Joe Cottonwood: 9 books

“An engaging picaresque novel of a young man on the run. A warm, well-told story of a likable character with a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” —Publisher's Weekly “Like the smudged chrome of a truck-stop diner, Famous Potatoes is an element of a new American realism,...

Winner! First place! IndieReader Discovery Award "Best Indie Nonfiction Book of 2014" "A general contractor and author looks back on a 35-year career contending with a variety of houses and people—most in disrepair. The many blue-collar jobs that Cottonwood wonderfully describes...

"While their parents attend a World Series game in San Francisco, Franny, 14, and her once-best friend Jennie, now a tattooed stranger wearing headphones, are babysitting her bratty brother Sidney. Clearly, getting reacquainted with Jennie, who moved away when her parents divorced years before, will...

With a keen eye and a big heart, Joe Cottonwood writes of the small towns and driftwood beaches of the Pacific Coast. As a working carpenter, he speaks with special appreciation of trees: the giant redwoods, the powerful fir and redolent cedar. From pelicans to pumpkins, from dangerous driving to...

When carpenters work for bigshots - and fall for beautiful women - who gets nailed? "It's funny, very tender, and enormously, tremendously human. In fact, Clear Heart just might be one of the most human books I've read in a long time." —Colleen Mondor, Bookslut In this joyful, down-to-earth...

Four smart kids. One busy town. Hoot Howard collects waterfalls - until somebody steals them. He's a small boy with a big heart. Bowie Brown plays guitar - and uses it as an assault weapon. He breaks things - rules, windows, collar bones. Jaz McGuire is determined to never grow...

For Boone Barnaby, there's big trouble in the little town of San Puerco, California. Boone's soccer team is accused of thuggery and thrown out of the league. Boone's father is arrested for burning down houses. The dogcatcher is after Boone's dog. A goose is attacking Boone's car. The town hoodlum...

The award-winning novel about a boy and a girl, one white and one black, and the boy's con-man uncle starting a new life in a small town. “Full of humor, hope, and bravery. Richly drawn, fast paced, enticing, and downright witty. . . Sure to be a hit."—School Library Journal. "You will laugh out loud."—Pick of the List

A better title might be DANNY COYOTE because that's what the book is about: Danny, and a couple of coyotes who make friends with him. Danny's father blows a hole in the television with a rifle and then goes into a hospital for a while, leaving Danny to live alone in a trailer with no money and little...