I have taken little known areas of California as my literary province, setting my stories and essays in farms and villages and empty stretches of that otherwise glitzy state. I write especially about my home region, the Great Central Valley...the richest agricultural region in the history of the world.
It is an area of few haves and many have nots, bloated wealth for a few, desperation for many, and increasingly of a disconnected middle class. Many people of all colors struggle to gain a foothold in California on its unforgiving fields, toiling to survive while varied cultures clash or blend, and that in turn can lead to deep, grinding drama. Add an improved (or maimed)landscape, water wars, a blighted natural environment, and there's plenty to write about.
I call my settings "The Other California."