Born Novelist
Instead of writing a long-winded Christmas ad, I will keep this brief. For the next five days, my novel Starport is available at no charge on Amazon. Starport is the first novel in a five-book series, and if you like the first one, maybe you’ll want to read the others as well.
Remember, five days only, e-book version only. No charge for the rest of this week. Deal ends Friday at midnight.
Merry Christmas!
August 18, 2025
This Saturday, August 23, will be the second annual Heart of California Book Faire (to keep the record straight, last year it was called Heart of the Valley Book Faire). We had a fine turnout in 2024 and expect an even bigger success in 2025. In addition to meeting local authors, buying their books, and getting them signed, this year will feature author panels with Q&A and author readings (including one from ME!!!). Featured speakers will include David Mas and Nikikio Masumoto.
Food and refreshments will also be available.
Driving directions:
If you arrive from the north, take Exit 154 (4th Street Exit). Turn left at the stop sign, then turn right at the light (in front of the Catholic church). Then turn right one block later on Sunset. The event will be at the Methodist church on your left.
If you arrive from the south, take Exit 154 (4th Street Exit) and turn left at the light. Proceed one block to Sunset and turn right. The Methodist church will be on your left.
The event starts at 11:00 am and ends at 4:00 pm. Almost every genre will be represented, including SEVENTEEN children’s book authors.
You don’t want to miss this one, so see you there!
July 25, 2025
I never do this. I never promote causes or ask for money.
However…
Fifteen years ago, when I published The Fighter Queen, a talented young photographer named Rachel Smak (yes, that’s her real name) took the photo of the Fighter Queen for the book cover. The subject of the photo was Monica Zimmer, my wife’s niece. Monica and Rachel are close friends.
Fast-forward to 2025. I have just learned that Rachel, who is only 39, is fighting for her life against stage 3 colon cancer. Not only that, her life has been back-to-back tragedy for several years now, leaving her single and facing this crisis alone. (I will post her story in her own words later in this message.)
The good news is that someone has set up a GoFundMe account to help with Rachel’s medical bills (she has no insurance). I have already donated and I am asking any of you who are able to also chip in. The amount can be as little as $5. The target amount is $65K and $21K has already been raised. If you can’t, you can’t. No judgment. But please, if you can spare just a few bucks. let’s help give Rachel a fighting chance. I will be forever grateful.
The following is a post from Rachel’s Facebook page, posted July 9, 2025. It tells the rest of the story:
Rachel’s Story in her own words:
I disappeared from social media over a year ago. Not because I wanted to, but because life became unrecognizable.
Last August, I was diagnosed with stage 3C rectal cancer. By then, so much had already been stripped away. My apartment flooded earlier that year, destroying most of my belongings—including my livelihood of 20 years as a photographer. I had renters insurance but it had a black mold exclusion and nothing was covered. Two months later, my dad died of dementia.
Desperate for stability, I moved to Idaho with a man I’d been dating long distance during the cancer diagnosis. I thought I’d found someone to stand with me through cancer treatments and surgery. By May, I had a chemo port placed and was ready to start treatment in Idaho.
But in June, the man I thought would hold me during cancer treatments, told me he didn’t love me and kicked me out with 15 days notice. I had no job. No savings. No one else in Idaho. So I packed what little I had left—what fit in my car—and drove away. The rest of my life is still sitting in a barn there, gathering dust.
Now I’m in Texas, with $400 to my name, chasing a miracle treatment for my advanced cancer. But I can’t start—or continue—without a stable place to stay. I’m technically homeless. No parents. No partner. No children. No safety net. And I’m too sick to work.
Cancer doesn’t care about your plans or your pride. It just takes. Some friends helped me create a GoFundMe to help cover housing, food, and treatment for the next eight months. Any amount helps. A share helps. Even just reading this helps—because it means I’m not invisible.
This isn’t the story I thought I’d be telling at 39. But it’s the one I’m living.
In addition to my gofundme that’s been set up for me, I have also created a website where you can read all about cancer—SEASON 1, and what I’ve been up to since I went silent. That website is www.cancerisagift.org
If you would like to donate, here is the link. Again, THANK YOU!
