E-Book Available

I am happy to report that Wicked Jurupa Valley is available as an e-book. It is (or will be) available for sale via Amazon (on the Kindle), Barnes & Noble (on the Nook) and Apple’s iBookstore (on the iPad). I feel so hip and up to date knowing you can read Wicked Jurupa Valley on all of these devices! Whoo hoo!

Book Signing!

I just wanted you to know that I will be at the Jurupa Valley Book Festival on Saturday September 15th. It is being held at the Glen Avon Library at 9244 Galena Street in the community of Glen Avon. The hours will  10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and I will be there the whole time. I will have my new book Wicked Jurupa Valley available for sale and I will sign any copy of any book I have ever written if you bring it with you and and stop by my table.  There will be lots of authors there so I hope you will stop by and say hi to me and the others!!!

Wicked Jurupa is Here!

I am very happy to report that Wicked Jurupa Valley:Murder and Misdeeds in Rural Southern California is finally here! A big box of books arrived at my front door and it is also available at HistoryPress.com and Amazon.com. A Kindle version is also available at Amazon.com. Wicked Jurupa Valley will also be available in local stores if you like to shop locally, but I have not heard yet if it is actually in the usual places such as DeAnza True Value Hardware, Walgreen's, and the Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center. I will let you know as soon as I find out.

If you want to check my author's page at Amazon.com you can find it at   https://www.amazon.com/author/kimjj

If you would like, feel free to hit the like button or write a review (once you get to read the book, of course!) on Amazon. I would really appreciate that!  

All the Latest News

Time to give all of you folks with an interest in history, and Jurupa Valley history in particular, an update on future happenings!

I am told that Wicked Jurupa Valley ships on June 21st. Yeah!

I am in the process of arranging book signings and hope to have some scheduled soon. So far I know for a fact that I will be giving a presentation at the Riverside Historical Society meeting on Sunday, October 7th.  If any one is interested in having a book signing please just comment on this post and I will contact you.

There has been another exciting development on the history front. My friend Steve Lech and I will begin a new weekly history column for the Press-Enterprise starting Sunday July 1st. We are both very excited about this new opportunity, or excuse, to delve into Riverside County history!  Because we both have other history related writing and research that we do, we decided to share this activity. We will be trading off, with each of us responsible for a story every other week. So look for us every Sunday beginning in July!

Funny Things Found While Writing Wicked Jurupa Valley Part III

While researching local history for my upcoming book Wicked Jurupa Valley: Murder and Misdeeds in Rural Southern California I discovered some funny (by funny I mean odd) things stuck back in your local history. One of the stories in the book is about a particular time in the history of the bridge that takes us all across the Santa Ana from Rubidoux to Riverside. Now, you may be wondering what a story about a bridge is doing in a book with the subtitle "Murder and Misdeeds." Well, you will be surprised to find out that I found stories of arson, spies, and a rampaging Mother Nature! It was certainly a surprise to me!   I look forward to you getting to read about the Rubidoux bridge and everything else when the book comes out in June!

Funny Things Found While Writing Wicked Jurupa Valley, Part II

So, I was doing research, minding my own business, when I come across a story of manslaughter and mistresses, oh my! One of the things that I found amazing is that this story of questionable goings on occurred at a place called the Jurupa Rancho. I had never heard of it!!!! Yet, in newspaper stories of the time (1948-49) this Jurupa Rancho had a house that was considered quite the place! According to the newspaper, the house on the Jurupa Rancho had "long been regarded as one of the show spots of Riverside County." This house is still located on Pedley Road near the 60 Freeway. I can't wait for all of you to read the story of this murder trial, one that was considered to be the the most sensational since the Wineville Chicken Coop murders.   

Funny Things Found While Writing Wicked Jurupa Valley

The deadline grows closer for me to finish up my new book, "Wicked Jurupa Valley." Doing the research has been a very interesting journey and I have come across some funny things. Funny as in odd, not laugh out loud funny.   

In researching one story I came across information on the "Winter that Almost Wasn't" as it is called. The winter of 1898-99 was a very mild one, particularly in the upper Midwest. Then on January 30th, 1899 a cold front moved in that lasted about two weeks. The cold affected most of the country and was so severe it caused the entire length of the Mississippi River to freeze! Ice flowed into the Gulf of Mexico and a snowfall record was set in Washington D.C. that did not fall until 2010.

What does this have to do with Jurupa Valley, you ask? A family that endured that horrible cold wave while living in Minnesota moved to Jurupa Valley right after that. That cold wave may have affected their thinking when they made that decision to move. The rest of their story will be in "Wicked Jurupa  Valley." I can't wait for all of you to be able to read it!

Walking in Previous Footsteps

My first deadline for my upcoming book, Wicked Jurupa Valley, is looming! I have to have all photos, maps, and any other images to the publisher by March 15th. With that in mind, last Saturday my husband and I took a drive to Los Angeles so I could take photos of two apartment buildings. These buildings had been owned back in the 1940s by a man named John Owen. They were managed by a woman named Agnes Garnier. Agnes had become John's mistress but it didn't end well. At John's big ranch here in Jurupa Valley a gun went off that ended John's life. That gun was in Agnes's hand when it went off. I think we can say their relationship didn't end well!

Researching and writing the story of John and Agnes for the book makes me think of them in a very personal way. It is almost like they become distant relatives, the kind you catch up with every year when you get their Christmas newsletter. So, seeing places where they actually lived and breathed was quite exciting for me. Both buildings were locked but I managed to finagle my way into the lobby of one of them. I could imagine Agnes walking across the lobby's black and while tiled floors. I could see John standing in front of the elevators, waiting to go up to visit Agnes. It was very cool walking where they walked!  



  

Wicked Jurupa Valley is Coming!!!!!

I am happy to report that the History Press accepted my book proposal! Just found out this week! I haven't seen the contract yet, but my plan is for the book to appear on bookshelves everywhere in May or June of 2012. I am so happy to finally be doing another book on Jurupa history! So, it looks like I will be deep into murder, scandal, and the like for the foreseeable future!