“A ruminative look at grief and our lives through the small moments of nature.”

- Kristine Eckart, Independent Book Review

“A gorgeous collection that brims with sagacity and compassion; haunting and beautiful.”

- The Prairies Book Review

“A stunner.”

- BookView Review (“Recommended”)

“Thoughtful, engaging, and arresting, B. L. Bruce’s transportive poetry reminds readers of places they’ve been and prepares them for where they’re going, while gently honoring the understated beauty surrounding all of us.”

- Jennifer Jackson, Indies Today (Five-Star Rating)

Blue California Sky is both homage to the varied and rich landscapes of California and poignant glimpses into the human experience: grief, trauma, loss, change, and also love, joy, wonder, and connection—to one’s self, to others, and to the natural world. Expressed in accessible yet poetic prose, the poems in Blue California Sky are haunting, lyrical, and powerful.

Included in the collection is poem “Once each year,” nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2022 and winner of the 2023 Los Gatos Poetry Contest awarded by the town’s poet laureate, in addition to three poems featured in the Fevers of the Mind Poetry Showcase in August of 2023.