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Karen Thompson Walker is author of "The Age of Miracles." (COURTESY PHOTO / September 30, 2012) |
One by one Imperial Valley residents have been cracking open a book called “The Age of Miracles” about a suburban San Diego family and how they respond when the Earth suddenly begins to slow rotation, affecting length of days and nights, gravity and the environment as the family simultaneously goes through typical life problems.
Valley resident Nancy Thornburg read the book after hearing it from her friend Steve Walker and seeing it in publications such as Oprah magazine.
“It was a really good book. She (author Karen Thompson Walker) has a great imagination and made you think of different things, of what could happen in the world,” Thornburg said. “Very interesting, very well done.”
The book was written by San Diego native Walker, who married Valley native Casey Walker, son of El Centro City Councilwoman Cheryl Viegas-Walker and Central Union High School board member Steve Walker, three years ago. She is no stranger to the Valley, having been coming here for many years.
“I am really very, very happy for Karen and Casey. They both have a love of reading and writing, and it’s just been really a lot of fun to watch them go through this process of finishing the book and having it picked up and be published,” Cheryl Viegas-Walker said.
Karen Thompson Walker studied English and creative writing at University of California, Los Angeles, and later worked as a newspaper reporter in the San Diego Area and as an editor at Simon & Schuster and before moving to New York City to attend Columbia University for her master’s of fine arts. She received the 2011 Sirenland Fellowship as well as a Bomb Magazine fiction prize.
Southwest High School English teacher Catherine Drew also heard about the book from Steve Walker and enjoyed it, admiring the “perfect pitch” development of an 11-year-old girl in the plot as well as the scientific detail included.
Her class’ copy of the book is already checked out, and more copies have been ordered for students that were interested in both the book as well as the author’s personal connection to the Valley.
“I think that’s something else that intrigues them,” Drew said. “A lot of them know the Walkers through various means. … Anytime you have a local tie it piques interest. Anything we can do to get them to read or want to write is great.”
Cheryl Viegas-Walker said the El Centro library also has a copy of the book available for the public.
“I hope people have an opportunity to read the book and enjoy it,” she said. “It’s beautifully written. Her sentence structure is very powerful. The premise is very intriguing, a little disturbing, but very intriguing. It’s just an excellent, well-written book.”
While she may be biased to a book written by her daughter-in-law, “The Age of Miracles” was also No. 6 on the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists and also made the bestseller lists for the Boston Globe, Northern California Independent Booksellers, The Mountains and Plains Indie Bestseller List and the Indie Bestseller List in July.
The author often comes to the Valley around the holidays, and Cheryl Walker said she hopes that a local book-signing can be arranged around that time.
Visit the book’s Web site at www.theageofmiraclesbook.com for more information.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
To join the discussion and add your comments to this story, please click here to be directed to Facebook.
Valley resident Nancy Thornburg read the book after hearing it from her friend Steve Walker and seeing it in publications such as Oprah magazine.
“It was a really good book. She (author Karen Thompson Walker) has a great imagination and made you think of different things, of what could happen in the world,” Thornburg said. “Very interesting, very well done.”
The book was written by San Diego native Walker, who married Valley native Casey Walker, son of El Centro City Councilwoman Cheryl Viegas-Walker and Central Union High School board member Steve Walker, three years ago. She is no stranger to the Valley, having been coming here for many years.
“I am really very, very happy for Karen and Casey. They both have a love of reading and writing, and it’s just been really a lot of fun to watch them go through this process of finishing the book and having it picked up and be published,” Cheryl Viegas-Walker said.
Karen Thompson Walker studied English and creative writing at University of California, Los Angeles, and later worked as a newspaper reporter in the San Diego Area and as an editor at Simon & Schuster and before moving to New York City to attend Columbia University for her master’s of fine arts. She received the 2011 Sirenland Fellowship as well as a Bomb Magazine fiction prize.
Southwest High School English teacher Catherine Drew also heard about the book from Steve Walker and enjoyed it, admiring the “perfect pitch” development of an 11-year-old girl in the plot as well as the scientific detail included.
Her class’ copy of the book is already checked out, and more copies have been ordered for students that were interested in both the book as well as the author’s personal connection to the Valley.
“I think that’s something else that intrigues them,” Drew said. “A lot of them know the Walkers through various means. … Anytime you have a local tie it piques interest. Anything we can do to get them to read or want to write is great.”
Cheryl Viegas-Walker said the El Centro library also has a copy of the book available for the public.
“I hope people have an opportunity to read the book and enjoy it,” she said. “It’s beautifully written. Her sentence structure is very powerful. The premise is very intriguing, a little disturbing, but very intriguing. It’s just an excellent, well-written book.”
While she may be biased to a book written by her daughter-in-law, “The Age of Miracles” was also No. 6 on the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists and also made the bestseller lists for the Boston Globe, Northern California Independent Booksellers, The Mountains and Plains Indie Bestseller List and the Indie Bestseller List in July.
The author often comes to the Valley around the holidays, and Cheryl Walker said she hopes that a local book-signing can be arranged around that time.
Visit the book’s Web site at www.theageofmiraclesbook.com for more information.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
To join the discussion and add your comments to this story, please click here to be directed to Facebook.
