover the sea’s beauty and wonder.

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Edited by Glenna Luschei

Poetry anthology by the survivors of California’s 2018 wildfires.

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by Jennifer Kirn, paintings by Gay Melody Sullivan

Good Night San Luis Obispo is a bedtime story for both children and adults. Embark on an adventure through our county touring many of its beloved sites.

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by Andy Greensfelder

A book of stories about family, friends, and others, and stories of meaningful experiences from San Luis Obispo native Andy Greensfelder. “In life, as in a story, we experience random events that we reduce to chaos. There is no grace like meeting oneself on the page: letting the great, eternal middle of our lives be resplendent in messes. When we track the story to its end, maybe then we can summarize how we lived and know who we are.”

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Edited by Glenna Luschei

Poetry anthology collecting all of Toast’s run and more.

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by Tom Harrington

“Tom Harrington’s poetry may touch upon the challenges of life on the family farm and his years beyond, but his words remind us, whatever the disappointment, love is more important.”
— Pamela Danforth Yaco

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by Evelyn Cole

Insightful, intelligent, thought provoking, and hilarious poetry.

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by Jennifer Franco Smith

A poetry debut from Cambria native Jennifer Franco Smith. “These are unexpected thoughts too good to waste, put on paper to enjoy and share.”

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by Diane Harrison

Explore the world through the eyes of a bee in this imaginative children’s book. Is this the place for a bee? Is it a flower? Or is it a cow’s eyelashes?

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by Dixie Cliff

Not available for purchase. A personal collection of memoirs for the author and her family.

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by Diane Harrison

Find out how a little girl in her daily activities represents peace and compassion — and where to find these qualities in ourselves. An uplifting, delightful message for any age.

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by Stephanie Gidley

The story of taking the first step, and then all of the necessary steps afterwards, to actually travel to Paris.

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by Lani Steele

In this nicely woven mystery, a ruthless school superintendent is found in a California Central Coast park, beaten to death with a most unusual weapon. The murder creates havoc in the district when Dr. Ross Talbot, a counselor who has been wronged by the superintendent, assumes the task of finding the killer before he or she strikes again.

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by George Asdel

A whimsical book of art and poetry, ranging the gamut from haiku, tanka, limerick and free verse. “An irresistible book for grownups and kids. Perfect for the kids in grownups. George’s imaginative poems and drawings bring delight.”
— Jeanie Greensfelder

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by Jeanie Greensfelder

These poems speak with a clarity and composure that illuminate the moments Jeanie Greensfelder asks us to consider. And these moments span a life. Girls hoping for kisses ride a merry-go-round; a mother hides evidence of a teenage and failed marriage; a daughter works a jigsaw puzzle, filling in “the tedious sky and earth”; a couple celebrating a 42nd anniversary debates their first date; a sudden illness leaves the speaker “almost believing life will end.” There is a bite to these poems I trust and a grace to their making I admire. Greensfelder writes “At the jasmine vine by my front door, a raindrop, suspended on a stem, stops me” and I, too, pause in gratitude. - Lisa Coffman, author of Less Obvious Gods and Likely

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by P. Michele Gordon Johnson, Illustrations by Carol Mellberg

A guide designed for parents starting out on their parenting journey and for anyone encountering bumps in the road and blind curves along the way. Are We There Yet? leads the reader through ten essential parenting conversations, with journaling activities to foster greater self-awareness and new ways to think about parenting challenges. Parents are encouraged to create a unique parenting map — a plan that supports our parenting values, helps to match our behaviors with our intentions, and invites small changes that add up to bring more ease, calm, and pleasure to family life.

