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Bootstrap Publications Welcomes Three Authors to its Growing Literary Community

  • Feb 17
  • 3 min read

Tahoe City, CA - Bootstrap Publications, in its ongoing mission to publish impactful and meaningful works, is proud to formally welcome three distinct voices to its established community of authors: Carolyn Meers, N. E. Weisberg, and Chasejamison Akilah Manar-Spears (CJ). This collaboration brings together a scholar, a speculative visionary, and a creative survivor to offer readers a range of perspectives on resilience, history, and healing.


A Triptych of Perspectives


Carolyn Meers: Creative Healing and Restorative Wonder An England-born artist, musician, and mother, Carolyn Meers brings a narrative voice shaped by empathy, recovery, and purposeful living. A breast cancer survivor and six years sober, her path is defined by hard-earned self-awareness and a belief that love and creativity can conquer the greatest of challenges. A "drummer at heart," Meers utilizes rhythm as a tool for transformation, while her handmade fairy wands reflect her deep-seated belief in wonder and intention. As a proud mother to a trans son and a steadfast LGBTQ+ ally, her work serves as a compassionate voice for the marginalized, human and animal alike.


N. E. Weisberg: Historical Allegory and Speculative Depth A dedicated educator and historian, N. E. Weisberg offers a literary voice informed by a background in history and psychology. His upcoming novel, The Space Pirate King, evolved from a deconstruction of science-fiction tropes into a political drama focused on the "home front" of a galactic frontier. Drawing inspiration from the historical resistance of non-Western nations against colonialism—such as Japan, Ethiopia, and Iran—Weisberg explores the cultural and economic consequences of first contact and unprecedented threats from space.


Chasejamison Akilah Manar-Spears (CJ): Afro-Surrealism and Revolutionary Healing Born and raised in the Bay Area, CJ Spears creates at the intersection of poetry, Afro-surrealism, and "ancestral world-building." As a Yoga teacher and co-founder of the Black Seeds Bloom collective, CJ crafts stories where ecology and spirit blend to envision life beyond the "forest fire" of capitalism. Bootstrap Publications supports the development of CJ’s climate fiction trilogy, beginning with The Book of Cadence. Rooted in themes of tel-empathy and matriarchal liberation, her work centralizes Black womanhood and organic patterns in nature to re-envision indigenous societies within dystopian settings.


About the Authors


  • Carolyn Meers is a multi-media artist and vegan advocate who finds joy in drumming, gaming, and her cherished cats, Luna and Corn Chip. Her creativity emerged as a form of restoration, proving that healing is possible when we accept our past as part of our power.


  • N. E. Weisberg is a middle school social studies teacher and family man. When not in the classroom or his study, he shares his home with a cherished rabbit and remains committed to the complexities of the human experience.


  • CJ Spears is the author of the poetry collection Becoming Friends With Trees & Other Creative Prophecies. Their work is informed by Afro-surrealism, daydreams, and the silent growth of trees.


About Bootstrap Publications


Bootstrap Publications is dedicated to discovering and championing authors who provide compelling narratives of survival, scholarly insight, and imaginative spirit. By collaborating with these three authors, the press continues to provide readers with the tools to find their own "superpower" in the stories of everyday life and the worlds beyond.


Connect with Carolyn Meers:

Connect with N.E. Weisberg:


Connect with CJ Spears:

Learn more about Bootstrap Publications: https://www.bootstrappublications.com/ 

For more information on our book collection or to schedule an interview with the authors, please contact: info@bootstrappublications.com


Tags: Literary Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Creative Healing, Historical Allegory, Afro-Surrealism, Sobriety & Recovery, Cancer Survivorship, LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Military Sci-Fi, Colonialism Resistance, Climate Fiction, Ancestral World-Building, Black Womanhood, Matriarchal Societies, Political Drama, Multi-media Art, Veganism, Social Studies Education


Industries: Book Publishing, Education & Academia, Arts & Culture, Mental Health & Wellness, Advocacy & Non-Profit, Science Fiction & Fantasy




Oakland Based Mystery Novelist Signs with Bootstrap Publications

  • Oct 21, 2023
  • 1 min read

Nicholas Louis Baham III, writer of the Sonny Trueheart Mystery series has signed a 4-book deal with Bootstrap Publications. His first book in the series, The People's Detective, will debut in early 2024.

peoples detective oakland mystery

The People's Detective

A Sonny Trueheart Mystery

When investigative journalist and BlackLivesMatter activist Aurora Jenkins gets too close to

the truth about the unsolved disappearances of young Black, Latinx, and Indigenous women

from the streets of Oakland, a powerful alliance of Black organized crime, corrupt police,

and white elites seek to suppress her story. Sonny Trueheart, a former Oakland Police Department homicide detective, burdened by alcoholism and the ghosts of his past, is called to investigate Aurora’s kidnapping and the facts behind her story. Together with his former aikido Sensei, a Bahamian human rights advocate, and an old friend with a propensity for gratuitous sex and violence, Sonny uncovers a vast criminal conspiracy.


Armed with little more than his wit and intuition, a snub-nose revolver, and the discipline of

aikido, Sonny Trueheart emerges as a symbol of revolutionary awakening in the Black

communities of Oakland, California.


Available for preorder now.


Nicholas Louis Baham III, Ph.D. is a Professor and Chair of Ethnic Studies at California State University East Bay and teaches Black Studies and Genders & Sexualities in Communities of Color.




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