The debut novel of a Yucca Valley author was originally scheduled to be released in June, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its release until December. Reporter Heather Clisby spoke with K.S. Hollenbeck about her book, “The Sand Castle” and has these details…
Though she grew up in the Sierra Nevadas, author K.S. Hollenbeck fell hard for the desert landscape as a rock climber in her 20s. She had just finished her MFA at University of California, Riverside, and was teaching in Idyllwild, when she made the move to Joshua Tree in 2005. Now in Yucca Valley, Hollenbeck found the desert to be an ideal setting for her debut novel, “The Sand Castle” about a co-ed prison in 1886. Inspired by the Yuma Territorial Prison in Arizona, Hollenbeck’s story goes beyond the usual cowboys of the Wild West.
“I wanted to write a Western that told the story of characters often on the peripheries of other Westerns – women, minorities. And one of my obsessions is prisons — not just real prisons but prisons people create for themselves,” says Hollenbeck.
In “The Sand Castle” we meet Flossie Abbot, a famous singer formerly known as The Flame of San Francisco, that is, until she is sent to prison for adultery resulting in a man’s death.
“I like a riches-to-rags story rather than a rags-to-riches story,” says Hollenbeck.
Flossie’s prison life, and the characters that populate that world, are what make up this lively Western tale. “When you fall from grace, you really are free to do anything at that point so what do you have to lose?” Hollenbeck says.
Hollenbeck, a former teacher of theater, creative writing, English and History, previously published a book of poetry as well as numerous plays that are performed across the country.
Published by Five Star, “The Sand Castle” is available for purchase online via Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever books are sold.
