Set in a rural, fictional place between Sonoma and Marin, Anthony Barbara’s novel has a pointedly visual style. Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
The first sentence of Anthony Barbera’s novel, “The First Rains of October,” reads like a Lee Child thriller:
“When August St. Claire ran off that cliff she dropped like a rock,” the story begins. “True, she was running and her legs kept kicking in the air – but then gravity yanked on her ankles.”
With a pointedly visual style and a fresh literary voice, Barbera’s novel is set in rural Fallon County, a fictional space between Marin and Sonoma counties, Barbera’s first-person narrative brings to mind the literary qualities of Steinbeck’s Salinas Valley. In Barbera’s imagination, the leaves of the eucalyptus flutter “like thousands of barbecued potato chips,” and the “quilt-like sections of open grassland” loom in the periphery.
“I’d always thought about writing a novel,” said Barbera, a longtime Sonoma resident whose literary ambitions amounted to little more than a notion before 1998, when he decided to sit down and write his first book.
“I had written a few screenplays, and I realized that the limiting forces that surround the medium of screenwriting don’t extend to the novel. In other words, you have ultimate power over subject, setting and characters.”
His writing/directing film credits include the 1997 short film “X Marks the Spot,” which debuted at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival. The progress of his writing and directing led him to pursue other mediums, more specifically that of literary fiction.
“I really didn’t know if I could write a book. I spent four years on my first novel.” Barbera’s other book, “Catching Baby Moses,” also takes place in a rural-setting-turned-tourist-Mecca similar to Sonoma. Its release has been delayed until later this summer.
“I really spent a lot of time developing my style and the skills necessary to authentically approach these topics,” he said.
“I really love the geography of this area. It’s hard to live in this place and not be inspired.
“Steinbeck could characterize the landscape so well… it’s something I’ve been trying to emphasize in my own writing… to give a literary sense to this area.”
“The First Rains of October” delves into aspects of revenge and forgiveness. Barbera tells the story from a reluctant first-person perspective. That, combined with the compelling use of omniscient narration, makes the book a unique and engaging read.
He concedes that the road to literary success is long.
“It takes a long time to get established,” said Barbera. “You’ve got to stick with it and keep going no matter what – because it’s what you want to do. You’ve got to learn to tolerate rejection, as well as the anxieties that come with the creative process. I’m working on another novel right now, and of course there are always ideas brewing. It takes time. But the trick is enjoying and learning as much as you can.”
“The First Rains of October” is available at Bookends Bookstore and Readers’ Books. It is also available on-line at Amazon.com
Barbera’s two screenplays are “An American Psalm” and “In the Shadow of Grace.” He lives with his family in northern California and is the president of Barbera Film Works and Media which is an e-commerce, Web site-development and optimization company.
