Victoria Tatum joins the Spotlight to discuss her latest novel
Author Name: Victoria Tatum
Book Title: More Than Any River
Book Genre: Environmental fiction
Release Date: 3/24/26
Welcome, Victoria! How would you describe More Than Any River?
More Than Any River is the story of California’s Sacramento Delta farmers’ facing off against agribusiness owners over the massive water tunnel(s) the state plans to build under hundreds of thousands of acres of prime Delta farmland.
What sparked the idea for this book?
The Sacramento Delta first captured my heart in high school, when each year in May my best friend sailed with her family on their 28-foot sloop north from San Francisco to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where they docked on an island for the summer. We would jump into the water for relief from the summer heat, and when decades later I found out the delta was no longer the safest for swimming, I wanted to know why. In reading about the prospective tunnels in the San Francisco Chronicle, I found my answer, as well as the topic for a novel.
How long did it take for you to write the book? Did you do any research?
It took me ten years to research and write the novel. I read a ton of books and articles, both newspaper and online, about the Central Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
What drew you to writing environmental fiction?
I am motivated to write environmental fiction by my love of the wild, and my fear that human activity may be irreversibly threatening its health.
What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging?
I love the quiet, the creativity, and the intellectual challenge. The hardest part of the process with this novel was turning nonfiction into fiction, and creating a compelling story without getting bogged down by the nuances.
If you were speaking to someone who hasn’t read your writing before, why should they want to read More Than Any River?
This book is for anyone who has fallen in love with the west, and for anyone who cares about the future of its soil. It is for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the history, geology, and tenuous future of our Great Central Valley as it relates to issues of water the world over.
What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
I want readers to understand that, even if our state tells us otherwise, there is a sustainable way to store and provide water for many: small and medium-scale farmers, fish, as well as cities.
What about the writing/editing/publishing process has been the most surprising to you so far?
It was surprising to realize that, no matter how much I loved them, I had to take out some of the side stories, because in the end they detracted from the conflict at the center of the novel.
What are your interests outside of writing and reading?
I love skiing, surfing, and spending time with my family.
Are you working on a new project? Please tell us about it.
I am looking for an agent for my memoir about how the outdoors helped my husband Blue and me raise two children, including one with autism, to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world.
What was the last book that stuck with you? Why did it make such a lasting impression?
The last book to leave a deep impression was Geraldine Brooks’ Horse. It has everything the best ones do: a compelling story, and history that reminds us what we are experiencing now is not unique. I admire the authors of compelling stories because for me that is the greatest challenge.
Where can readers find you?
vtatum.com
Thank you, Victoria! More Than Any River is available for preorder.
More Than Any River
For those tied to the western landscape who wonder whether we might find redemption in the story of its water during a time of increasing climate extremes, a based-on-true-events tale of family farmers fighting to save the land they steward.
Inspired by true events, this Chinatown-meets–The Grapes of Wrath novel tells the story of California’s Sacramento Delta farmers facing off against agribusiness owners over the massive water tunnel(s) the state plans to build under hundreds of thousands of acres of prime Delta farmland.
Winter 2022-’23 inundated California with as much as three times the average rain and snowfall and pulled the state out of one of its biggest droughts in recorded history. But the truth is that the American West, from the Oregon border down to Mexico, is prone to drought—and in California, the biggest battle for water takes place in the Great Central Valley, where south-of-Delta agribusiness controls every stream feeding into the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. The protagonists of More Than Any River are the family farmers fighting for the Delta, and the antagonist is the big agribusiness controlling its water—but ultimately, the Great Central Valley itself emerges as the central character in this gripping tale of divisive land politics and high stakes.
Author Bio:
Victoria Tatum received her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State and her MA in Education from UC Santa Cruz. Her first novel, The Virgin’s Children, was released by a Canadian publisher, formerly known as Rain Publishing, in 2006. She and her husband have two adult children and live in Central California.