Kathy Weyer to open the '23-'24 Friends of the Desert Hot Springs Library Author’s Series

Fall is here, and the Friends of the Desert Hot Springs Library is presenting its third Author’s Series. It has been a pleasure to have over 14 local authors discuss their works, and we are adding seven more authors to that list.

From 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21, the first presenter will be Kathy (Kat) Weyer, who has written three page-turners with engrossing characters. The series consists of four sequels, three published and the fourth set to come out in April 2024.

All four books are set in a group of six Victorian houses where the San Diego wealthy lived in the 1880s. This place exists near Old Town San Diego and fell into disrepair. It is only recently that the Department of Parks and Recreation has slowly restored the exteriors and fixed up the adjacent park. These houses are featured in Weyer’s modern-day Heritage Art Park Series.

I met with the author to better understand her motivation for writing the books. Unlike most authors I've interviewed, Weyer didn't always love to write. In fact, she almost never wrote a story down but preferred to tell herself stories in her head. A native of San Diego, she knew about the San Diego Heritage Square. It wasn’t until she retired from her many careers that she started fantasizing about the beautiful old homes, and the idea of making them into an art colony.

Weyer had many jobs and therefore, has a wealth of life experience. Her mother told her in high school that she would be better off going to Kathyrn Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston. Being the dutiful daughter, she followed her mother’s wishes and became an executive secretary. Later, she moved back to San Diego where she began another career as an HR director. During this time, she met Tom Weyer, her husband of 43 years. Tom is a Vietnam War veteran and an acclaimed architect and designer.

Throughout her time in HR, Weyer became extremely interested in social issues, abused women, neglected children, and mental health. She made the decision to get a degree in psychology and a master’s in clinical psychology. Besides being a director of a senior center and volunteer as a court-appointed special advocate for children, she managed a high-end fabric store, was a job coach and made a movie called “Yiddishe Mama.”

During another stint as a hospice grief and bereavement counselor, she wrote down memories dictated by hospice patients for their families. This inspired Weyer to write her stories.

At age 60, Weyer wrote her first of the Heritage Park Series, “Stitches.” This book centers around a group of middle-aged women including socialites, fundraisers and the local female mayor, who all belong to a knitting group. The protagonist is Jen Conrad, who desires a fresh start after the grief of losing her husband.

Her best friend and mayor, Renee, volunteers Jen for an artistic project concerning the makeover of the historic houses. Jen must learn to reinvent herself if she is to survive without the vodka bottle, so she fixes up one of the old houses to be a store that sells yarns and other supplies. Her mother is a socialite dowager whose expectations are impossible for Jen to attain even if she were inclined.

Each book provides insights into many of today’s issues. “Stitches” is about reinventing one’s life after the loss of a husband or partner. In real life, Weyer is an artist who recreates with paint, fabric, yarn, and paper or whatever else is handy.

I asked Weyer if her characters were people she knew, and if so, did they ever recognize themselves in her books? Her brother recognized their mother in “Stitches,” and was concerned, but Weyer told him "Mother read the book four times and never said a word except she enjoyed it.”

The second book, “Canvas,” centers on Mayor Renee, whose term as mayor is up. She restores another of the heritage houses into an art store and gallery. The cast of characters broadens, including Renee taking on an angry teenager who doesn’t want to be rescued. Renee must reconcile her own upbringing, and her jaded view on crime, drug use and homelessness while juggling Child Protective Services, a missing partner, a sick friend, and her venture running the store.

“Pages” takes a whole different turn. It follows Jade, a woman living on the street who works for a very wealthy and eccentric woman named Iris, a character in the first book. Iris dies and leaves Jade her estate, which leaves Jade at a loss for what to do. She decides to open the third house at Heritage Park with a writer named Robert and turns the mansion into a rescue home for battered women.

Weyer’s fourth book, “Trinkets,” is a tale about mental health and will be out in April 2024. Like the other books, it will be centered around the overaching theme of change.

"There is nothing quite so sure as change," Weyer said.

I interviewed her before she boarded a plane for New York to attend the Writer’s Digest Conference where she will pitch two other standalone novels to agents. She began writing 10 years ago and hasn’t stopped since. She readily admits, “I must be nuts.”

The public is invited to join the Friends of the DHS Library at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, in the Desert Hot Springs Library Community Room, 14-380 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs for Weyer's talk. The event is free to attend, and seating is on a first come, first-served basis. Call 760-329-5926 for more information.

Sally Hedberg is the curator of the Friends of the DHS Library Author Series.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs author to open latest Desert Hot Springs Author's Series