SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK FESTIVAL SELECTS VIETNAM STORY FOR TOP HONORS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA_ An intimate look at life during wartime has been selected as the winner of the 2022 Southern California Book Festival, which honors the best books of the fall.

Author Bruce A. Bastien’s 13 Months: In the Bush, in Vietnam, in 1968 (iUniverse) details the daily struggles, battles, and funny things that happen to a USMC grunt living in the bush for 13 months. The story details how a young soldier grows in confidence, learning about friendship, love, difficulty, danger, deprivation, and loss. His friends are American kids from all different walks of life, backgrounds, races, and learning. The common element among them is their humanity, bravery, and willingness to risk their lives to help one another.

The vivid storytelling and extreme eye for detail perfectly captured a moment in time that should not be forgotten.

Other winners in the competition:

GENERAL NON-FICTION

WINNER: Women on Waves – Jim Kempton

RUNNER-UP: Adventures in the Justice Factory - Matthew Mendenhall

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Revelation Through Science – James Martin
• A Constitution for a Democracy – Rohit (Roy) Kalaria
• Taylor Mill Horror – Austin Lawrence
• Waiting for Rainbows – Ashley Berry
• Enough About Me – Richard Lui
• From Army Regulations to Novels… - Don Helin

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

WINNER: 13 Months in the Bush – Bruce A. Bastien

RUNNER-UP: Burn This City to the Ground – N. Daniel

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Gilligan’s Dreams – Dreama Denver
• Gone Before Glory – Stephen G. Yanoff
• Faces of Evil – Edwin J. Kitchen
• The Music – Herbert and Stephanie Ausbel
• Corners Untouched by Madness – N. Daniel
• The Angle of Flickering Light – Gina Troisi
• Colonels, Cads and Charmers – Miles Anderson with Bella Merlin
• Honor Through Sacrifice – Robert E. Lofthouse
• Waiting for Rainbows – Ashley Berry
• Based on a True (Traumatic) Brain History – Mark Allen
• Why Not? Conquering the Road Less… - John Brown with Donna Brown
•  Splat – Adele Irving
• Learning to Dance in the Rain II – Shelby Wagner

GENERAL FICTION

WINNER: Ophelia’s Room – Michael Scott Garvin

RUNNER-UP: The Refusal – Eve M. Riley

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Rosa – Barbara de la Cuesta
• Magnolia Lane – Donald R. Guillory
• Zero Degree Murder – David Thyfault
• Mutiny in the Dugout – Rod Kent & Rebecca Foster
• A Hundred Honeymoons - J.S. Wilson
• Deehabta’s Song – Stephen Alder
• Imelda’s Secret – Liza Gino
• Without Redemption – Clifford D. Harper
• The Doomsday Medallion – Avanti Centrae
• Northfield Saga: Apocalypse Bounty – Calvin B. Fisher
• A Final Call – Eliot Parker
• And Raise Hell – C.D. “Tony” Hylton II
• DHARMA, a Rekha Rao Mystery – Vee Kumari
• Ninety-Five – Lisa Towles
• Remembering Hope – Parastoo Rezai
• Never Say Never - Justine Manzano
• Groovy Times – Lance Smith
• Take Me With You – Vanessa Carlisle
• Refugee on a Pendulum – Jemil Metti
• The Story of Nero, the Mexipino… - Jennifer Molica-Academia
• Polly, Stubby & Al – Donahue B. Silvis
• Galactic Fun Park – Book One – Mason Bell
• Survival – Anthony Antonio
• Unbroken Bonds – D.W. Hogan

WILD CARD

WINNER: The Old Men Who Row Boats – David Joseph

RUNNER-UP: The Only Blue Crow – Tuula Pere

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Screaming for Pleasure - S.A. Bradley
• Animal Lab – Bob Zeidman
• Enough About Me – Richard Lui

POETRY

WINNER: Make it a Double – Randall McNair

RUNNER-UP: Cockatoos in the Mangroves – Vanessa S. Lee-AhMat

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Excursions of the Mind 2 – Joanne Kenzy
• Scribblings of My Soul – Preethi Saravanakumar
• Nighttime Fantasy – Suzanne M. Shields

BUSINESS:

WINNER: 2022 Social Media Planner & Guide – Louise McDonnell

RUNNER-UP: The Self-Driving Project – Paul Boudreau

HONORABLE MENTION:

• The Armchair Real Estate Millionaire – Michael Dominguez

NATURE/ANIMALS

WINNER: Plant Folklore - Connie L. Taylor

RUNNER-UP: Good Dogs, A Foolproof Guide – Mry Contreras

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Chicken Nibbles - Alan Corbett
• The Cottage - William Thon
• The Polar Bears Journey – Tuula Pere

YOUNG ADULT

WINNER: Facing Off – Tanya Ross

RUNNER-UP: Mr. Cannelloni’s Circus – Tuula Pere

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Bad Love Medicine – Kevin Schewe, MD
• Here with the Winter – J. Penrod Scott

SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS

WINNER: Finding Grace – Gary Lee Miller

RUNNER-UP: Becoming Soul – El Alma

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Transcending Darkness: A Memoir – Denise C. Brown
• Light of Darkness – Ebenezer O. Makinde
• 20+ Lessons From My 20s – Kfunanya Nweke

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

WINNER: Koko & Stoney – Don Stansberry

RUNNER-UP: A Tale for Christmas (Zach’s Quest) – Matt Dragovits

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Doc, Willie and the Pack: Secrets – Linda Harkey
• Bulti’s Adventures in the Dooars - Madhumita Roy
• Do You See Me When We Travel? – Tuula Pere
• Success – Ruthie Godfrey
• It Must Be Autumn – Michelle Wang
• Ronnie’s Pool – Lindsay Ann Fink
• The Greatest Light – Tim and Cindy Morrison
• El nuevo amigo de MJ - Judy Ann Lowe
• Sam Learns to Hug – Diana Duncan
• Oscar the Osprey – Edward Polansky
• Animals Acres: Coloring Book – Colby Becknell Hardison

UNPUBLISHED:

WINNER: Trust and Confidence – Jim Lichtman

RUNNER-UP: Catching a Breath – Davey Smith, MD

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Vaikuntha - Rômulo Oliveira Chaia / Embla Rhodes

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES

WINNER: Transit: Tales of Mystery, History… - E.M. Schorb

RUNNER-UP: Three Dimensions: Lizzie’s Histories – Elizabeth Reinach

REGIONAL LITERATURE

WINNER: What the Soul Suspects – Mara Purl

HOW-TO

WINNER: Math That Makes Sense: Algebra I… - Dr. Carol Ameche, Ed.D

RUNNER-UP: The Truth About Dietary Supplements – Mahtab Jafari

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Dancing Shapes: Ballet and Body… - Once Upon a Dance
• The Drive to Freedom – JT Hustlez, MPA

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART

WINNER: Sally O. Lee’s Salon des Refuses… – Sally O. Lee