Booksellers Speak Out for Katie Arnoldi's POINT DUME

Currently residing at #9 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List, and #1 on the Malibu Times Bestseller List, Katie Arnoldi's Point Dume continues to get rave reviews. Here's what booksellers in Southern California are saying about the novel:

"Point Dume is a timely and compelling novel that delves into the shadowy world of high-stakes marijuana cultivation as well as surfing, gentrification, sex, mid-life crises and novice vintners. A fast-paced study of clashing cultures, this novel should appeal to anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to live in a picturesque California beach town. Hint: it's not all it's cracked up to be." -—Kate Steffans, Skylight Books

"Arnoldi's ripped-from-the-headlines third novel could very well have degenerated into a tired cliche, but with skill and finesse she creates a world of characters that, in spite of their faults are comfortable and lived in. Point Dume breathes life into the world behind the pretty fences and black mercedes, it illuminates the outsider to all the small nuances of Malibu society, all the while taking us on a ride through the shady woods of our own backyard." --—Julia Callahan, Book Soup

"A spritely-written novel with flesh and blood contemporary characters, Point Dume is Katie Arnoldi's latest comedy of manners. But it is also a clever commentary on the distortions and contradictions of U.S. economic, drug and immigration policies, current social mores and behaviors, and the hidden environmental consequences of our drug war programs. All this in an entertaining breezy, sexy, surf novel set in Malibu. How does she do it?!" —John Evans, Diesel Bookstore

"Point Dome is an engaging tale that is filled with real-life characters that make the novel seem all to real." —Julie Swayze, Metropolis Books

Harry Crews + Joan Didion = Katie Arnoldi?

Jeff Baker of The Orgeonian in Portland profiles Katie Arnoldi: "Katie Arnoldi really wanted to see a mountain lion. That's how one seed for her new novel Point Dume was planted.

Several of her friends in Malibu, Calif., had too-close encounters with the big cats, and Arnoldi -- who loves to hike off-trail in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks -- became obsessed with seeing a mountain lion. She would get up before dawn and head into the Santa Monica Mountains, hoping to catch up to a cougar on the prowl.

One morning, she ran into some scary-looking guys in full camouflage who glared at her and didn't say anything. The encounter was scarier than any wildlife sighting and made more sense as she got deeper into her research and learned about how illegal marijuana growing operations are everywhere, from the deep forests of Sequoia and Kings Canyon -- where Arnoldi befriended a Forest Service official and gained access to law enforcement operations that are trying to stop pot farming on public land -- to the hills above Malibu.

"It's everywhere," Arnoldi said last week during a visit to Portland. "There can be huge 100,000-acre sites way back in the woods or smaller ones that you can walk to from a parking lot."

Like much of the U.S., Oregon is overrun with outlaw pot growing operations, many of them controlled by Mexican drug cartels. The cartels often force illegal immigrants who don't speak English and don't know where they are to cultivate the plants and will threaten to kill their families if they leave. Arnoldi explored this end of the drug business in Point Dume and agrees that Americans who smoke pot don't think about the violence associated with it or the environmental devastation caused by all the illegal pot farming.

View full size"And the third thing I would add is all the toxins they use when they're cultivating it," she said. "Nobody talks about that. It's terrible."

Marijuana cultivation is only one element in Point Dume. Arnoldi grew up surfing at Malibu and now lives on a hilltop there with her husband, painter Charles Arnoldi. Surf culture has changed, and not for the better, and a theme of invasive species runs through her book. It is her third novel, after "Chemical Pink" and "The Wentworths," and she cheerfully recapped her life and writing career.

Arnoldi was dyslexic as a child but didn't know it and struggled to read. She married her husband, already a successful artist, when she was 23 and began writing short stories that were routinely rejected.

"I was so self-centered and narcissistic when I was in my 20s, and my work reflected it," she said. "When my daughter was born in 1990, I swore I'd never write another sentence. I began training as a bodybuilder and two years later I won the Southern California bodybuilding championship."

Arnoldi wouldn't take steroids, which limited her future as a bodybuilder, and she gave it up. She did some competitive surfing "longboarding, mostly, anything to distract myself." She wrote what became a chapter of Chemical Pink, her first successful piece of fiction and not coincidentally the first thing she wasn't in as a character. The novel was a success and was optioned as a movie, and she spent a couple of years writing the screenplay. She said her writing idols are Harry Crews and Joan Didion."

Katie Arnoldi on Tour for POINT DUME

Novelist Katie Arnoldi is on the on the road this week with events in San Francisco, San Mateo, Portland, and Malibu. Arnoldi is the author of three critically acclaimed books, including the newly published Point Dume. Come out and meet Katie at these upcoming readings!

