WHEN WATER WAS EVERYWHERE
Big Blend Radio
Interview with Barbara Crane, author of the award winning historical novel, ‘When Water Was Everywhere’.
Once upon a time in Los Angeles, water was everywhere–in rivers that rendered the vast plain marsh and woodland; in underground streams that provided an abundance of water for people, cattle, orchards and vineyards. The American Henry Scott encounters this fertile landscape in When Water Was Everywhere. Arriving in the Mexican pueblo of Los Angeles in 1842, he meets Don Rodrigo Tilman (based on the historical John Temple). Scott becomes the foreman of Tilman’s newly-purchased cattle ranch along the Los Angeles River, the present day Rancho Los Cerritos. As Scott learns about ranchos and cattle, vaqueros and Indians, Mexican California and Tongva Indian village life come alive under Barbara Crane’s deft grasp of narrative and history. Tilman, Scott, Big Headed Girl (a young Tongva Indian woman) and Padre JosE’s (a Franciscan friar) unfolding stories assure the novel’s themes of loss, hope and redemption resonate from every page.
Barbara Crane is a novelist and short story writer. Her 2001 novel, ‘The Oldest Things in the World’, won an award from ForeWord magazine. Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, The Sun magazine, the Birmingham Arts Journal, and the Outrider Press Black and White Anthology series. Her travels in Latin America, India and Africa have often suggested themes or settings for her work. Barbara has enjoyed careers as a business journalist, teacher, and corporate communications consultant. Barbara grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from UC Berkeley and has lived in Long Beach, California, for over 30 years.
Visit www.WhenWaterWasEverywhere.com.
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