Bücher von Mary Smathers

Gold Medal Winner, Reader''s Favorite Awards for Fiction--Western, 2021!IPPY Award Winner! Best Regional Fiction--E-book, Bronze, from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, 2021Finalist in BOTH Family Saga and Historical Fiction categories, American Fiction Awards, 2021! Selected as a Shelf Unbound Best Indie Top 100 Notable Book for 2020"...engaging story that inserts aspects of real-life West Coast history into these parallel narratives. The scope of the plot is admirable, and Tar''s story is particularly compelling, as her feelings for a colonizer conflict with her anger at the destruction and assimilation of her people." --Kirkus Reviews"...truly a treat for the mind." --Readers'' Favorite Five Star Review"...an invitation to not just accept but cherish the value and beauty of diversity. In this ambitious work, Smathers imparts the wisdom of studying the past in order to move more fully and sincerely into the future."  --Publishers Weekly BookLife ReviewHow do you know who you are if you don''t know where you come from? In This Land of Plenty is an expansive American family saga set against the rich history of California.When Nicole discovers through DNA reports that her ancestry is far different from the white, northern European background she thought was hers, she enlists the help of her great grandmother to investigate their roots despite protests from her father. The search takes Nicole and Great Gram into the attic of their historic San Francisco Victorian where the family''s true history unfolds. Slowly the two women unravel the mysteries of their 250-year family tree, from California''s native inhabitants and its earliest European colonizers through the generations to the Gold Rush. In This Land of Plenty is a meticulously researched and beautifully written historical fiction family saga that introduces a diverse cast of characters and the complex social issues that populate California''s rich history while drawing a direct line to today''s residents. "In This Land of Plenty captures the complex dynamics of family, exploration and exploitation, and the necessary accommodation to circumstances without submission. Extraordinary accomplishment by the author."  --Diana Y. Paul, Award-winning author, Things UnsaidFans of historical fiction will fall in love with this novel''s:*Strong research and vivid depictions of historic California*Inspiration form the original Spanish soldiers on the Portola expedition to explore and settle Alta California*Connections to the native Ohlone people and other tribes who populated the area for thousands of years, and to the De Anza settlers who walked eighteen hundred miles from Sinaloa to the San Francisco Bay *Strong characters, and women, who are both relatable and fascinating*Emphasis on the importance of family In This Land of Plenty is perfect for book clubs or as a gift for the reader in your life.

In Fertile Soil: Stories of the California Dream, Mary Smathers presents the light and dark sides of contemporary California, the perseverance of its residents and the richness of its culture across a grand sweep of history. Smathers focuses on those who demonstrate tenacious resilience as they tackle adversity, accepting challenges they could more easily shirk. The characters you'll meet in these pages include: an elementary school principal who provides leadership for his impoverished Central Valley neighborhood a teenager whose father locks her out of her own apartment a minimum wage earner with three jobs who battles the shrinking value of her dollar in the Bay Area a suburban working mom forced to add cancer treatments into her busy schedule a homeless man and a finance whiz whose lives intersect on the streets of downtown LA two little boys who confront wildlife danger on the way home from school Smathers concludes with five intertwined stories, drawing a loosely connected line from Mexican era and Gold Rush pioneers to their descendants at the development of Silicon Valley and on to today. The collection portrays the state's innovative, hard-working residents and quintessential landscape, a never ending target for dreamers.