Fiction. Poetry. Drama. Literary Nonfiction. California Interest. Introduction by Anthony Swofford. To an outside observer, north Sacramento, California might seem an unlikely place for a creative writing mecca. The fact that American River College is a state-funded, public education community college might make it seem even more unlikely. And yet American River College has drawn some of the area's most talented creative writers to its halls and has published, for a quarter century, their work in the award-winning American River Review. BURNING THE LITTLE CANDLE, a title borrowed from the poetry of Philip Levine, offers a selection from the work of that creative writing department's faculty and staff including new and previously published work by Lois Ann Abraham, Aaron Bradford, Christian Kiefer, Shane Lipscomb, John Bell, Traci Gourdine, Jason Sinclair Long, Harold Schneider, Michael Angelone, Michael Spurgeon, Rod Siegfried, David Merson, and Emily Hughes. As former American River College student (and Jarhead author) Anthony Swofford writes in his introduction, "go now, read these working and teaching artists. And learn."

Burning the Little Candle: An Anthology of Writing from the Faculty & Staff of American River College's Creative Writing Program

Literature & Fiction

Bell, John

Hughes, Emily

Spurgeon, Michael

Schneider, Harold

Abraham, Lois Ann

Bradford, Aaron

Lipscomb, Shane

Gourdine, Traci

Long, Jason Sinclair

Angelone, Michael

Siegfried, Rod

Merson, David

History & Criticism

Ad Lumen Press

Fiction. A little girl discovers the power of the creative impulse. A woman remembers her first confusing sexual encounter. An aging flower child travels to Mexico to save her daughter. A baby is born with blue feet. A man ponders his ex-wife's last word. Those who live in the pages of CIRCUS GIRL &amp; OTHER STORIES are seeking—wisely or foolishly, successfully or vainly—to make sense of their lives and to become more completely themselves. For some, the self- examined life leads deeper into darkness; others find the crack in their universe that lets the light in.

Circus Girl & Other Stories

Contemporary

Fiction. After a successful robbery to bankroll her escape from a life of prostitution, Tina Martin finds herself stranded — and flat broke — in the most unlikely place, a rustic fishing resort and campground nestled in the Sierra Nevada. And though it's difficult to shake off the curious habits and natural mistrust of others that she learned in her past life, Tina comes to rely on her good intentions, keen intelligence, and her willingness to take on unpleasant tasks to make herself indispensable to the camp's proprietor, Bill — and his desperately fractured family. Called "a crazy cocktail, mixed with mayhem and laughs and a dash of oddball noir" — Joshua Mohr and "an emotional treasure" — Lydia Netzer, TINA GOES TO HEAVEN is an irreverent and madcap coming of age story about a resilient woman's journey to find a place to finally call home and a debut novel with an uncommonly strong and mature voice.

Tina Goes to Heaven

Humor & Satire

Widowed Deborah Huntworth is elated when her tyrannical great-aunt dies. At last, Deborah can pursue her dream of becoming an artist. Her first act of freedom will be a return to the island of Martinique to reunite with her child. She has no way of knowing the tragedies that await her or the price she will pay for her single-minded determination. With her only plan in tatters and nothing to take its place, Deborah resolutely travels to New York City. There, despite disasters and her own mistakes, she clings to the lifeline of her art. Against a backdrop of early 20th century historical events and characters, Deborah resists every effort to hinder her as she seeks new, creative ways to express her gift.

Deborah's Gift

Genre Fiction

New Wind Publishing

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