Happy Holidays from Metropolis Books!!

Open December 23rd. until 9:00 pm for late night shopping. Open Christmas Eve from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. Closed December 25th. and 26th.

Come meet Francis Dinkelspiel...12/11 7:00 pm

Great Great Granddaughter of Isaias Hellman. Francis will discuss her new book, "Towers of Gold" The story of a Jewish immigrant in Los Angeles, and also the founder of the Farmers and Merchants bank, located on the corner of 4th. and Main street. Don't miss this event.7:00 pm Art Walk night, December 11th.

December 6th. 4:00 pm Author Event

Saturday, December 6th (400 PM)
Downtown Author Diana Leszczynski, will sign and read her debut children's novel, "Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose" Don't miss this event!!

Nov. 15th. Historical Fiction-Patricia Wynn-4:00 pm

Patricia Wynn will read and discuss her latest Historical Fiction novel, "The Motive of Deed" A Blue Satan and Mrs. Kean novel. Saturday November 15th. at 4:00 pm.

Bruce Cana Fox-Art Walk NIght-8:00 pm

Join us as we welcome- Bruce Cana Fox-Nov. 13th. at 8:00 pm

When observing an especially beautiful mobile, beginning artists often think, "Wow, I want to make one like THAT!" If you have stood under a mobile by Alexander Calder and entertained such thoughts, this book will help you make one like that.
This guide provides practical and encouraging step-by-step instructions for making horizontally balanced mobiles. From assembling the materials and tools through the designing, fabricating, assembly, painting, and hanging stages, you can create your own mobiles, with Bruce at your side the whole time. His 19 carefully written chapters and 190 color photographs let you see and understand all the stages toward creating your mobiles. He even shows you how to fix a mistake and pack it for shipping.
By following Bruce?s steps and positive attitude, hours of fun and challenge will be rewarded with art you are proud of."

Join us for an evening with Steve Lopez

Tuesday Oct. 21st. 6:00 pm, please join us for a special event for close friends of Lamp Community - a discussion and book signing with Los Angeles Times columnist and best-selling author, Steve Lopez . Lopez will discuss The Soloist, chronicling his friendship with and the dramatic change in Nathaniel Ayers, a musician living with mental illness who spent decades on the streets before gaining access to a real home and clinical & supportive services. Lopez describes Ayers’ journey from the streets of Skid Row to Lamp Community to the Disney Concert Hall. The Soloist is also a major motion picture from Dreamworks Productions scheduled for release in November 2008.
As The Soloist illustrates, “no-strings attached” housing with voluntary supportive services restores dignity to homeless individuals living with mental illness and helps them to rebuild their lives. At Lamp Community, we have the answer to ending chronic homelessness - a home. Instead of managing homelessness, we end it. Seating is limited. RSVP to Lara Long at laral@lampcommunity.org

or (213)488-0879 as soon as possible.
Lamp Community respectfully requests a minimum contribution of $100 per person. Your gift is fully tax deductible. More importantly, your gift will help men and women living with mental illness move from streets to homes and transform their lives.

