The Spirit of the Big Yellow House
The cover of the third edition of the book - available in April 2019.
Back cover of the second edition
The cover of the third edition of the book - available in April 2019.
The third, expanded edition of "The Spirit of the Big Yellow House" has been published by Emily Publications in April of 2019. It features new chapters and photos. "The Spirit of the Big Yellow House - A History of Summerland's Founding Family," stands as one of only a few books written on the colorful history of Summerland. The book focuses on the family of H.L Williams, owner of the Ortega Rancho and the inspired founder of Summerland in the late 1800s. Other books focus on different families and the evolving commerce of this compact enclave, but my book delves into the generations of the Williams Family of Spiritualists, and their impact on Summerland.
A fourth edition is in the works and will be printed in the fall of 2022, with new updates.
A successful Book Signing attended by over 100 people occurred at the Letter Perfect Store and Gallery (now the new location of Porch) in Summerland, CA on Sunday April 28th, 2019.
Everyone loves a good ghost story... believers and non-believers alike. I counted myself among the latter... until I started managing the Wine Cellar Gift Shop in 1973. My unworldly encounters soon turned me into a true "believer" of things beyond what we can see with our eyes. Yes, I was an impressionable 15 year-old - yes you read that correctly - but nothing could dispute what I saw, felt and heard in my four years working at the Big Yellow House. It changed my life forever and has impacted many aspects of my life ever since. Now, more than 45 years later, the spirits that dwell in the Big Yellow House continue to catch my attention and beckon me back to tell their stories.
Books are available at Sacred Space in Summerland, Chaucers, Tecolote, the SB Historical Museum, in Santa Barbara, and the Carpinteria Historical Museum or by contacting me through this website. A limited edition is being printed. Get your's before they vanish!
To read a story from the Carpinteria Coastal View about the Summerland gathering of people and spirits for the book signing visit this site: http://www.coastalview.com/opinion/spiritualism-comes-home-to-summerland/article_7183e9be-7688-11e9-b0a0-a726c697c4a3.html