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by Glenna Luschei

A Nebraska Book Award Poetry Honor Book, this late-2016 collection of poems continues to prove that Glenna Luschei is “… one of the finest lyrical poets currently practicing in America.” (Grover Lewis)

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by Marguerite Costigan

2015-2016 San Luis Obispo County Poet Laureate’s second book. “Costigan has had no choice but to take it all in… amid news of violence without end: 9/11, Oklahoma City, Darfur, Iraq (‘There’s enough war going around for everyone. If we live, we become, all of us, veterans’) – but rather than rage or despair in her nakedness she makes a haunting music.” (Michael Harris)

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by Ivan BrownOtter

“Ivan BrownOtter’s finely-crafted poems range from the brashness of his youth to old-age forays into nature. The poems become the wind and rain; we invariably find surprises, sometimes shocking, many times funny, always honest. Whether he’s inside a lightning storm in a Navajo classroom, or walking the mesa by moonlight, or sitting in silence with a shaman, the experience is ours.” — Rosemary Wilvert

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by Elizabeth Buckner

A message from my memory and my muse:
Pregnant with poems
when will you deliver?

“Devour Spirits if you dare. Elizabeth Buckner’s poems are brave, dizzying explorations of the counter-culture. She spares us nothing in her unblinking testimony of the drugs and drink she takes—up my nose, down my throat, into my veins. We’re riding shotgun on this wild journey that takes us to Malibu, Haight-Ashbury, Oregon, Amsterdam and Marrakech. But it is Buckner’s interior journey that intoxicates — the snap, crackle, pop of a life surrendered to the psychedelic 60s—and ultimately reclaimed.”
— Deborah Tobola, Artistic Director of Poetic Justice Project

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by Marguerite Costigan

From the 2015-2016 San Luis Obispo County Poet Laureate, this sizzling collection “is as burning as creation itself, as solid as granite.” (Glenna Luschei)

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by Diane Tappey

Those who go to Botswana on safari owe a debt of gratitude to the guides who drive them to see the animals, educate them in the various species’ behaviors, interpret the actions, teach basic tracking skills, maneuver their vehicles for the best camera angles, and keep them safe while they are doing it.

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by Jeanie Greensfelder

Amusing, candid, and engaging, Marriage and Other Leaps of Faith displays universal aspects of marriage and an exploration of this human journey in other life leaps.

Greensfelder shows “…any long relationship can never be one thing at a time, only a counterpoint of feelings: resolute, funny, nostalgic, fearful, joyful and often astonishing.” (Diane Stevens)

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Edited by Victoria Sepulveda

FEATURING WORK BY Valentina Cano, Tom Harrington, Glenna Luschei, Rebecca Waddell, Patti Sullivan, Matlyn Peracca, Elaine Hsiang, KH Solomon, Roslyn Strohl, Ann Dozier, Michael Brownstein, Russell Bunge, Anne Candelaria, Chris Schulz, Florence Weinberger, George Asdel, John Grey, Terry Barr, Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois, William Doreski & James Croal Jackson.

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Edited by Victoria Sepulveda

FEATURING WORK BY Thelma T. Reyna, Rebecca Waddell, Jeanie Greensfelder, Patti Sullivan, Ellen Reich, Andy Wright, Paul Lobo Portugés, Glenna Luschei, Roslyn Strohl, Joe Amaral, Dorothy Pier, Florence Weinberger, Richard Hannibal, Anne Candelaria, Elisa Cruz Merkl, Elaine Hsiang, Lisha Perini, Michael McLaughlin, Chris Weygandt Alba, Ivan BrownOtter, Elizabeth Buckner, Matlyn Peracca, Madeleine Mori and Sherry Shahan.

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by Jack Foley

“Like the Buddha’s eyes, these are poems which are always open and can be seen from any direction.”
— Leza Lowitz

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by Michael Hannon

“One of the satisfactions of reading a poet’s selected works is the opportunity to observe that poet’s artistic growth, the recurrent themes or images, and if we’re lucky, the spectacle of the poet maturing into the providence of his poetic destiny. The poems in Michael Hannon’s Imaginary Burden: Selected Poems are haunted by the absolute, and the scope of his inquiry is immense. Hannon confronts the nature of consciousness, its liabilities and limitations, which leads him to question the very nature of being; he’s always looking at the big picture.”
— Gary Young, from the Introduction

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by Beverly Boyd, Carol Alma McPhee, Joann Rusch, Bonnie Young

The second book ever published by Coalesce Press, Where Our Palms Rest features poems by four local writers — Beverly Boyd of Los Osos, Carol Alma McPhee of San Luis Obispo, Joann Rusch of Los Osos and Bonnie Young of Arroyo Grande — paired by black-and-white photos by Boyd’s husband, R. David Bowlus.

