Heartfelt Tales of Love Connect the Residents of a Small California Town

Benicia, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2007 -- Outskirts Press, Inc. is pleased to bring you Benicia and Letters of Love, a new novel by author and award-winning poet James Garrett inspired by his real-life hometown. In this marvelous compilation, Garrett presents a dazzling assortment of "love letters" that are in turns touching, passionate, and delightful. They all share one thing in common--they are all somehow connected to the town of Benicia in Northern California. You will fall in love with Benicia as you come to know it through Garrett's eyes.

The novel opens with a fictional letter the author has placed in a local newspaper: "You are cordially invited to submit to me a letter, which in any way, shape, or form concerns love connected with the City of Benicia, for possible inclusion in a publication titled Benicia and Letters of Love? The type of love connection is not important, the fact of the connection of love is. My only requirement for the letters sent in reply to this advertisement is that each is a love story--the recognition of love.

Each letter written in "response" to this advertisement is individually crafted by James to show love in its many different aspects. The letters are written in an assortment of different styles and from many angles: family members, non-family members, same-race, mixed race, male/female, male/male, female/female, and young/old, to name a few. Your heart will relate to these letters and perhaps you'll recognize someone from your own past: the kid you watched grow up or the couple down the street. You might even find yourself in these pages.

Every one of us knows someone who has found love or lost love, and many of us have fallen in love ourselves. Even if you did not grow up in a small town like Benicia, you will no doubt find something in these love letters that will tug at your own heartstrings.

About the Author

James Garrett has called Benicia, California his home for the last sixty years. As a teenager, he listened to his father and the older generation talk about their own escapades as young men. A four-year stint in the US Navy taught him how to listen to and watch the behavior of others, and 27 years as a high school teacher, where he heard "just about everything," helped him to sharpen his powers of observation and communication. His ability to tap into the human condition makes Benicia and Letters of Love an emotionally compelling collection.

Benicia and Letters of Love by James Garrett

Availability: Baker & Taylor, Ingram, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com

ISBN 1598008544, 5x8 inches

Retail Price: US 15.95, CAN 19.95, UK 10.95. MSA San Francisco Bay Area

###