The first episode of Turning Pages for 2025 is a conversation with the delightful Jody Gehrman about writing fiction and plays, and the wonderful things she's doing at Mendocino College. As always, comments and questions are welcome at [email protected]
Happy New Year!

In this episode I review three recently published memoirs: Did I Ever Tell You, by Genevieve Kingston; My Beloved Monster, by Caleb Carr; and You Could Make This Place Beautiful, by Maggie Smith. I share a brief review of an upcoming novel: Black Woods Blue Sky, by Alaska based author Eowyn Ivey. And I revisit my September interview with Calvin Crosby, bookseller and literacy advocate in Salt Lake City, Utah. Happy reading and Happy Holidays!

Stephen Most is the author of “River of Renewal: Myth and History in the Klamath Basin.” Originally published in 2006, the book was updated recently to reflect the removal of four dams on the Klamath River, and the return of the salmon to its upper reaches.

Stephen will be at Mendocino Book Company at 5:30 pm on November 14 for a reading and discussion. Listen to the show here, and join the conversation in person on the 14th!
Comments and questions are welcome at [email protected]
More information about the author and his projects can be found on his website, stephenmost.com

This is a slightly expanded version of my October 2nd conversation with J Ryan Stradal, with a bit more background about his writing inspirations. Note: The podcast he mentions is called The Bookcase, hosted by Kate and Charlie Gibson, abcaudio.com/podcasts/the-book-case; choose your platform and search for J Ryan Stradal The Bookcase. J Ryan's book recommendations in this episode were "Us Fools" by Nora Lange, and "Shaky Town" by Lou Matthews. Turning Pages will be back with a new show on November 6th. Thanks again for listening to Mendocino County Public Radio.

This episode features two of our favorite authors.

First, a fun chat with Mendocino County author Emily Lloyd-Jones, who writes adventurous, magical fiction for teens and young adults. Her newest book, "The Wild Huntress," is the third in a story cycle inspired by the ancient folklore and mythology of Wales. It's available in bookstores now. More about Emily's books can be found on her website, emilylloydjones.com.

Followed by J Ryan Stradal, Southern CA based and Minnesota born, who talks about his new work-in-progress novel and shares his thoughts about Governor/VP candidate Tim Walz. He also shares a couple of book recommendations! His website is jryanstradal.com

Comments and questions about the show are always welcome at [email protected]

LA-based author Melissa Broder joins Toni for a conversation about her novel Death Valley, which she describes as a humorous look at grief. In the second part of the show, Toni talks with Mendocino County Librarian Melissa Carr and Salt Lake City Utah bookstore owner Calvin Crosby (The King's English) about the impact of book bans on our communities.

Romance fiction author Holly James lives in Southern California, but grew up in Ukiah. She and Toni spoke in August about her books.