California. It is a land of dreamers.

This was true back in the 1840's, when the territory was first settled by gold rushers and land grabbers under the rallying cry of "Manifest Destiny."  

It remained true when the state was officially wecomed into the Union a few short years later under the motto "Eureka!" (which translated from the Latin means, "I have found it!") 

And it is no less true today, with pretty girls (and boys) flocking to Hollywood to become movie stars and American Idols, and many of the world's greatest minds converging on San Francisco and the Silicon Valley to strike it rich as venture capitalists, app designers, and internet entrepreneurs.

But for every dream that comes true, there are a thousand more - inspired by news of these successes - that don't. What becomes of them? How do they keep going after their hopes have faded and their dreams have died? And what happens to those who do achieve their dreams, only to discover that they aren't nearly as fulfilling as they'd hoped? 

This is the world of David Prybil's GOLDEN STATE, where the dreams are so close you can almost touch them, and hope springs eternal, no matter how bad things may get or how delusional the dreams may be. It is the story of America, in microcosm, told through the eyes of four people just like us, with hopes and struggles just like ours. 

To learn more about the book critics call "a maverick novel, skillfully and wisely written," which is "studded with laugh-out-loud comic situations and touching self-revelations that will keep readers breathless," continue onto the pages listed above.