Jennifer M. Franks will discuss her new book, Crown City by the Sea, in the Mary Hollis Clark Conference Center (1st Floor). Jennifer M. Franks is an author, mother, Navy wife, adventure traveler, animal lover, concert enthusiast, avid reader and Flamenco guitar player. She writes in genres that include travel memoir, fiction and historical fiction. She grew up abroad and home schooled herself in the jungles of Indonesia, Nigeria, India and Venezuela, Malaysia and Thailand. She currently lives in Coronado, California with her family and dreams of writing a story in every major genre. Her novels include: Crown City by the Sea, The Lotus Blossom, Wild Card Willie and the Pony Express, He Shall be Peace, and a short story The Healing of the Paralytic.

Crown City by the Sea: Set during the waning years of the Victorian era, 1885-1900, Crown City by the Sea tells the compelling story of the creation and early years of the Hotel Del Coronado. As entrepreneurs Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story quickly discover, it takes more than a dream to turn the barren island of Coronado, California into a world-renowned, destination resort. The story is told through the eyes of young Ava Hennessey, whose family runs the island’s stables. Ava’s adventures, along with historical characters (John D. Spreckels, Jesse Shepard, Kate Morgan, L. Frank Baum, Alonzo Horton, W. H. Holabird) are intertwined with the trials and triumphs of the island’s audacious founders. Old Town, New Town, the La Jolla Cove, the Stingaree district and the Villa Montezuma are brought to life like a time capsule in this compelling novel of ambition, love, and local San Diego history.