Los Gatos Author Steve Sporleder Releases Fiction Novel 'Hobo Ashes'

Los Gatos resident and author Steve Sporleder is celebrating the release of his newest novel, Hobo Ashes, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the grand opening of new bookstore Village House of Books, 326 Village Lane.

The festivities begin at 5 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting by Los Gatos Mayor Barbara Spector, followed by music with Spanish guitarist Rodrigo Teague, and the Hobo Ashes release party and reading at 7 p.m.

Sporleder, a lifelong resident of Los Gatos, and the author of three previous books, including From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats, lauded as a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, writes fiction that includes tidbits of Los Gatos history lodged within a larger story.

Hobo Ashes, unlike Sleepy Lagoon that recounts the saga of four generations of la familia Reyes, is a murder mystery.

The protagonist, Grady Prescott, is an ex-cop who falls on hard times and becomes embroiled in the gypsy camps of Los Gatos and the untangling of a series of hobo murders.

Sporleder is a retired firefighter with more than 30 years of service. His grandfather, father, uncles and brothers were also in the fire service.