On Tour 09/03/26-10/30/26 “Brenda Barker’s Next Chapter” by Wendy Tokunaga

Release Date: February 2, 2026

About The Book:

At sixty-four, Brenda Barker’s life is anything but over-though someone should tell that to her butcher, who insists on calling her “ma’am” when the other customers are “miss.” With her husband gone, her only child moving to Japan, and a literary “expert” telling her she has no business writing, Brenda does what any sensible woman would do: ignores the advice, packs her bags, and heads to a high-stakes writers’ conference in the California wine country.

Armed with a manuscript, a bottle of pinot noir, and a fierce determination to prove the world wrong, Brenda embarks on the adventure of a lifetime-complete with wine-fueled confidence, surprise friendships, and a few romantic sparks she definitely didn’t plan for.

About The Author:

Wendy Tokunaga is a novelist, editor, writing instructor and acclaimed cat servant, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of the novels Midori by Moonlight and Love in Translation (St. Martin’s), among others. Her latest novel, Brenda Barker’s Next Chapter, is forthcoming from Blydyn Square Books (February 2026). She holds an MFA from University of SanFrancisco and teaches for Stanford’s Novel Writing Certificate Program. When not writing, editing, teaching, or discovering the best new restaurant, Wendy sings jazz and bossa nova standards with her keyboardist husband. https://www.wendytokunaga.com/

Social Media:

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

Book Blurbs:

Full of humor and leading with a writer’s heart, Wendy Tokunaga’s latest, Brenda Barker’s Next Chapter, will make readers believe that the Brenda in all of us also deserves our own happily ever after.—Margo Candela, award-winning author of The Neapolitan Sisters

Brenda Barker is a widow on a mission—to land an agent for her novel, the book her late, beloved husband never really believed in. When Brenda is accepted to a prestigious writers’ conference in Northern California, she’s certain there must be some mistake. Wendy Tokunaga’s latest novel is a delightful satire of the world of writers’ conferences—packed with literary hopes, dashed dreams, writers behaving badly, and good pinot. It’s also a compelling story of finding one’s voice, and some romance to boot, well past middle age. I hope Brenda Barker’s Next Chapter isn’t her last…I’d happily sign on for the next installment!—Michelle Richmond, NY-Times Best-Selling Author of The Marriage Pact

Bloggers On Tour:

Sept. 3rd- Christina Loves to Read https://www.instagram.com/christinaluvs2read

Sept. 14th- Sarahs Bookish Reviews https://instagram.com/sarahs.bookish.reviews

Sept. 25th – Reading On The Brink https://www.instagram.com/readingonthebrink

Sept. 30th- Shooks Books https://instagram.com/shook_sbooks

Sept. 30th -Marilyn Goncalves https://instagram.com/marilynjgon

Oct. 1st – Nissa The Bookworm https://instagram.com/nissa_the.bookworm

Oct. 1st- Bookphile Belle https://instagram.com/bookphile_belle

Oct. 9th- Smashley Reads- https://instagram.com/smashley.reads

Oct. 14th- Sarahs Bookstack https://instagram.com/sarahs.bookstack

Oct. 20th- Crafty Jenn Reads https://instagram.com/crafty.jenn.reads

Oct. 27th- Book Princess of Cali https://www.instagram.com/bookprincessofcali