It has been a while since we had one of our Local Authors features. But today we’re talking to someone a lot of you may already know – local Award Winning Author Sally Denton. In case you’ve missed previous articles, we’ve learned that there are nearly two dozen authors locally here in town. But, there doesn’t really seem to be a way to easily find the books they’ve written or any local source for them to promote their work. We created this series to share the authors stories and to let all of you – prospective readers – get to hear about their works. (If you’ve missed our previous columns, we’ve got links for you at the bottom of this page.)
Please share a short bio to introduce yourself.
I am an investigative reporter, author, and historian, and I have written eight books of narrative nonfiction. The subjects range from a drug conspiracy in Kentucky, to organized crime in Las Vegas, to a massacre in Utah, to a biography of my great great grandmother who was a Mormon convert, to an investigative history of the Bechtel corporation.
Please tell us about the book(s) you’ve written and a short synopsis.
The titles are:
- The Bluegrass Conspiracy: An Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs, and Murder.
- The Money and the Power: The Making of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America.
- American Massacre: The Tragedy At Mountain Meadows.
- Faith and Betrayal: A Pioneer Woman’s Passage in the American West.
- Passion and Principle: Jessie and John Fremont and the Shaping of America.
- The Pink Lady: The Many Lives of Helen Gahagan Douglas.
- The Plots Against the President: FDR, a Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right.
- The Profiteers: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World.
You can see all of her published works, and order them on Amazon, HERE.
What inspired you to write them?
I have been a professional writer and reporter for all of my adult life, and each of my books has grown out of a story that interested me.
What do you hope your readers experience or learn from reading your work?
I have an extensive background in journalism and I tend to write histories about subjects that often go unreported or neglected.
When and how did you publish it?
All of my books have been published my major New York trade publishers, including Doubleday, Alfred A. Knopf, Bloomsbury, and Simon and Schuster.
What events in your life contributed to your becoming an author?
My early years as a news reporter.
Did you take any formal or informal classes or seminars in writing? What would you say to other would-be authors about the process of writing?
I graduated from college with a degree in English Literature. I did not take any writing courses, and feel that subjects such as history and sociology and political science contribute to an overall sense of understanding of the world. I believe that the best way to learn to write is to be a keen observer and a voracious reader of good writing.
How long have you lived in Boulder City? What do you like most about living here?
I have lived in Boulder City since 1959, where my parents moved when I was five years old. I left after graduating from high school in 1970, and have spent many years in Washington, DC and Santa Fe, New Mexico, but have returned in recent years to be near my mother, Sara Denton, who is still living in the family home on Denver Street. I love Boulder City for its small town feel, generosity of spirit, temperate weather (most of the year), and spectacular sunsets.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this visit with Sally! If you’ve missed any of our other interviews in this series, you can see all of these authors stories here:
