Bronte's Book Club, UPDATED

Hello Readers,

Kindle & paperback

I'm happy to announce an updated Bronte's Book Club with a new cover by my son Cody Rutty, an author interview, a brownie recipe, and tips for starting your own book club. The story:

It's a pretty summer day at Gray's Beach when 12-year-old Bronte moves to this small California beach town. Shy and lonely, she tries to form a book club in order to make friends. It has a rocky start with jealously, quarrels, and gossip. But as the girls discuss the historical novel Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, they see parallels in their lives and that of the main character, Karana, the real-life Chumash Indian who had lived alone on San Nicholas Island during the mid-18oos. As the girls reflect on, and quote from the story, they begin to discover true friendship. And of course, a good dog is involved!

Gray's Beach is also the setting for Cabin Creek Mysteries #10 & #11: The Shadow at Shark Cove and The Legend of the Haunted Lighthouse, when Bronte's cousins Jeff, David and Claire visit for the summer.

New release! Earthquake at Dawn: San Francisco 1906

Kindle & paperback

Dear Parents and Teachers, 

I'm happy to announce an updated Earthquake at Dawn, with a fresh Discussion Guide and Author Interview. Originally published by Harcourt for their Great Episodes Series, it won the Silver Medal for Best Book of the Year (1992) by the Commonwealth Club of California. It also was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The story:

It's April 18, 1906, and a powerful earthquake has just rocked San Francisco. Twenty-two year old photographer Edith Irvine and her assistant, Daisy Valentine (age 15), survive the tragedy. Armed with Edith's camera, the two women set out to document the shocking devastation--even as buildings crumble around them and soldiers promise to shoot anyone trying to photograph the crippled city.

Based on a 32-page letter written by earthquake survivor Mary Exa Atkins Campbell and the actual photographs taken by Edith Irvine, Earthquake at Dawn is a harrowing story of the courage and compassion of San Francisco's citizens, catastrophically thrown together in a world turned upside down. 

** A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

** A YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults

**An NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

** "Touching and exciting, this close-up has immediacy and an authentic voice that brings history vividly to life." -- Kirkus Reviews

** "Gregory does a good job of making the suffering and confusion dramatically vivid, and her writing style has vigor and pace." -- The Bulletin