On Tour 7/01/21- 8/29/21 “Arroyo” by Chip Jacobs

Paperback Release Date: March 9, 2021

About The Book:

Set against two distinct epochs in the history of Pasadena, California, Arroyo tells the parallel stories of a young inventor and his clairvoyant dog in 1913 and 1993. In both lives, they are drawn to the landmark Colorado Street Bridge, or “Suicide Bridge,” as the locals call it, which suffered a lethal collapse during construction but still opened to fanfare in the early twentieth century automobile age. When the refurbished structure commemorates its 80th birthday, one of the planet’s best known small towns is virtually unrecognizable from its romanticized, and somewhat invented, past.

Wrought with warmth and wit, Jacobs’ debut novel digs into Pasadena’s most mysterious structure and the city itself. In their exploits around what was then America’s highest, longest roadway, Nick Chance and his impish mutt interact with some of the big personalities from the Progressive Age, including Teddy Roosevelt, Upton Sinclair, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Lilly and Adolphus Busch, whose gardens were once tabbed the “eighth wonder of the world.” They cavort and often sow chaos at Cawston Ostrich Farm, the Mount Lowe Railway, the Hotel Green and even the Doo Dah Parade. But it’s the secrets and turmoil around the concrete arches over the Arroyo Seco, and what it means for Nick’s destiny, that propels this story of fable versus fact.

While unearthing the truth about the Colorado Street Bridge, in all its eye-catching grandeur and unavoidable darkness, the characters of Arroyo paint a vivid picture of how the home of the Rose Bowl got its dramatic start.

About The Author:

Chip Jacobs is an acclaimed author and journalist. His fiction debut, Arroyo, about two parallel lives gravitating around Pasadena, California’s mysterious Colorado Street Bridge, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller, CrimeReads most anticipated book, and medalist at the Independent Publisher Book Awards. His other books include Strange As It Seems: the Impossible Life of Gordon Zahler, an Indie Book of the Year finalist, the bestselling Smogtown: the Lung-Burning History of Pollution and its sequel about China, The People’s Republic of Chemicals, the latter two with William J. Kelly. His reporting, writing and subjects have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Daily News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, Slate, C-Span, LA Weekly, CNN, and the Pasadena Weekly, among others. Jacobs, a graduate of the University of Southern California, is the recipient of numerous writing awards. He is at work on his follow up novel, and several non-fiction projects. https://chipjacobs.com/

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chip.jacobs.3/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/cjwriter

Twitter: @chipjacobs1

Book Blurbs:

A riveting and enjoyable look at how local myths are constructed, and a vivid

depiction of a time and a place that felt full of possibilities.”—Booklist

“A love letter to small-town America, celebrated here with conviction and warmth…Jacobs handles the historical material superbly, skillfully relating the complicated and tragic story of the bridge’s construction while convincingly depicting a variety of historical figures…A promising and ambitious effort”—Library Journal

“A completely original and genre-defying work—both historical novel and metaphysical noir. The author has caught the brass ring and given it to us as pure gold.”—Tristine Rainer, author Apprenticed to Venus, My Years with Anaïs Nin

“[A] beautiful ode to the fascinating city of Pasadena and to Southern California as a whole”—Bookbub

Bloggers On Tour:

July 1st- Cassie’s Book Reviews https://instagram.com/cassies_books_reviews

July 1st- Rajivs Reviews https://instagram.com/rajivsreviews

July 3rd -Noor The Bookworm https://instagram.com/noorthebookworm

July 8th – Bookstagram N Yogapants https://instagram.com/books_n_yogapants

July 14th – She Just Loves Books https://instagram.com/shejustlovesbooks

July 21st – Bookoholic Cafe https://instagram.com/bookoholiccafe

July 28th- Marilyn Goncalves https://instagram.com/marilynjgon

July 27th- Jayme Reads https://instagram.com/jayme_reads

August 7th– Carol Doscher https://instagram.com/carol_doscher_reader

Aug. 11th- Subakka Bookstuff https://instagram.com/subakka.bookstuff