Palm Springs Life Magazine August 2001

ON THE COVER — Katherine Rich enjoys a novel set in Palm Springs, written by Raymond Chandler and Robert Parker. This whole issue will hold her interest throughout the month.

FEATURES: New Desert Fiction

Introduction: "Air-Conditioning" Lit
By Stewart Weiner.
The appeal of Palm Springs is apparent all over the literary world these days, from novels set in our oasis to all of the writers now living here and using the desert as inspiration. The editor introduces his choices.

Cabazon
By Susan Straight.
The author of I Been In Sorrow’s Kitchen and Licked Out All The Pots gives readers a preview chapter from her latest novel, Highwire Moon, featuring a touching father-daughter reunion amid immigrant farm workers.

The Last Resort
By Tod Goldberg.
Start reading this introduction to his novel and you’ll be begging us to continue it chapter-by-chapter in the magazine. At least that’s the hope.

James
By Brent Babcock.
This story, Babcock’s winning entry in Palm Valley School’s Shakespeare Festival Fiction Writing Contest, is a war story set in WWI. Write what you know? Apparently, that rule doesn’t always apply.

From The Huddled Masses
By Brian Lane.
This short story impressed the judges at the Desert Literary Society so much, they awarded young Lane, a La Quinta High School graduate, the Society’s first scholarship.

Ten Things You Must Always Remember
By Kyle Corley.
Corley’s years of working with the terminally ill gave him tremendous insight into dying, last phase of life and how all of it affects loved ones. Take out the handkerchiefs.

Desert Autumn
By Michael Craft.
A New Yorker escapes the pressures of the big city, moves to Palm Springs and winds up dealing with…murder. Newest fiction from mystery master Craft.

Keys View
By Michael Dare.
Dare, a former writer for the animated series Animaniacs, takes on the persona of a desert prospector in this whopper of a tale.

Desert Reading 101
By Jean Penn.
What are the top dozen books about the desert? We narrow it down. And then add a few for extra credit.