On Tour 09/10/25-11/12/25 “An Unlikely Prospect” by Shelley Blanton-Stroud

Release Date: August 19, 2025

About The Book:

In the jubilant aftermath of Japan’s surrender in World War II, San Francisco erupts in celebration. But for Sandy Zimmer, the 32-year-old widow publisher of the Prospect newspaper, the victory revelry masks a darker truth. As the city rejoices, eleven deaths and six rapes unfold in the chaos of the VJ Day Peace Riot.

Driven by journalistic integrity and battling her own instincts to maintain peace, Sandy directs her paper to investigate the riot. Her quest for truth pits her against formidable adversaries: her controlling civic leader father-in-law, the newspaper’s resistant board, and authorities desperate to bury the scandal as they vie to attract the United Nations Headquarters to San Francisco.

Based on little-known historical events, “The Unlikely Prospect” follows Sandy’s fight to find her voice in the male-dominated world of 1945 journalism. As she navigates power dynamics, gender roles, and the steep price of printing the truth, Sandy must confront her own transformation from a people-pleasing widow to a determined publisher willing to challenge the status quo.

About The Author:

Shelley Blanton-Stroud, daughter of Dust Bowl immigrants, grew up in California’s Central Valley. Recently retired from teaching writing at Sacramento State University, she continues consulting with energy industry writers. She has served as President of 916 Ink, a children’s creative writing nonprofit, and sits on the Board of Advisors for Claremont McKenna College’s Gould Center for Humanistic Studies. Her historical mystery series featuring cross-dressing San Francisco columnist Jane Benjamin includes Copy Boy, Tomboy, and Poster Girl. Her latest novel, An Unlikely Prospect (She Writes Press, August 2025), explores the little-known 1945 V-J Day San Francisco Peace Riot through a widow publisher’s story. https://shelleyblantonstroud.com/

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blantonstroudauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blantonstroud/

Book Blurbs:

“Blanton-Stroud brings vibrant life to the chaos and confusion that crises herald, and spotlights how, in such times, the right thing to do is not always apparent.”—BookLife Reviews

“…a well-paced, edgy tale…a salute to solid, honest journalism.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Centering the dizzying misogyny of the postwar era, An Unlikely Prospect is a revealing historical novel” that “moves at breakneck pace” —Foreword Clarion Reviews

“If only today’s legacy publishers had Sandy Zimmer’s steel in the face of lies and injustice.” — Gretchen Cherington, author of The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall Guy

“Speaks with power and purpose on the perpetual struggle for women to be respected leaders in a male-dominated world. Masterful, believable, and riveting.”—Debra Thomas, author of Luz

“Sandy Zimmer faces an untenable challenge—to confront the powerful in favor of the vulnerable, when she has so little likelihood of winning; or to do what the establishment she desperately desires to lead, Zimmer’s is the challenge we will all face one day, and she gives us hope we can do it.”—Ashley Sweeney, author of The Irish Girl

Bloggers On Tour:

Sept. 10th- Books and Coffee MX https://instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx

Sept. 10th- Reecas Pieces Books https://instagram.com/reecaspiecesbooks

Sept. 26th- Subakka Bookstuff https://instagram.com/subakka.bookstuff

Sept. 29th- Sarahs Bookish Reviews https://instagram.com/sarahs.bookish.reviews

Oct. 1st- Lindas Book Obsession https://www.facebook.com/lindasbookobsession/

Oct. 2nd – Rozier Reads and Wine https://instagram.com/rozierreadsandwine

Oct. 3rd – Books Told by Courtney https://www.instagram.com/bookstoldbycourtney

Oct. 4th- CMT Loves Wine and Books https://instagram.com/cmtloveswineandbooks

Oct. 5th- Coffee Break Book Reviews https://instagram.com/coffee.break.book.reviews

Oct. 9th- Nurse Bookie https://instagram.com/nurse_bookie

Oct. 25th-Miss W Book Reviews https://instagram.com/misswbookreviews