Stretching from Ventura to Santa Maria, California, a vibrant and colorful community of hot rod clubs bloomed throughout the middle of the 20th century. Hot Rodding in Ventura County takes a look at the people, places, and, above all, the cars that made up this historic period in automotive culture. Take a look into the golden years of hot rodding through vintage images of the first national championship drag races; visit long-lost drag strips such as Goleta, Saugus, and Santa Maria; and gain access to hot rodding's paramount clubs like the Motor Monarchs, the Kustomeers, and the Pharaohs.

La Colonia is half a square mile of land separated from the rest of Oxnard by the railroad tracks and home to the people who keep an agricultural empire running. In decades past, milpas of corn and squash grew in tiny front yards, kids played in the alleys and neighbors ran tortillerias out of their homes. Back then, it was the place to get the best raspadas on Earth. It was a home to Cesar Chavez and a campaign stop for presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. As one Colonia native put it, "We may not have had what the other kids had, but we were just as rich." Through the voices of the people, the authors share the challenges and triumphs of growing up in this treasured place.

A woman and her husband visit a college friend after a family tragedy.

For world-class surfer Bear Woznick, the ocean has always been the center of his universe. He's spent his entire life with it; riding its waves, learning from it, loving it. The ocean also nourishes the soul as Bear shows us on his surfboard. In DEEP IN THE WAVE, readers ride along with Woznick through the calmest of tides and most turbulent waves. Woznick's portrayal of the beauty and power of the ocean is truly inspiring and showcases the profound meaning surfing has had on his life. From the way a surfboard is painstakingly crafted, to the faith and patience that is required to ride a monster wave, Woznick weaves his relationship to surfing with his relationship to God, relating how the two are often one in the same. Instead of standing on the shore with our toes in the surf, Woznick takes us on the board--to the deep water--to watch and wait--and, if need be, to paddle hard to survive.

Strange secrets and eerie tales shadow the idyllic beauty of the Heritage Valley and the meandering Santa Clara River. The spirit of a playful little boy wanders the halls of the historic Glen Tavern Inn, and the ghostly phantom of the real Zorro, Joaquin Murrieta, guards his buried gold in the foothills of Piru. The chilling cries of La Llorona echo along Sespe Creek, and a beast is still reportedly seen loping upright across the countryside near Santa Paula. Outside Fillmore, the Lady in White lingers by the old sycamore tree, sometimes materializing in cars traveling down Highway 126. Author Evie Ybarra recounts spine-tingling tales and local lore from Valencia to Ventura.

A serial killer terrorizes a small California town in this gripping thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag. California, 1985—Four children and young teacher Anne Navarre make a gruesome discovery: a partially buried female body, her eyes and mouth glued shut. A serial killer is at large, and the very bonds that hold their idyllic town together are about to be tested to the breaking point. Tasked with finding the killer, FBI investigator Vince Leone employs a new and controversial FBI technique called “profiling,” which plunges him into the lives of the four children—and the young teacher whose need to uncover the truth is as intense as his own. But as new victims are found and pressure from the media grows, Vince and Anne find themselves circling the same small group of local suspects, unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves—or those close to the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very near to them is a murderous psychopath…