AUTHOR

R.G. Brennan

Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails. Follow R.G. Brennan to get new release emails from Audible and Amazon.

18 years ago, I moved back to the sunny Bay Area after living in Seattle for 9 years. I was born and raised in San Francisco. I am 79 years old and semi-retired. I’ve lived in my current apartment about 5 blocks from Lake Merritt, the “Central Park” of Oakland as I like to tell my friends. Over the years, I’ve ridden my bike around the lake, walked around the lake, have been on the Lake Merritt Rowing Club crew team, having practiced and raced for about eight or so years in 8 and 4 shells. I’ve visited the local Farmers’ Market, the shops and restaurants on Lakeshore and Grand Avenue. Also, I’ve watched and noticed the many communities and events that are active around the lake: Boot Camp exercise groups, retired Asian aunties, Tai Chi Groups, Garden Club, local eccentrics, the local Catholic Church, and many more. I am a great fan of the books by Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City. I’ve read all 10 of his books from Tales of the City to Mona of the Manor. I’ve reread these books about 10 times and watched the various TV adaptations many times as well, over the years. I’ve thought, Oakland needs a story, featuring some sense of the diverse community that is here, and that will put Oakland on the map in a more positive way. Sadly, my first notice about Oakland when I moved here was the reality TV show, GANGS OF OAKLAND! I started Life at the Lake over 10 years ago. For 4 years I wrote a chapter each year, then it sat idle. This past year, 2025, I bit the bullet and finished the book, and here it is. It’s a work of fiction, but with many familiar settings inspired by what I experienced around the lake. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Life at the Lake is just the beginning…