Susan Straight was telling us about her new novel, “Sacrament,” which like her others is set largely in the Inland Empire. This one is perhaps her most contemporary yet, rooted not only in place but in time.

The action occurs during summer 2020 and follows nurses who are treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic .

“It was a very scary thing to write about,” Straight said during a talk Wednesday evening. “I was watching people pass away from COVID all around me.”

The Riverside writer was speaking at the Culver Center for the Arts, where she was interviewed onstage by politico Jose Medina and fellow writer Alex Espinoza. Jorge Hernandez, a KUCR disc jockey (and Superior Court judge), played R&B oldies named in the book.

More than 75 of us were there on folding chairs, lis

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