"L.A. Journal": Some Stories about Some Guys Doing the Best They Can in the Nowhere City

There has always been a lot of confusion and misconception regarding the short-story. What exactly is it? What exactly defines it? And if a true literary artiste is capable of churning out a whole novel, why waste time on a bunch of stories in the first place?

C. Bradford Eastland, author of the groundbreaking novel Where Gods Gamble, answers all these questions and more in his masterwork collection of short fiction, "L.A. Journal".

Throughout the twenty-two stories of this nostalgic, regionally driven volume, Eastland the artist's lifelong mission becomes clear; to leave behind a handful of powerful, original, timeless vignettes of the times and places in which he lived. Along the way, he takes a stab at making sense of many of the great issues-love, lust, war, religion, friendship, betrayal, craziness, joblessness, homelessness, homophobia, racism, patriotism, terrorism, and the Giants versus the Dodgers-we humans brush up against every day of our lives.

So take a look at Los Angeles through the eyes of a bum, a bartender, a disillusioned writer, an old Negro Leagues ballplayer, and a little boy angry at God-among others. You might wind up seeing one of the greatest and most mocked cities on Earth in a wholly different light.