From post-apocalyptic vibe to dreamy summer and more

Self-replicating attack tattoos; hungry, post-apocalyptic wanderers — one designated “Meat” (you got it); hairless creatures that emerge from a portal every few years to munch on beings in this dimension; the tragedy of an empathetic robot; a loving mommy political assassin: they’re all grist for the mill of Kristin Kirby’s collection of 14 “tales of science fiction and horror,” plus one novella. The stories are satisfyingly creepy, with unexpected weird things popping up and characters exhibiting regrettable behaviors, plus their post-apocalyptic vibe. They’re fun, considering the horror.

— Christine Wald-Hopkins

“Jane” by Jamey Gittings (Atilla Press). $21 hardcover; $12 paperback; $8 e-book. 306 pp.

Oh my, an 18-year-old boy’s dream summer — a beach life, with girls throwing themselves at him. It’s complicated only by his falling in love with the mother of one of the girls.

Arivaca and Big Sur resident Jamey Gittings prefaces this new novel by acknowledging that many of its characters were inspired by real people, and that “when memoir slips in, … it is filtered both through the haze of time and the turbulence of imagination.”

It’s the summer of 1967, and narrator Jimmy (sometimes called Jamey — any suggestion of haze of time here?) has barely managed to graduate from high school in Arizona when his father delivers him to Long Beach Island, New Jersey, to stay with two aunts. As luck would have it, Jimmy’s senior lifesaving card qualifies him to work as a lifeguard, and he lands himself a job on the Atlantic side of Long Beach Island (the girls guard the bay side of the four-block strip of land). As more luck would have it, his lifeguard status — plus his introducing himself as a writer (he’s completed one short story, unpublished) — capture the fancy of surfer-groupie Pam, who then opens the door to Jimmy’s unforgettable summer: He meets Roger, the best male surfer on the island (and a real writer) and Jill, the best surfer, and part of the irresistible Deriksson family. Learning to surf, guarding the beach, navigating the girls, spending evenings discussing literature and revising his short story comprise Jimmy’s summer … climaxed by one hurricane episode with Jill’s mother.

This novel ends up being as much about writing as anything. The Derikssons quiz Jimmy on his literary tastes and he holds his own. Gittings peppers his text with literary allusions. The characters discuss the importance of irony in writing, and Gittings employs it both in voice and in ironic asides. Jimmy visits the site of the apocryphal Jersey Devil, and Gittings not only incorporates it into his narrative, but puts a form of her in the cover. “Jane” is a specie of coming-of-age, but more an enjoyable coming-into-consciousness story for a budding writer.

— Christine Wald-Hopkins

“Right There in Black and White” by Jim Christ (Genius Book Publishing). $19.99 paperback; available in Kindle. 312 pp.

Former educator Jim Christ has successfully stepped away from his school-setting comfort zone in this, his fifth novel, a police procedural set in Los Angeles. “Right There in Black and White” opens with biracial Kendi Liston, six-three and 290, walking his dog at 4 a.m., after a night of music production for a new singer, when he stumbles across a white woman sprawled on the sidewalk outside his apartment building. His impulse is to call police — it’s not clear if she’s dead or alive — but his white mother’s warnings about cops and Black men and white women resonate in his head and give him pause.

He shoulda listened to Mama. The woman is sure enough dead, and the first two officers to arrive on the scene set up a major conflict in the story: shoot-now-and-ask-questions-later JT Crowe and calm-it-down-and-evaluate-the-situation Cordelia Regan answer the call. When Liston reaches into his pocket, Crowe raises his pistol to shoot, but Regan — hoping it’s for a phone — blocks his line of fire. Turns out it is a phone. Liston is arrested anyway, and blood’s only going to get worse between the two cops.

Racial prejudice comes into play in the narrative, as do misogyny and the stratified and insular cop culture. Even though he found the body and made the 911 call, Liston becomes the primary suspect, eliminating alternatives. Crowe, as one of the few females on her beat, is subjected to obscene harassment. To solve this murder and bring about justice, two characters need to take professional and life-threatening action. It’s an engaging, fast-paced, multi-layered read.

— Christine Wald-Hopkins

“Fix Your Marriage Without Counseling: A Practical Method Men Will Appreciate” by Ziba Graham, Jr. Wheatmark. 156 pgs $18.29. $9.99 Kindle

Ziba Graham likes nothing better than to be fired. It means, says the retired marriage and family counselor, that his innovative program for mending broken relationships has shown his clients the path forward to lasting change, so they no longer require his services. His solution-driven formula — the “ZG Method” — gives couples control of the process, allowing them to focus collaboratively on the future, rather than simply rehashing the hurtful past. He outlines his positive approach in this user-friendly, step-by-step book geared to enhance trust, improve communication and put conflicts behind. Included are appendices with useful self-assessment tools.

— Helene Woodhams

“Not Your Average Joe” by Joseph E. Prince. Curry Brothers Publishing LLC, 170 pgs. $20

“Fight to be better than what people expect you to be.” Author Joseph Prince wrote the book on defying the odds: diagnosed with autism as a youngster, he exceeded expectations by becoming a special education teacher and school administrator in Sahuarita, and was recognized as one of America’s most inspirational coaches. Fighting cancer at a young age, he was determined to excel at track and became a championship, Olympic-level sprinter. As the title indicates, his achievements have been anything but average: he tells his life-affirming story in this uplifting book.

— Helene Woodhams

“On Horsebarn Hill: Poems” by Janet McMillan Rives. Kelsay Books. $17. 44 pp.

Oro Valley poet Janet McMillan Rives brings her characteristic visual, quiet, restrained voice to this new collection of poems recreating her 1940s idyllic childhood in rural Storrs, Connecticut, and adolescence in Tucson. Narrative, reflective, reminiscent, at times nostalgic about running, playing and riding free on a college farm, they are a welcome respite from a world far removed from evenings “unconnected with outsiders .…our families…at dinner tables … recount[ing] our daily miracles.”

— Christine Wald-Hopkins

“Rainy Afternoon Stories: Short Attention Span ‘Novellas’” by Robert Rietschel. Independently published, 215 pgs. $13.99, $4.99 Kindle

Prolific author and retired academic dermatologist Robert Rietschel returns with a new collection of short stories and mini-novellas, sized to fill a brief respite or a lazy afternoon. With leisure in mind, he pairs his offerings with suggested libations to assure reading pleasure. Drink in hand, readers will be entertained by imagined scenarios — some more factual than not, based on the author’s experience — and will enjoy his free-range, no-holds-barred take on thought-provoking questions, worst-case scenarios, and bodies buried in the backyard.

— Helene Woodhams

“Woman Kraft Community Arts” by Judy Jennings with Skreko Martin. Independently published. $20; available in Kindle. 94 pp.

This slim volume chronicles the 50-year history of a Tucson women’s arts collective. In her voice and those of several other participants, Judy Jennings describes WomanKraft from its inception (its 1970s mission, to support women’s art), through ups and downs — including painful losses — to its still-viable group exhibiting and teaching art in “the Castle,” on South Stone.

— Christine Wald-Hopkins