5/18
Booksmith, 7:30pm
1644 Haight Street
San Francisco

5/19
M is for Mystery, 7:00pm.
86 East 3rd Avenue
San Mateo, CA

5/20
Powell’s Books, 7:30pm

1005 West Burnside Street
Portland, OR

5/22
Diesel Books, 3:00pm
3890 Cross Creek Rd
Malibu, CA

Katie Arnoldi's POINT DUME Gets a Rave in Library Journal

Katie Arnoldi's new novel Point Dume gets a strong review in the May 15 issue of Library Journal: "Having written novels about women bodybuilders (Chemical Pink) and rich Angelenos (The Wentworths), Arnoldi now turns an acute eye toward the aging surfer community, Mexican drug cartels, and more dysfunctional rich people. Pablo, a gentleman pot dealer, and Ellis, a tough woman surfer, are lifelong friends who’ve been surfing since they were old enough to swim. Frank and Janice have a chilly marriage in which he is the boss. They have moved to the coast so Frank can play at being a winemaker. Felix is an illegal from Mexico, brought to California by a vicious drug cartel to grow marijuana. All of the author’s trademarks are present: kinky sex, drugs, and multiple points of view. As the characters’ problems deepen and their lives converge, a massive wildfire sweeps through the mountains, altering the tenor of existing relationships and destroying lives, marijuana farms, -megamansions, and the ecosystem VERDICT: Arnoldi knows how to make readers care about her protagonists. Her well-researched, well-written novel will appeal to fans of T.C. Boyle and Cormac McCarthy as well as to readers who mourn the destruction of the environment."

Katie Arnoldi's POINT DUME Reviewed in Booklist

Booklist previews the new novel from Katie Arnoldi, Point Dume: "Arnoldi revisits the themes of obsession and amorality that she so skillfully exposed in her previous works (Chemical Pink, 2001; The Wentworths, 2008), this time pitting iconic segments of Southern California’s counterculture against each other in an apocalyptic race for survival. Flinty surfer-chick Ellis’s on-again/ off-again affair with married vineyard owner Frank is complicated by a surprise pregnancy and her equally unsettled relationship with her childhood best friend, Pablo, now a drug dealer who supplies pot to disaffected housewives, like Frank’s wife, Janice. Stealing from the contraband pot farms operating deep in the canyons, Pablo is captured by Felix Duarte, an illegal immigrant smuggled into the country by the Mexican drug cartel to manage their operation located on the periphery of Frank’s estate. When the Santa Ana winds pick up and a single spark erupts into a conflagration, Mother Nature regains control of the land everyone, save Ellis, has been wantonly abusing. Crisp pacing, caustic characterizations, and acerbic satire inform this darkly comic fable." -— Carol Haggas

New in Paperback: Katie Arnoldi's CHEMICAL PINK

New in paperback this month is Katie Arnoldi's cult classic - and Los Angeles Times bestseller - Chemical Pink. This critically acclaimed novel, set in the world of female bodybuilding, has been called a "modern gothic comedy of obsession" (Vanity Fair). The author, a former Southern California bodybuilding champion herself, offers a mesmerizing portrait of two obsessed personalities and the perverse relationship that draws them together. In a fascinating Q&A on her own website, Katie Arnoldi talks about the novel's main characters, Charles and Aurora, the culture of female bodybuilding, and really weird sex.

More Raves for THE WENTWORTHS

Katie Arnoldi's The Wentworths continues to draw rave reviews, and it now sits at #1 on The Malibu Times bestseller list and at #10 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list. Bloggers are loving it too, and this recently posted review on Bibliolatry called Funny Scum, may be just be the best one yet. And book blogger Ashley Merrill, on Front Street Reviews, wrote: " I can’t even formulate a word that can adequately describe this story. Wonderful, amazing, hilarious, sobering, entertaining; all of these words just don’t do justice to this piece of work."

A Toast to THE WENTWORTHS!

Spirits were high at the Overlook party for Katie Arnoldi last night at the home of publisher Peter Mayer. The Wentworths, Katie's fabulous new novel, has hit the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List and is drawing terrific review attention far and wide. Marie Claire called the book "savagely funny," and Elle noted "while tales of dysfunctional familes abound, this one separates itself from the pack with concise prose, escalating tension, and wry humor." Andy Heidel reports on the scene for Galleycat.

