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Book Journey

Book Journey

Von: Northern California Writers' Retreat
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 Welcome to Book Journey, the podcast where we learn how writers become authors. I’m Heather Lazare, founder and director of Northern California Writers’ Retreat, a juried fiction retreat held four times a year in Carmel Valley.

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  • Book Journey with Aja Gabel

    Book Journey with Aja Gabel
    Oct 10 2025
    In 2019, we were so lucky to have Aja Gabel join us for Northern California Writers’ Retreat! Pre-pandemic, we were located in the Santa Cruz mountains, and Aja and her Literary Agent, Andrea Morrison from Writers House, were both able to join us for four nights and five days in the redwoods.Aja’s debut novel, The Ensemble, had published the previous year and I’d gotten to go to her reading at Bookshop Santa Cruz!For Book Journey this month, Aja and I talked about what it was like for her to write her first novel (she wrote a lot of short stories first), to find an agent (and then break up with that agent and find a new agent!), and to go out on submission and land with an amazing publisher (Riverhead). When it came to writing her second novel, Lightbreakers, Aja started notes to herself in 2016 and that book is being published next month! I hope you’ll want to pick up a copy and read! Here’s a bit about it:What would you sacrifice for more time with the people you love? A physicist, Noah, and his artist wife, Maya, get caught up in a clandestine project aiming to unravel the secrets of time and consciousness, but find themselves torn between past entanglements and the promise of the future. A heart-achingly moving novel, Lightbreakers explores how to love in a world where time is both a healer and a thief. This luminous story of love, loss, science, and art asks if the past can ever be truly revisited, and at what cost?And here are the events Aja will be doing, and some nice words about the book. * Los Angeles, CA — November 4thLightbreakers launch event at Skylight Books, 7pmIn conversation with Alissa Nutting* Austin, TX — November 9thPanel with Austin Taylor, 1:15pmTexas Book Festival* New York, NY — November 11thAt Yu & Me Books, 7pmIn conversation with Angela Flournoy* Placentia, CA — November 15thSoroptimist International of Brea/La Habra Authors Brunch* Los Angeles, CA — December 12thSilver Lake Reading Club Author Event at 6pm“Exists in a category all its own: a novel about grief, ambition, and love that is somehow both gripping and deeply felt, as breath-taking as it is mind-bending. Aja Gabel’s prose is like music, vivid with wisdom, curiosity, and emotion.” –Rachel Khong, New York Times bestselling author of Real Americans“Compassionate and prismatic, an intellectual adventure as well as a deeply human meditation on memory, family, and reinvention. Aja Gabel’s second novel is my favorite kind: soulful science fiction that speaks to the mind as well as the heart.” –Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists“A magisterial and moving novel about love and grief that is somehow unsentimental and yet extraordinarily tender…Lightbreakers is complex, startling, and impossibly alive.” –Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here“A marriage story that twists into a sci-fi thriller, posing questions about the elusiveness of the past and the time-jumping nature of grief. Like walking down a hall of mirrors, mesmerized by its reflections and refractions, reading Lightbreakers made me see things anew.” –Ling Ma, author of Severance“Audaciously tackles life’s most formative experiences: love and loss.” –Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Entitlement“You will love this genre-busting book. . . A cross of literary fiction and sci-fi, it’s also a beautiful meditation of grief, time, and love.” –Samin Nosrat, author of Salt Fat Acid Heat“Satisfying…Gabel hits a winning combination in this tale of modern love and time travel.” –Publishers Weekly“A phenomenal portrait of profound grief.” –Booklist, starred review“Gabel beautifully explores the ways the past echoes endlessly in the present and into the future—and the unimaginable lure of being with the ones we love no matter the cost. A poignant and sharp novel about love, loss, and finding light in the darkness.” –Kirkus Reviews********Thanks, as always, for your interest in Book Journey! I hope you enjoy the podcast!Happy reading and writing,Heather This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit norcalwritersretreat.substack.com
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    45 Min.
  • Book Journey with Alka Joshi

    Book Journey with Alka Joshi
    Sep 26 2025

    I really like knowing my neighbors, and this particular neighbor I met in 2016. Alka and I share a fence line, and in May, I can pick the most delicious plums from her tree, which overhangs into our garden.

    I’ve been fortunate to watch Alka Joshi go from writer to published author—four times over! Alka’s debut novel The Henna Artist was published in a bleak moment: March 2020. But she made the most of her virtual book tour, and has gone on to speak to over 1000 book clubs in the past five years! It’s such a joy to meet writers early in their careers and be on the ground floor of their transformation—it’s something I especially love about running the retreat.

    In this podcast, Alka and I talk about her journey to publish The Henna Artist (hint: there were a LOT of drafts), the original title (reveal: Alka is bad at titles!), and how AI can never create a backstory as authentic as your own (thank goodness). We also discussed Alka’s marketing background and how that has been instrumental to her understanding the importance of saying yes and how word of mouth moves far more copies than any advertising campaign ever could.

    I hope you enjoy listening to Alka’s inspiring story!

    Thanks for your interest!

    Heather

    Northern California Writers’ Retreat, founder + director



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit norcalwritersretreat.substack.com
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    48 Min.
  • Book Journey with Jasmine Guillory

    Book Journey with Jasmine Guillory
    Aug 26 2025

    Enjoy the conversation with our 2020 Author-in-Residence, Jasmine Guillory! Jasmine is a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels including The Wedding Date, the Reese's Book Club selection The Proposal, and Flirting Lessons. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit, and Time, and she is a frequent book contributor on The Today Show.

    Northern California Writers' Retreat is a juried fiction retreat held four times a year in Carmel Valley. Join us for four nights and five days of writing, workshopping, yoga, live piano music, delicious food and wine, plus community and connection!

    Subscribe to our podcast here or wherever you like to listen!



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit norcalwritersretreat.substack.com
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    46 Min.
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