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by E.J. Gore

When Susan Purcell encounters Gabrielle LaCroix on a visit to Paris, she’s by struck Gabrielle’s confidence, pleasure in her life, but most of all – by her happiness with herself. In the four months that follow, Susan becomes Suzanne transforming herself and her life, amid the splendor and charm of Paris. French Lessons is for any woman who has ever wished to change her life, follow her dreams… or visit The City of Light!

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by Jerome Rothenberg

“Jerome Rothenberg is a DNA spaceman exploring the mammal caves of Now.”
— Michael McClure

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Edited by Victoria Sepulveda

FEATURING WORK BY W. Colin McKay, Victor Cass, Nixson Borah, Ellen Reich, Sherry Shahan, Jane Elsdon, Rebecca Waddell, Emily Hunt, Susan Buckwell, Mary L. Brown, Glenna Luschei, Roslyn Strohl, Thelma T. Reyna, Evy Cole, Youssef Alaoui-Fdili, Bonnie Young, Chris Weygandt Alba, Joe Amaral, Rosemary Wilvert, Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Gregory Ramirez, Steven E. Domingues II, Nilofer Neubert, Matlyn Peracca, Andy Wright, Marissa Ahmadkhani, Jessica Livermore and George Asdel.

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by Paul Lobo Portugés

On Tibetan Buddhism, Mantras, and Drugs.

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by Lani Steele

A Plague of Angels will charm, disarm, and move you. Its originality is rich with the irony, humor, and insight for which Lani Steele is well known. You will want to read it again and again.
— Jane Elsdon, SLO County Poet Laureate, 2005

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by Ivan BrownOtter

In this humorous and profoundly moving book of memoir poetry, meet the people of the Navajo reservation — teachers and students alike. BrownOtter survives job interviews, gets mistaken for Christopher Lloyd and uncovers his place in a natural yet mythical universe.

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Edited by Victoria Sepulveda

FEATURING WORK BY Florence Weinberger, Brittany Michelson, Nixson Borah, Nellie Wong, James Cushing, Sue Buckwell, Susan Tuttle, Dixie Salazar, Steven E. Domingues II, Glenna Luschei, David Liebig, Ivan BrownOtter, Susan Tuttle, Michael C. Ford, Rosemary Wilvert, Blakeslee Stevens, Daniel Grammer, Jeanie Greensfelder, Rebecca Waddell, Evelyn Cole, Andrew Ramirez, Ginger Hendrix, Toti O’Brien, Michael C. Ford, Roslyn Strohl, Thelma T. Reyna, Ellen Reich, Susan Tuttle, Barry Spacks and Ellen Chavez Kelley.

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by Lee Perron

“Lee Perron’s poems have shown me the path to the dark forest pool where Psyche terrifies her guests, and the poet is, at last, allowed to surrender his vision. Inexorable death, inexorable life — just as he found them, water mixed with the sun.”
~ Michael Hannon

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by Jeanie Greensfelder

Spanning seven decades, these intimate poems capture the human journey from the loss of innocence to the fullness of life. With humor and candor, Greensfelder evokes Joseph Campbell’s “sorrowful joys and joyful sorrows.”

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by Peter Dale Scott

“[Peter Dale Scott’s work] extends the scope of poetry, reclaiming some of the ground lost since Dryden, lost even since Pound! A true invention, it should be of interest to all who read poetry.”
~ Thom Gunn

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by Patti Sullivan

“A collection of poems to savor. Patti Sullivan has found her voice: tender, nostalgic, full of artistry in her images.”
— Anne Candelaria, 2002 San Luis Obispo Poet Laureate

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by Elizabeth Buckner

“The brightest light comes
from the darkest night
if we will walk through the shadows”

So begins the illustrated telling of a transformative journey, of rape and “breaking the cell of isolation and anger her silence caught her in... the details are visceral but the tone is not.” — Jim Cherry