Join us for a Vision Quest-Oct. 18th. 5:00 pm

Join us as we welcome Deborah Pratt a 27-year veteran of the entertainment industry. Her credits include co-executive producer, as well as head writer of the award winning Sci-Fi series, Quantum Leap, which still airs in syndication. Quantum Leap, which aired for five years, was awarded multiple Emmys, 2 Golden Globes and numerous other prestigious awards. Quantum Leap became a cult phenomenon, with an active, loyal fan club (Leapers) of approximately 7 million worldwide. As a producer, she is a four-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe nominee. As a television writer, Ms. Pratt was awarded the Lillian Gish Award from Women in Film, The Angel Award, The Golden Block Award and five B.E.N. awards. As a producer, she is a five-time Emmy nominee as well as a Golden Globe nominee. Join us as she launches the next installment in her Vision Quest series, The Odyssey.
In the Vision Quest saga, Earth was transformed by the Great Quakes, weather shifts and eruptions that redefined the planet in the early decades of the twenty-first century. Huge land mass shifts, submersions and resurrections from the bottom of the sea redefined the world, as we now know it. But Man in his genius to survive has triumphed over the resulting destruction and chaos and has created the Age of Light.
The Vision Quest, Book One: The Age of Light: On a spring day in the territory of Atlantia, 18-year old Cole “Lazer” Lazerman witnesses the slaughter of his father and 2,700 innocent people by the Black Guard, biodroids who had been created only to protect humans by Ducane Covax, a brilliant scientist. Lazer must learn to transform his hatred, fear and passion for revenge if he is to achieve the greatness that can be his through the universal forces or forgotten powers of the Visionistic Arts. To do this, he embarks on a Rite of Passage journey, the success of which will determine the fate of all humanity.
The Vision Quest, Book Two: The Odyssey: With his beloved father murdered and his Atlantian home under the control of the biodroid Black Guard and their evil leader, Five, Lazer enters a series of explosive battlefields – both virtual and real. Along with his friends – and hopefully the newfound love of his life – can he master the Visionistic Arts, harness the limitless power of the human mind and spirit, survive the perilous odyssey to save himself, his mother, his home in Atlantia and ultimately the world?Deborah Pratt Join us as we welcome a 27-year veteran of the entertainment industry. Her credits include co-executive producer, as well as head writer of the award winning Sci-Fi series, Quantum Leap, which still airs in syndication. Quantum Leap, which aired for five years, was awarded multiple Emmys, 2 Golden Globes and numerous other prestigious awards. Quantum Leap became a cult phenomenon, with an active, loyal fan club (Leapers) of approximately 7 million worldwide. As a producer, she is a four-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe nominee. As a television writer, Ms. Pratt was awarded the Lillian Gish Award from Women in Film, The Angel Award, The Golden Block Award and five B.E.N. awards. As a producer, she is a five-time Emmy nominee as well as a Golden Globe nominee. Join us as she launches the next installment in her Vision Quest series, The Odyssey.
In the Vision Quest saga, Earth was transformed by the Great Quakes, weather shifts and eruptions that redefined the planet in the early decades of the twenty-first century. Huge land mass shifts, submersions and resurrections from the bottom of the sea redefined the world, as we now know it. But Man in his genius to survive has triumphed over the resulting destruction and chaos and has created the Age of Light.
The Vision Quest, Book One: The Age of Light: On a spring day in the territory of Atlantia, 18-year old Cole “Lazer” Lazerman witnesses the slaughter of his father and 2,700 innocent people by the Black Guard, biodroids who had been created only to protect humans by Ducane Covax, a brilliant scientist. Lazer must learn to transform his hatred, fear and passion for revenge if he is to achieve the greatness that can be his through the universal forces or forgotten powers of the Visionistic Arts. To do this, he embarks on a Rite of Passage journey, the success of which will determine the fate of all humanity.
The Vision Quest, Book Two: The Odyssey: With his beloved father murdered and his Atlantian home under the control of the biodroid Black Guard and their evil leader, Five, Lazer enters a series of explosive battlefields – both virtual and real. Along with his friends – and hopefully the newfound love of his life – can he master the Visionistic Arts, harness the limitless power of the human mind and spirit, survive the perilous odyssey to save himself, his mother, his home in Atlantia and ultimately the world?

Meet a Hollywood Legend-Oct. 11th. at 4:00 pm

Meet Hollywood Legend Mark Damon this weekend!!

