142 Ostriches

For lovers of stark beauty, 142 OSTRICHES, the debut novel by Pushcart Prize-nominated author April Dávila, explores the muddled love of a desert ranch family long mired in disconnect, addiction and denial. At its center is Tallulah Jones, a young woman desperate to escape life on the Mojave Desert ostrich farm where her grandmother raised her. But when her grandmother dies under questionable circumstances, Tallulah finds herself as the sole heir to the ranch – just as the birds mysteriously stop laying eggs during the peak laying season. ..

Guarding the secret of the suddenly barren birds, Tallulah endeavors to force through a sale of the ranch, a task that is complicated by the arrival of her extended family. Their designs on the property, and deeply rooted dysfunction, threaten Tallulah’s ambitions and eventually her life. With no options left, Tallulah must pull her head out of the sand and face the fifty-year legacy of a family in turmoil: the reality of her grandmother's death, her mother's alcoholism, her uncle's covetous anger, and the 142 ostriches whose lives are in her hands.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

April Dávila is a fourth generation Californian and Pushcart Prize-nominated author of the debut novel, 142 Ostriches. Her mother’s family established a dairy farm in the Sacramento Valley in the 1880’s and her father’s family came from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. She has lived briefly in places as far flung as Ecuador, the Caribbean, and the Marshall Islands, but always comes back to California.

The daughter of an artist, Dávila studied marine biology at Scripps College before going on to study writing at USC. She is an attendee of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, a past resident at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, and runs Lit-WeekLA, a weekly newsletter covering Los Angeles area literary events. Writers Digest named her blog at AprilDavila.com one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. A practicing Buddhist, half-hearted gardener, and occasional runner, she lives out-side of Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Visit April online:

www.AprilDavila.com