Meet Katie Arnoldi, author of THE WENTWORTHS, at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica on April 13

Meet Katie Arnoldi, author of The Wentworths and Chemical Pink, on Sunday, April 13, at the William Turner Gallery in Bergamot Station, in Santa Monica CA. Reception 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Reading at 4:30 p.m. Bergamot Station is Southern California's largest art gallery complex and cultural center, located on eight acres in the heart of Santa Monica featuring contemporary art galleries and The Santa Monica Museum of Art. The Wentworths is currently #11 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List.

THE WENTWORTHS on The Los Angeles Times Bestseller List

Katie Arnoldi's searing portrait of a dysfunctional L.A. family, The Wentworths, has hit The Los Angeles Times Bestselller List for the week of April 6. Arnoldi's second novel comes seven years after her critically acclaimed debut novel - also a Los Angeles Times bestseller - Chemical Pink. The new book delivers a fascinating, erotic, dark, and savagely funny page-turner that will both satisfy her fans and appeal to new readers.

At Home with Katie Arnoldi, Author of THE WENTWORTHS

No, the Wentworths don't live here. This is the home of their creator, novelist Katie Arnoldi and her husband, artist Charles Arnoldi. A recent feature article on the Arnoldi's Malibu beach house includes a virtual tour and fascinating interview with the creative couple. Katie's second novel, The Wentworths, has just been published by The Overlook Press.

Katie Arnoldi's THE WENTWORTHS Reviewed in Marie Claire

Katie Arnoldi's "savagely funny" new novel The Wentworths is in the April issue of Marie Claire: "It rings true as social satire of contemporary L.A. . . You'll be hooked." Katie will read and discuss the novel at Diesel Books in Malibu on Sunday afternoon, April 6, at 3pm. For more information, call 310-456-9961.

Katie Arnoldi's THE WENTWORTHS in Bookstores This Week

Katie Arnoldi's The Wentworths is on sale this week, and getting lots of attention - from the Los Angeles Times to rave reviews in the blogosphere, including this one: "First of all, I must say that I’m really annoyed because there’s not enough time to do what I want to do, which is to go out and buy Ms. Arnoldi’s first book (Chemical Pink) IMMEDIATELY and then spend the day reading it. I can’t do this, though – too many irons in the fire. For now I’ll just have to be satisfied with memories of Ms. Arnoldi’s terrific sophomore effort, The Wentworths. This little satire packs a big punch, and from the very beginning I was thrilled to be immersed in the privileged world of these nasty, nasty people. . . Like David Mamet says on the cover, it was “too short.” I want more! Ms. Arnoldi absolutely must write a sequel. Until then, I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with this little “prequel.” Get a move on, Katie!"

Katie Arnoldi Says Farewell to Dutton's Brentwood Bookstore on March 13

The sad news of the closing of the legendary independent bookstore Dutton's Brentwood Bookstore is especially tragic for author and long-time Dutton's customer Katie Arnoldi, whose new novel The Wentworths is Dutton's Book Group pick for March. Hosted by Diane Leslie, these "Book Group with Author" events were Dutton's signature event. In the first hour, Diane will lead a conversation among participants to help develop questions and avenues of discussion. In the second hour, the group is joined by the author for a lively talk. Seating is limited and pre-registration, along with a five dollar fee, is required.
Don't miss this historic event: Katie Arnoldi at Duttons Brentwood Bookstore, Thursday, March 13, 5pm, 11975 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles.

Katie Arnoldi's THE WENTWORTHS Praised in Publishers Weekly

Katie Arnoldi, author of Chemical Pink, is back with a new novel, The Wentworths, coming out from The Overlook Press in March 2008. This week's Publishers Weekly comments: "With a wry touch, Arnoldi draws a mocking portrait of a powerful Southern California family that, while not the worst family on record, is remarkably warped by weath and power. . . The Wentworths is a page-turner both for its well-paced intrigue and for its witty, sordid description of just how awful these people can get. The book's coup isn't the skewering Arnoldi gives her overprivileged clan; it's the redemption they find after they're served twisted justice."

Overlook TV: Overlook Into the Future!: Katie Arnoldi's THE WENTWORTHS

The delightful and brillaint Katie Arnoldi, author of the novel The Wentworths stopped by our Soho offices today. Check out her website at Katie Arnoldi dot com. She's also the author of the highly acclaimed Chemical Pink. In this brief video, Ms. Arnoldi talks a little bit about the L.A. world behind The Wentworths. With a brief cameo by editor Aaron. And then the camera batteries run out. This footage will keep you on the edge of your ergonomic office chair. Enjoy! Everyone at the Overlook Press is thrilled to be working on The Wentworths! Stay tuned.