If you saw Mark Damon in a tux at the 55th Annual Academy Awards you probably wouldn't picture him in a toga. If he flashed his dazzling smile at his wife, Maggie, your first thought wouldn't be "Oooh, vampire fangs." But Mark played a beast and a vampire, rode across the desert in a toga as the son of Cleopatra, walked the streets of Toledo as a Spanish king named Peter the Cruel and cleaned up the West as two Spaghetti Western cowboys named Johnny. As an actor he played a hero, a rebel and a fool in over fifty teenflicks, Spaghetti Westerns and swashbucklers. As a producer and film distributor, he was involved in the success of over 350 films. Teen idol, singer, film director, writer and producer, astute businessman, inventor of the foreign film sales business - by 1983, Damon had pursued almost as many careers as a tomcat has lives..." - From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster. Twenty-five years later, Mark Damon continues to reinvent himself in the film business. His is a never ending story.

The Ghost Society-Oct. 4th. 5:00 pm

Join us October 4th. at 5:00 pm as we welcome the Ghost Society who will sign and discuss their new book, "The Ghost Files". Don't miss this event.

Jennifer Banash-September 20th. 4:00 pm

Don't miss Jennifer Banash signing and discussing her new novel, "The Elite" Metropolis Books September 20th. 4:00 pm.

Art Walk Night-Kim Calder

Please join us Thursday September 11th. at 7:00 pm as we welcome Poet Kim Calder to Metropolis Books. Kim will read from her collection entitled, "Who's to Say What's Home" Don't miss this event.

Evan Kilgore-Sept. 6th. 5:00 pm

Join us as we welcome Evan Kilgore to Metropolis Books. Evan will sign his latest novel, "The Children of Black Valley" Saturday at 5:00 pm, Metropolis Books, 440 S. Main St.

Events-August-November 2008

Upcoming Author Events:

Sat, Aug 30th, 6 PM
David Smay, Hayden Childs, & Kim Cooper/33 1/3 Series

Sat, Sept 6th, 5 PM
Evan Kilgore/TheChildren of Black Valley

Thurs, Sept 11th, 7 PM
Kim Calder/Who'sTo Say What's Home

Sat, Sept 20th, 4 PM
Jennifer Banash/The Elite

Sat, Oct 11th, 4 PM
Mark Damon/From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster

Sat, Oct 18th, 5 pm
Deborah Pratt/The Vision Quest, Book II

Sat, Oct 25th, 5 pm
Leslie S. Klinger/The Annotated Dracula

Sat, Nov 1st, 8 pm (**Offsite Event**)
Vince Flynn/Extreme Measures

Thurs, Nov 13th, 8 PM
Bruce Cana Fox/Making Mobiles

August 30th. 6:00 pm

Authors: Kim Cooper, David Smay, and Hayden Childs will sign and read their new novels.

August 2nd. 4:00 pm-Denise Hamilton

Join us as we welcome author Denise Hamilton on August 2nd. 4:00pm at Metropolis Books. Denise will sign and discuss her latest novel, "The Last Embrace"-Don't miss this event!

Art Walk July 10th. 7:00 pm

Join us as we welcome spoken word poet Derrick Engoy.

Derrick will perform poetry from his new book, "Verbal Paintings" Don't miss this event!!

Music, Tea and Crumpets

Check out our upcoming June Events:

Meet Mina Yang, author of "California Polyphony" Mina will sign and discuss her nonfiction work this Saturday at 4:00 pm.

Enjoy Tea and Crumpets with author Jerramy Fine, as she signs her novel, "Someday my Prince will Come" June 14th. at teatime, 4:00 pm

Stand up Straight-Book Signing June 1st.

Join us as we host author and Huffington Post blogger Robert Creamer as he signs and discusses his book, "Stand Up Straight, How Progressives Can Win" Sunday June 1st. at 3:00 pm.

Robert Creamer has been a political organizer and strategist for almost four decades. He and his firm, the Strategic Consulting Group, work with many of the country’s most significant issue campaigns. He was one of the major architects and organizers of the successful campaign to defeat the privatization of Social Security.

Poetry in Motion-May 8th. 7:00 pm

Come out Art Walk night and enjoy the Downtown Poets!!

The Downtown Poets Richard McDowell, Wendy Arimah, Mike the Poet and Blackbird, will be featured.

