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Long time SDWEG member, Dr. Ruth Leyse Wallace, recently released her fourth book, Integrating Nutrition and Mental Health Care.

While the book is written for clinical settings, it is written in plain English and offers sensible nutritional facts. I found it helpful in my everyday life and recommend it to the general public

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Mental health counselors, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists realize that nutrition may be a factor in their clients’ mental health, but a lack of nutritional science background and resources makes it difficult for them to incorporate nutrition into the care they provide. Likewise, registered dietitian nutritionists new to the field of mental health care (whether in a facility or in private practice) may feel the need for succinct resources geared to this area of nutritional care. Integrating Nutrition and Mental Health Care illuminates the intersection between nutrition and mental health, bridging the gap for professionals in both fields. It presents resources in areas such as caffeine intake, family history of a genetically transmitted nutrition-related condition, interpretation of laboratory nutritional assessment, and safe upper limits of supplements, as well as additional nutrition factors, helping practitioners easily incorporate selected nutritional aspects into the mental health care of clients.

Wallace received her doctorate from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She practiced clinical dietetics in the areas of mental health, eating disorders, substance abuse, and general psychiatry at Osawatomie State Hospital in Osawatomie, Kansas; at The Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas; and at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital in San Diego, California. While in Topeka, in the early 1980s, she established one of the first private practices for nutrition counseling in the state.

Wallace served as an adjunct faculty member at Pima County College in Tucson and Mesa Community College in San Diego. She has published three books: Nutrition and Mental Health, Linking Nutrition to Mental Health: A Scientific Exploration, and The Metaparadigm of Clinical Dietetics: Derivation and Applications.

A 50-year member of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, she has been an active contributor to the Behavioral Health Nutrition (BHN) dietetic practice group in the Academy serving as Mental Health Resource Professional on the Executive Committee and as co- author of the 2018 revision of the Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance for the BHN dietetic practice group. In 2010, she was presented the BHN Excellence in

Guild member, JR Stayer, JR has produced his third book in the Braxton Century series — a historical fantasy set in the late Victorian, Edwardian, and early 20th century. Braxton, as Europe hurtles toward war and revolutions ignite across continents, possesses the foresight to shape the future. He builds wealth that rivals that of Elon Musk, all while navigating two world wars, secret intelligence networks, and the deadly schemes of those who would see him ruined. Being a prince, a financial genius, and a man of varied sexual appetites, Braxton lives an enviable life and eventually becomes King of the British Empire.

For those who revel in historical persons of power and influence, your fantasies will be fulfilled.

These Truths: A History of the United States, by acclaimed historian and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore, is a one-volume history of America that is devoted to facts, proof, and evidence. The American experiment rests on three ideas―"these truths," Jefferson called them―political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. Has America lived up to them?

American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 by Alan Taylor provides a comprehensive overview of the era. The Constitution, which provided the nation its democratic framework, is the book’s focus. Alan Taylor is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

1776 by David McCullough offers a compelling narrative of the Revolutionary War's early years. The book tells how the average American and Brit felt about the war. Center stage was George Washington, whose actions made a critical difference in America’s claim to independence.

Washington's Crossing by Pulitzer Prize-winning David Hackett Fischer, focuses on the pivotal battles of Trenton and Princeton. American guerrillas, defying military convention, fought in plain clothes, believing they had a natural right to take up arms in defense of their laws and liberties. It was their uprising that created an opportunity for George Washington to succeed.

In Harm's Way is an action-packed historical story set during America’s War of Independence, which is based on actual naval battles. The author explores how the settlers could not pay ship captains to work for their cause, so early American sea warriors lived as pirates and lived off their plunder of English ships. In the end, they struck fear into the hearts of British shippers around the globe.

The Central Oregon Writers’ Conference, October 17-19, 2025, at the beautiful River House Lodge will help you get where you want to go as a writer, not to mention, the conference will be so. much fun!

Register by July 1 and save $50. If you apply the discount code: COWG2024, you will save an additional $25—that’s $75 in savings if you act soon! 

PLEASE NOTE: On the shopping cart page, the banner will appear as the Southern California Writers’ Conference (tech glitch they haven’t been able to fix). BUT the cart will list your item(s) as COWC. Rest assured, you are paying for the Central Oregon Writers’ Conference.

Here are a couple of session descriptions to whet your appetite include:

Setting the Mood with Place and Purpose
Workshop leader: Kathryn (Kat) Mattingly, accomplished author and writing instructor. Setting, location, is more than just backdrop—it’s a powerful tool for establishing atmosphere and reinforcing narrative grounding. Here, we’ll distinguish the “what” from the “who,” the how, and the why.

Soul Therapy: Sculpting Your Memoir’s Story
Workshop leader: Cherie Kephart, accomplished author and writing coach who specializes in memoir (see bio on website). Writing a memoir is a journey beyond words. In this workshop, we will explore the fears that block us, the truth behind our intentions for writing our stories, how to discover the real message we are communicating, what to focus on, what to let go of, and how this entire experience transforms us.

The cart banner will be fixed by the first week in July, but if you wait until the website is perfect, you’ll miss out on your $50 discount, so register NOW!

Carpool with your writing friends [or grab a quick flight to the Redmond airport]. Enjoy a beautiful room at the Riverhouse Lodge on the Deschutes River—maybe share it with a friend. This conference will be an experience to remember.