July 23, 2025
Join me and more than 40 other local authors one month from today! The second annual Heart of California Book Faire will be held August 23, 2025 at the Madera United Methodist Church in Madera. Doors open at 11 and close at 4pm. Meet local authors, get your books signed (or buy some books if you haven’t already), and listen to selected authors read from their own works. There will also be author panels where you can take part in Q&A.
This is going to become a MAJOR VALLEY EVENT, so don’t miss it. Details in the poster below.
Hope to see you there!
May 14, 2025
The annual Books ‘n Brews event in Visalia, CA is happening this Saturday. More than FIFTY local authors (myself included) will be there signing their books. This is a chance to meet them, visit with them, and buy their books. Doors open at 11 and close at 4pm.
Or just stop by and say hello.
Click the following link for more information and to purchase your tickets. Proceeds from tickets go to benefit the Tulare County Library Foundation.
https://events.humanitix.com/books-and-brews-6umtb5d2
Hope to see you there!
April 15, 2025
If you live in central California, or happen to be visiting, you are invited to attend the second annual San Joaquin Valley Bookfest at Fresno City College. Some 50 local authors will be there to promote and sell their books. You can meet them, visit with them, listen to readings from their stories, and purchase their books.
Tickets are free by scanning the code on the poster below. Hope to see you there!
December 9, 2024
How does a 12 year-old girl become a war hero?
Certainly not all at once, and there is probably some severe personal tragedy in her background.
Onja Pedersen, age 12, was born on the planet Vega 3…three years after Vega was conquered by the Sirian Confederacy. Her childhood was anything but normal, then it got worse when her mother and sister were taken captive by the Sirians. Adam Pedersen, her father, knew he could not protect his one remaining child if she remained on the planet, so he paid smugglers to get her to Terra. That’s when Onja’s life really began.
But…not in the way she expected.
A Vow to Sophia is the first in a five-book series about a young girl facing impossible odds in a galaxy gone mad. It’s a story of courage, bravery, passion, and single-minded determination. Onja’s hatred fuels her success, but in the end, love is her salvation.
Now on sale for your Christmas shopping. Paperback $11.99, e-book $0.99, FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
You’ve never read anything remotely like it.
November 20, 2024
If you thought the U. S. 2024 election was crazy, wait until you read about the Obama-inspired presidential election on Askelon!
Askelon, the most advanced world in the Trimary System, is facing unprecedented economic disaster.
It’s election year; President Muriel Enza is challenged by Barry Boyd, a popular member of the Senate. Boyd’s campaign platform is simple—the office of President is just too stressful for a woman to handle.
With only eight weeks until the election, the economy is in a nosedive and the cost of energy is skyrocketing. The nearby world of Environ, Askelon’s primary energy supplier, is under siege by insurgents who have captured Environ’s hydroleum conversion facility, reducing exports by 70%. Unless the insurgents can be overthrown, Askelon’s economy will be in the toilet.
To make matters worse, a terrorist bomb destroys the hydroleum storage tanks on Starport 1, further depleting Askelon’s fuel reserves; and the Orbital Dock Workers Union threatens to strike, freezing all cargo shipments to and from the planet. Unless Enza can turn things around quickly, Askeloni civilization will slip into decline…but certain men in high places will do ANYTHING to stop her. What do they care if the economy collapses?—it’s only politics.
Starport You’ve never read anything remotely like it.
Now on sale for your Christmas shopping. Paperback $9.25, e-book $0.99, FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/Starport-John-Bowers-ebook/dp/B00RKUG9DK
November 10, 2024
If you live in Central California, mark your calendars for Saturday, November 12. Friends of the Madera County Library is hosting for the first time the Heart of the Valley Book Faire. At least 40 authors from all genres will be there selling and signing their books. Both adult and children’s books will be represented.
The event starts at 10 AM and runs until 4 PM. A food truck will be available if you are there at lunch, as well as free admission and parking. This is the first of what we hope will be an annual event, so don’t miss your chance to take part.
October 15, 2024
The Great Valley Bookfest in Manteca was a smashing success! Many thanks to all of you who turned out and welcome to you new subscribers who signed up for this newsletter.
Our next event will be November 16, 2024 at the Madera County Arts Council. We have 44 authors scheduled to sell and sign books, giving you a chance to meet them in person. If you live in central California, why not plan to join us? We look forward to meeting you.
Born Novelist 