Noir mystery, cozy mystery, traditional mystery, mysterious mystery, mystery and more mystery.......

APRIL 19TH. 4:00 PM
Mystery abounds as we host four specialists of the genre.....

Christa Faust will be featuring her latest novel, Money Shot. It all began with the phone call asking former porn star Angel Dare to do one more movie. Before she knew it, she’d been shot and left for dead in the trunk of a car. But Angel is a survivor. And that means she’ll get to the bottom of what’s been done to her even if she has to leave a trail of bodies along the way...
"Christa Faust’s Money Shot has to be an early contender for mystery debut of the year...Money Shot has no peer in hardboiled writing about the sex industry." - The Bloomberg News


Sue Ann Jaffarian has just released the third novel in her Odelia Grey mystery series, Thugs and Kisses. Odelia Grey is the middle-aged, plus-size, humorous amateur sleuth of the series. A woman ready to show the world that you don't have to be thin and young to be happy and complete.
"I'd like to spend more time with Sue Ann Jaffarian's Odelia, a plus-size fat-liberationist with a handsome wheelchair-bound lover. Odelia, a paralegal from Costa Mesa, Calif., is as infectiously optimistic, despite frequent humiliation, as Alexander McCall Smith's dear Precious Ramotswe is serene. And like Miss Zukas and Agatha, she does not hesitate to give justice a small, well-plotted forward shove at every opportunity. " — The New York Times

Kathryn Lilley presents Dying To Be Thin, the first installment in her Fat City Mysteries series. It’s a story about dieting, sex and murder set in a residential diet clinic (read: “fat farm”). In this clinic, the only things more dangerous than the food are the fondue forks…

Hannah Dennison will be debuting her novel A Vicky Hill Exclusive! The title character is a young investigative journalist who opens a Pandora's Box of troubles. Casting safety aside and with only her pluck, wit and determination to fall back on, Vicky must decide just how far she is prepared to go to clinch the story of a lifetime.

Catch the Criminal-April 17th. from 11:00 to 2:00 pm and 5:00 to 8:00 pm

An intense page-turner based on the author's true-life experiences. Stan Lerner's Criminal is the graphic and shocking account of the rise to power of the world s most calculating and dangerous criminal...Sam Noah. Sam Noah was handsome, intelligent, and charismatic. He came from a good family, had the perfect girlfriend, and attended UCLA where he ranked at the top of his class. Noah could have made anything he wanted to out of his life. But crime came naturally to him. The story begins in 1984. The Cold War is at its height and the CIA is looking for still more funding for its covert operations around the world. Powerful men decide that there must be a go to guy. A man that will do whatever is necessary to finance the wars that Congress cannot be made aware of. Sam Noah takes a job at a popular nightclub where he runs a small-time ticket scam -- and he begins to recruit the ruthless men that will help him build a narcotics empire. When the FBI becomes a gathering threat to Noah, he forms an alliance with the CIA. His innovations -- the crack house and the drive-by shooting -- not only bring an unprecedented level of violence to the streets of America. They assure the powerful men who have engaged his services that Noah is indeed capable of doing the unthinkable. The sale of cocaine makes him rich. His willingness to commit murder ensures that he will remain so. Not since Hannibal Lecter has there been such a horrifying yet engaging mastermind of evil. Stan Lerner's Criminal transports the reader into the darkest of all places: the criminal mind. This is an unforgettable journey into the psyche of Sam Noah -- the man behind some of the most brutal sins against humanity. By the end of this unflinching tale, what may shock the reader the most is how he or she will ultimately identify with and root for this ruthless but brilliant Criminal. Sta! n Lerner was born in Montebello, California and currently lives in Los Angeles. His vast and diverse body of work has earned him such credits as: the painter of The Black Period, the creator and producer of the Las Vegas music spectacle Night Tribe , the writer, director, producer of the motion picture comedy Meet The Family , and now the author of Stan Lerner's Criminal . Stan Lerner is truly one of the great creative forces of our time.

Spot light on L.A. Theatres and the L.A. River

Join us for a book signing Art Walk night April 10th. 7:30 at Metropolis Books. We are hosting authors Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall, and Marc Wannamaker who will all sign and discuss their new book, Theatres in Los Angeles. Also that night we are hosting author Ted Elrick who will sign and discuss his book on the Los Angeles River. Don't miss this event, learn the history of old Los Angeles.

Now Arriving!! LAX Poets

Join us at Metropolis Books April 5th. at 4:00 pm, as we welcome poets; Julie Gamberg, Sid Miller, Vandana Khanna, Marlys West. The LAX Poets are a collaborative of four poets with published books, awards, exciting work, and compelling (and varied) reading styles. Join them as they present from their works! 440 S. Main St.

Author Event-March 29th...Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

March 29th. 4:00 pm

Please join us as we welcome acclaimed author Joanne Leedom-Ackerman. Ms. Leedom-Ackerman will read and sign her award winning novel, "The Dark Path to the River" and her short story collection entitled, "No More Angels"

March 15th. 1:00 p.m.

Come see New York Times bestselling author and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell sign and discuss his nonfiction work, "Lone Survivor", along with Staff Sergeant David Bellavia and Lt. Col. Steve Russell

Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell was a Navy SEAL fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for combat heroism in 2006. He is from Texas and has a twin brother who is also a Navy SEAL. He has written Lone Survivor, an eyewitness account of Operation Redwing , a reconnaissance mission trying to locate a guerrilla commander who was aligned with the Taliban. He discusses the training to be a SEAL, the mindset of the SEALS, and how he and his teammates fought heroically in an ambush where he became the sole survivor of SEAL Team 10. This is a book about modern warfare, the mindset of the terrorists as well as a tribute to his fallen teammates who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. This book has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for the past 31 weeks.

On the night of November 10, 2004, a U.S. Army infantry squad under Staff Sergeant David Bellavia entered the heart of the city of Fallujah and plunged into one of the most sustained and savage urban battles in the history of American men at arms.
With Third Platoon, Alpha Company, part of the Army's Task Force 2/2, Bellavia and his men confronted an enemy who had had weeks to prepare, booby-trapping houses, arranging ambushes, rigging entire city blocks as explosives-laden kill zones, and even stocking up on atropine, a steroid that pumps up fighters in the equivalent of a long-lasting crack high. Entering one house, alone, Bellavia faced the fight of his life against six insurgents, using every weapon at his disposal, including a knife. It is the stuff of legend and the chief reason he is one of the great heroes of the Iraq War. Bringing to searing life the terrifying intimacy of hand-to-hand infantry combat, House to House is far more than just another war story. A timeless portrait of the U.S. infantryman's courage, House to House is a soldier's memoir that is destined to rank with the finest personal accounts of men at war.

Lt. Col. Steve Russell commanded the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry and was a central player in the hunt and capture of Saddam Hussein. He served more than 7 years overseas and has deployed operationally to Kosovo , Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq . To combat encourage Americans to support victory, he founded "Vets For Victory."

Meet Author Larry Fondation!!-Art Walk March

Don't miss author Larry Fondation on March 13th. Larry will read and discuss his latest novel, "Fish, Soap, and Bonds"

Immortal-Author Traci Slatton

Join us February 12th. at 6:30 pm as we welcome author Traci Slatton. Traci will read from and sign her novel Immortal.

Author Event-Jan. 16th. 7:00 pm

Join us as we welcome author Matthew Reilly at Metropolis Books. Matthew will sign and discuss his new bestselling thriller, "The Six Sacred Stones". Don't miss this event!!

Author Event

Author William Luvaas will read and discuss his collection of short stories entitled,

"A Working Man's Apocrypha". Bill will be in our store on January 10th. at 7:30 pm, Art Walk night. We will be open until 10:00 pm, don't miss this event.