Launch Party for San Diego Writing Women

We at San Diego Writing Women invite you to our launch party for a night of readings, musings, wine and other creative juices, hors d’oeuvres and live music. Come join us on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Hair Drezzers on Fire, 3463 Adams Avenue in San Diego.

A few months ago we started blogging here about the writing life. Now, we want to celebrate the written word with you in person, read from our latest books, and launch our mission of sharing our combined knowledge and experience with readers, writers, and aspiring writers everywhere.

We know you all have busy social lives, so we divided our program into two sets of readings, which enables you to go to dinner before or after listening to the author(s) you most want to hear or meet. But we certainly invite you to stay for as long as you like!

Jumping off with true crime novelist Caitlin Rother, our first set of readings will go from 7 to 7:30, featuring the following authors, in this order:

1) After 19 years in the news business, Pulitzer-nominated investigative reporter Caitlin Rother left her job at the Union-Tribune in 2006 with one published book, a new book contract, and the hope of making a living as a full-time author. Today, she is doing just that. She teaches writing at UCSD Extension, and is working on book #8, about the John Gardner case. Caitlin will read from her new true crime book, DEAD RECKONING, the story of how a former child actor turned conman and hermaphrodite wannabe tied a nice married couple to the anchor of their yacht and threw them overboard – alive.

2) Jennifer Coburn is the USA Today best-selling author of four “chick-lit” novels and contributor to four literary anthologies. Her first novel THE WIFE OF REILLY is in development for feature film and her favorite, TALES FROM THE CRIB is in development for TV. Jennifer has written for newspapers across the country from the San Diego Union-Tribune to the Miami Herald and is the recipient of numerous journalism awards from the Press Club and Society for Professional Journalists.

3) Divina Infusino is the author of DAY TRIPS FROM ORANGE COUNTY: GETAWAY IDEAS FOR THE LOCAL TRAVELER, the writer of ROCK GODS, a rock ‘n’ roll photography collection and co-author on THE LOVE RESPONSE, a mind-body wellness book. An award-winning journalist, she worked as an entertainment staff writer and critic for The San Diego Union, rock critic for The Milwaukee Journal, cultural commentator on KPBS, and a contributor to Rolling Stone, The Economist, TV Guide, Salon.com, The Huffington Post, Haute Living and other publications. Divina will tell a story from her travel book about a magic point on the Orange County coast.

4) Dr. Sharon Vanderlip has provided veterinary care to domestic, wild, and exotic animals for more than 30 years. She served many years as veterinarian for the University of California San Diego-School of Medicine and later as Chief of Veterinary Services for NASA. Dr. Vanderlip’s practice is dedicated exclusively to mammalian reproductive medicine and surgery. She has written numerous scientific articles and more than 20 books on animals and pet care. Tonight Dr. Vanderlip will read from her new book, Hedgehogs. Dr. Vanderlip may be contacted at http://www.sharonvanderlip.com/

5) Kathi Diamant left a career in broadcasting to follow her dream to tell the story of Kafka’s last love. She retraced Dora’s life, interviewing all who knew her, uncovering lost letters in London, secret Nazi and Communist files in Berlin and Moscow , finding Dora’s missing diary in Paris , and reuniting her lost family in Tel Aviv. Kathi’s literary detective work resulted in KAFKA'S LAST LOVE: THE MYSTERY OF DORA DIAMANT, which won the San Diego Book Awards’ “Best Biography” and "Best of the Best" in 2004. It is translated into French, Spanish, Russian, and soon in Chinese, Portuguese and German.

INTERMISSION

Historical novelist Laurel Corona will start off our second set of readings, which will go from 8 to 8:30, featuring the following authors, in this order:

6) After decades teaching research writing to college students, and 17 Young Adult books to her credit, Laurel Corona decided in 2004 to try her hand at writing for adult audiences. Her first book, a nonfiction work, UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH, won a Christopher Medal, and her first novel, THE FOUR SEASONS won the Theodor S. Geisel Award for Book of the Year at the 2009 San Diego Book Awards. In fall 2010, her second novel, PENELOPE’S DAUGHTER, was published by Penguin, and her third novel, FINDING EMILIE, is due out in early April from Simon&Schuster. Laurel will discuss the important role historical novelists play in recreating the lost history of women.

7) Born and educated in New York City, Kathy Jones moved to California in 1980. The recipient of major grants and an honorary doctorate from Örebro University in Sweden, she taught Women’s Studies for twenty-four years at San Diego State University, publishing award-winning books on feminism and the women’s movement. After writing LIVING BETWEEN DANGER AND LOVE, a memoir about a student’s murder, she left the university to pursue a writing career. Since then, she has written and produced a play, ACTS OF FAITH, completed another memoir, and is working on an historical novel and a collection of satirical short stories.

8) San Diego native Georgeanne Irvine has devoted more than three decades of her career to raising awareness about animals and wildlife conservation. By day, she is associate director of development communications for the San Diego Zoo, where she has worked for 33 years. George is also the author of more than 20 children’s books plus numerous magazine, newspaper, and Web articles. George’s most recent work is the coffee table book, THE KATRINA DOLPHINS: ONE-WAY TICKET TO PARADISE, the true story of eight dolphins from an oceanarium that were washed out to sea during Hurricane Katrina and dramatically rescued.

9) Judith Liu spent thirty years conducting personal interviews and hunting through dusty archives to research her book, Foreign Exchange. The narrative revolves around two women—one the author’s mother who attended an American Episcopalian missionary school in central China—St. Hilda’s School for Girls—and the other, an American woman who went there as a short-term teacher in the 1930s. Their lives intersected at the school during the brief time of peace in China. Set within the context of the school’s history, their tales provide a snapshot of China and its educational system before the founding of the People’s Republic.

Before and after the readings, we will be available to chat with you as we sign books, which will be available for sale (please bring cash or checks). Please check the Books or Bio pages here on the blog for more information about us and our many and diverse titles.

For those who did not receive a personal invitation and would like to attend, RSVP directly to Caitlin Rother at crother@flash.net so we can make sure to have enough books, food and beverages for everyone.

This venue is in the same area as the Adams Street Fair, so parking should be plentiful on surrounding residential streets.

Hope to see you there!