The organizers can’t wait to see you there!

SDWEG Member, KC Grifant, has released a second in her Monster Gunslingers series. Sharpshooters Melinda and Vance come out of retirement to fight an unbeatable foe.

Melinda uses her steady hand, cool head, and a no-nonsense attitude. Her partner, Lance, brings charm along with firepower. Together, they fight a psychologically persuasive swarm of gremlins who are hellbent on world domination.

Fast-paced, full of novel twists and unexpected outcomes, Melinda fights monsters from her past as she struggles, to mentally and physically, overcome the Gremlin Queen and her hive.

 Can the couple survive and overcome?

Sounds of Yesterday is about a romantic relationship during COVID as experienced by an autistic man.

For five years, Rob and Ana overcome career challenges, achieve emotional stability, and survive a global pandemic. Though they each achieve successes, Ana ends their relationship. 

Rob’s world is shattered. He blames himself. Traumas are reopened, and forgotten insecurities play center stage in his thoughts.

As he mourns, he comes to see that Ana worked in an abusive workplace and had a harsh, demanding mother. Unable to share about the pains in her life, she slowly falls into a depression, and becomes unable to give or receive love.

SDWEG member, Peter Shaw, has released his debut novel, Murder on the Way. 

A bag of money has gone missing and the Italian mob wants it back. Joey, who found the cash in a cave, intends to make a new life, beginning with a Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain. The mob sends a hitman, Max, who poses as a pilgrim. On his way, he learns about the Camino and the history of its sites. Meanwhile, Joey hopes to evade detection with plastic surgery. Will he escape Max’s notice?

Long-time SDWEG member, M. Lee Buompensiero [we know her as Marcia] has released an award-winning novel, Sumerland. The story is full of romance, unusual hauntings, and heart-warming dog crises and mishaps.

Kate Post inherits the San Diego historical Liebersohn mansion after her mother, whom she rarely saw and barely knew, dies. Kate doesn't want the house, nor any reminder of her mother's abandonment. Leaving with every intention of returning to San Francisco, Kate stumbles and falls in front of the house. An odd inscription etched in concrete beside a garden pathway catches her eye that haunts her dreams and changes her mind. She will do a period restoration on the house and make for a quick sale. This will take it off her hands for good.

Francis and Marie-Claire Liebersohn have unfinished business—they want someone to set the record straight seventy years after their deaths. Their hauntings reveal family secrets and awaken Kate to paranormal realities. Prompted by her friend, Lulu, Kate adopts a new mission to set matters right for living relatives, including herself.

Kate’s romance with her dog’s vet seems real to life. The dog that pulls Kate into committing to a totally new life is endearing. The melting of Kate’s heart by the dog is realistic and heartwarming. The disturbing hauntings that Kate witnesses turn out to have a positive purpose. I loved this story. I couldn’t put it down.

Award-winning SDWEG member, Bob Riffenburgh, has written a charming historical fiction novel about Appalachia, 1939-40.

Thirteen-year-old Ronson Allen, stays hungry after dinner because there isn’t enough food to go around. Nevertheless, he feels carefree, loves his family, and is happy playing with his best friend, Harry. Everything changes when Ronson’s beloved sister is assaulted.

The book focuses on the stark realities of social class. The Allens are poor and fear retribution by the town’s wealthy because members of the privileged  victimized their daughter. When his parents don’t seek justice, with Harry’s help, Ronson takes that goal upon himself.

The boys slowly evolve a risky plan. Though scared, they pursue their scheme to exact revenge.

The story is written in the dialect used by the poor; however, the book is readable and optimistic. Rich with life lessons, the story Riffenburgh tells is a gem.

In Harm's Way is an action-packed historical story set during America’s War of Independence. Wing says he based his story on actual naval battles. The details Wing provides about those times are interesting and compelling.

The main character, Captain Jonas Hawke, returns home to Norfolk after several months of trading in the Indies and the Caribbean. Norfolk, and other Atlantic colonial ports, are blockaded by the British. They take Jonas’s ship and its contents, belonging to Jonas’s father-in-law. Suffering personal losses due to British abuse of power, along with their haughtiness toward colonists, Jonas repairs his own ship, the Resolute, and serves the colonial congress.

 Living as a privateer meant that Jonas and his crew lived like pirates. They attacked British vessels in the seas south of Florida, made trade friendships with local islanders, and lived off their booty. In time, Jonas successfully challenges the British’s naval dominance in the area.

 In Harm's Way has interesting characters that draw the reader into a heroic story. I loved how Wing weaves his story while showing the rise of conflict between the colonists and the British. The descriptions are spellbinding, and the narration paints a vivid picture of the terrifying challenges ships and sailors faced in sea battles and in turbulent waters.

Wing wrote In Harm’s Way from a desire to explore the topic of America’s early sea warriors and how they struck fear into the hearts of British shippers around the globe. Wing’s award-winning first novel, Against All Enemies, was released in 2023.

The author will mark the release of In Harm's Way at a public launch party aboard HMS Rose/Surprise at the Maritime Museum on June 14 at 1 p.m.; a signing at Barnes and Noble, Encinitas, on June 21 at 2 p.m.; and a signing at Bay Books in Coronado on June 22 at noon.