Prolific novelist and punk rock journalist and historian Jim Ruland has a new novel coming out, "Make It Stop," a speculative look at a dysfunctional capitalist healthcare system and the underdogs, vigilantes and avengers who are (messily) trying to upturn the status quo. Ruland's writing is a compelling mix of page turner thriller, humor and cerebral, wry insight into the darker corners of the human condition. Ruland will be in conversation with author Patrick Coleman at the Book Catapult to celebrate "Make It Stop." Julia Dixon Evans, KPBSAbout the book: Scores of detox and rehab centers across Southern California have adopted a controversial new conditional release policy that forces patients to stay until they pay their bills. And if they can't pay? They don't leave. Enter: Make It Stop, a group of highly skilled recovering addicts dedicated to rescuing those trapped in these prison hospitals by posing as patients and getting them out by any means
San Diego writer Jac Jemc's new novel, "Empty Theatre," explores the stranger-than-fiction lives and deaths of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his cousin Empress Sisi of Austria.
This weekend in the arts: A Guelaguetza Festival at San Diego Museum of Art; Irving Flores, Tina Chong and Joshua White at UC San Diego Park and Market; Justin A. McHugh at Good Faith Gallery; Kevin Maloney at The Book Catapult; 'The Ferryman' at New Village Arts; Greater San Diego Music Coterie's "Scandinavian Winter"; and Broadway's "Frozen."