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by Mariko Nagai

“Starkly recounted with a clear, cold tone, these stories carry the weight of a survivor bearing witness.”
~ Publishers Weekly

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by Michael Hannon

“A very good poet indeed, and certainly one of the few Tantric writers in any language who is both profound and witty.”
~ Kenneth Rexroth

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by Richard Tillinghast

“More outward-looking and international-minded though he is than most contemporary American poets, Tillinghast nonetheless registers his country’s history on his pulse…. In sinewy lines and solid stanzas — fruits of a lifetime’s devotion to the craft — Tillinghast’s most recent poems, undoubtedly his finest to date, fuse a sobering sense of mortality with the exhilaration of renewal, indeed rejuvenation, through love.”
~ Dennis O’Driscoll

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by Jane Elsdon, Paintings by Gene Elsdon

A beautiful collection of watercolor paintings paired with poetry. The paintings and poems in this book are reflections from the painter and poet transmitting the experiences marked by their pauses on the path of their shared life of sixty years. The die was cast early in their experience together that beach, mountains, desert, flowers, and water would be profound influences on their art and poetry. The collaboration in this volume contains some of Gene’s favorite paintings and Jane’s favorite poems. Together they take you on trips to their favorite spots in the natural world. Their meditative paintings and poems stir family memories and universal responses.

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by Sam Hamill

“Sam Hamill has reached the category of a National Treasure though I doubt he’d like the idea.”
~ Jim Harrison

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by Leslie St. John

Leslie St. John writes lyrical, entrancing poems.
~ Kevin Clark, Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts

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by Kevin Patrick Sullivan

“These spare light-filled hymns sing the praises of a sweet journeyman’s everyday life — from working on the assembly line at Ford Motor Plant in Detroit to simply acknowledging the sacred act of breathing. These poems prove that the mystic still walks among us, works with us side by side – mining exuberance in beautifully muddy boots.”
~ Dian Sousa, past Poet Laureate for the City of San Luis Obispo.

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by Joe Riley

“…Part story, part life manual for the young and urban. It’s a celebration of a very uncertain age and time in life, basking in elevating realizations and a commemorating existence in general.”
~ San Francisco Golden Gate Express

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by Jane Elsdon

You won’t want to put down this collection of twenty-two tales of survival and hope. They will keep you up at night and haunt you long past reading the last word. Ten of them are published here for the first time.

“Jane Elsdon’s stories will break your heart—and bind it up again.”

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by Benjamin Daniel Lawless

Whether he’s writing a to-do list for time travelers, spinning a tall tale of how he won his sixth grade spelling bee, or painting a picture of life in a distant galaxy, Lawless’ work remains spry and lively, full of humor and surprising moments of mature clarity. For example, in “Spring Cleaning,” the volcanic mountain range surrounding San Luis Obispo suddenly erupts, destroying everything human and man-made in the area. “And we deserve it too, living as we do,” writes Lawless. “The arrogance of convenience, / our microwave ovens, / the slow drip in the kitchen sink.”

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by Jeanne “Bean” Murdock, Illustrations by Bill Perry

If you are tired of playing games and following someone else’s rules for dating, this book is for you. Whether you just started a relationship or you have been with the same guy for years, use the tools in this book to understand one another and to learn how to communicate effectively. As you progress through this workbook, your dating goals will become more in focus, which will make it easier for you to find the right guy for you-the guy who has been waiting for you.

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by Benjamin Daniel Lawless

“Well-written and clever, balancing humor and seriousness in a lovely way.” Nicki Colling

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by Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Illustrated by Patti Sullivan

“To listen to Kevin Patrick Sullivan is to awake into the original astonishment of the poetic word.”
— Hernan Castellano-Giron, past Poet Laureate for the City and County of San Luis Obispo

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by Jeanne “Bean” Murdock, Illustrations by Bill Perry

This one-of-a-kind book contains 120 excuses for not exercising and reasons why each is invalid. Packed with current, valuable information on exercise theory, Excuses will captivate the reader with humor, illustrations, and an eye-catching graphic design.

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