Her book explores what she calles "The Middle of Somewhere"

She’s known for laughter, not literature. But that’s all about to change this month as local actress, improviser and co-owner of The Fun Institute, Clifford Henderson, releases her first published novel. The book, “The Middle of Somewhere,” by the small publishing company, Bold Strokes Books, is a story of a lesbian woman finding her way in life. Henderson will speak about her book at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29 at Bookshop Santa Cruz; her novel sells in local bookstores.

The waterproof artist finds her spot in the camera lineup

"Hi, I want to do surf photography. I don’t have any gear ... What do I need to do?” Armed with a casual portfolio of shots she’d taken of friends with an old Minolta during down time as a marine biology major, Nikki Brooks said this to the prominent Larry “Flame” Moore, former photo editor of Surfing magazine, back when she unceremoniously knocked on his door without an appointment in 2003. Moore, ever intuitive, welcomed the audacious 24-year-old into his office for a chat and ultimately became Brooks’ treasured first mentor.

The author of 'The Hour I First Believed' talks about coping with bestseller stardom.

A number of years ago I came to believe that Wally Lamb was one of today’s great storytellers. I knew of the hubbub surrounding his second Oprah Book Club novel, “I Know This Much Is True,” and taking a chance, I cracked it open to see if it lived up to the hype. It did. Then I went back and read his first novel, “She’s Come Undone.” Again, the rave reviews were accurate. Now, in 2008, Lamb’s third novel hits bookstores. Curiously titled, “The Hour I First Believed,” the read is full of rich and complex characters and plenty of heart-wrenching storylines. It also uses Columbine High School in Colorado as a backdrop to the story. Quite simply, the book is pageturner. It chronicles a troubled couple, Caelum and Maureen Quirk, who both work for Columbine High School. Maureen is onsite the day the horrific shootings take place and the tale story follows the duo as they reel from the tragedy. GT recently caught up with Lamb, who heads to Bookshop Santa Cruz at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.

Three-dimensional artists bring art to the avenue

She may have had a highfalutin job and a six-figure income, but Marilyn Kuksht wasn’t living a fairytale. She was 40 and a senior vice-president of a bank in San Francisco. But something didn’t feel right. So she took a little time off to go scuba diving. Somewhere, floating through the deep blue, she came across a stunning site off the coast of Cozumel.

Her father would make her take showers with him when she was 6 years old. There, he would masturbate. She would go to bed at night, pull the covers over her head and play dead. Someone would climb into her bed and in the morning she would go to her fourth grade classroom with a burning

Mountain Community Theater goes to the outer limits

Miguel Reyna started watching The Twilight Zone when he was just 8 years old. His ‘assignment’ was to record the shows for his mom who worked an evening shift. For the next four years, the young Reyna became addicted. “Your mind is blown away,” he says of the popular 1960s television show. “Watching those Twilight Zones gave me the chills at a young age and really put a different lens on life for me. Up until this day, the suburbs [anywhere] look like The Twilight Zone. The show is dated in the acting and dialogue, but they it’s relevant and timeless through the stories.”

Can Santa Cruz golden grom Nat Young take the heat?

When you can call a world class surf break your childhood playground, you are like many Santa Cruzans. When you can call yourself a champion of that wave and the next big Santa Cruz export, you are Nat Young.

You can’t keep her down, so it’s best fly high with Margaret Cho at Mountain Winery

It’s a skill that particularly comes in handy when she has to promote her own work, which Cho is doing—big time—this month.

Pisces Moon event hopes to eradicate gay hate crimes

It happened in his junior year of high school. Ryan McCune of Stockton was hanging out in the parking lot with his friends and girlfriend, saying good-bye as Christmas break was about to start. That’s when he got tapped on the shoulder and heard the word “faggot” being hurled at him. McCune twirled around and another student smashed him in the temple with a lock. He was knocked unconscious and the beating started. About 12 students, many from the football team, proceeded to pound on him. About 20 minutes later the principal scared away the attackers and soon McCune was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital.

Burning Man kicks off with art installations by Santa Cruz’s Two Lanterns camp

Last year, Barbie and Ken got divorced and two semi trucks twisted in the air. Where else could such strange things happen other than at Burning Man? For those “not in the know,” Burning Man is an all-out artistic love-fest where creative people will gather in the Nevada desert from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1. It’s also known to be a love fest of other sorts, with drugs and sex abounding (in private). But what is Burning Man at its core? For local artist Jason Guy it’s about “radical self-reliance” and a “celebration of the arts. … When you go to Burning Man, there’s a welcoming gate … it feels like coming home.”