What a Great Week!
My trip to Arizona for two book festivals was terrific. I was part of the Tombstone Festival of Western Books on March 8th. Doug Hocking held it in Schieffelin Hall on Fremont Street in historic Tombstone, Arizona. The hall was built in 1881 and is one of nearly twenty sites worth the trip to Tombstone. I sold books, made new friends, and enjoyed seeing old friends all day. Linda and I drove to Tucson, Arizona that evening and settled into our room at the hotel that would be home for the next three nights.
I rose early the following day to pack with my compadres, the Amigos and Ladies of the West, so we could get to the campus of the University of Arizona, where we would be part of the Tucson Festival of Books. The organizers held the festival on March 9th and 10th. The crowds on both days were large, and they were there to buy books. As a group, we sold our share, and I was the rookie of the Amigos and probably seemed "gaga" all weekend. I can't wait to return next year because seeing so many readers have so much interest and fun was exciting. But no one had more fun than me.
On the way home, Linda and I went through some of Arizona's and New Mexico's historic smaller cities. I watched for bookstores as we drove through them. We saw Benson, Sierra Vista, Bisbee, and Douglas in Arizona. In New Mexico, we drove through Rodeo, Animas, Playas, Hachita, Columbus, and then to Deming to spend the night. The next morning, we drove to Silver City, where the Swag Bookstore welcomed several copies of A Cowboy's Destiny and A Cowboy's Fortune. We drove back to Deming to catch I-10 and went to Las Cruces. We stopped at the COAS bookstore and left copies of each book there. Before heading north on I-25, we drove over to Mesilla and stopped at Mesilla Book Center, and they also wanted the books. We walked across the Mesilla plaza to a nice restaurant for dinner, then drove home. What a wonderful trip.
Last Saturday, I did a book signing at Treasure House Books in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a fun afternoon, and John Sofsis was an excellent host. We sold many books and met folks from all over the Southwest. One family was from Edmond, Oklahoma. I lived there and attended Central State College. That’s where I met and married Linda. Last year, I also signed copies of A Cowboy's Destiny in Edmond at Best of Books. That's an independent bookstore and a truly fine one. I hope to go back there with Fortune later this year.
I better wrap this up. I need to get back to working on my income tax information for my CPA. Grrrrr! It’s that time of year. Stay safe, well, and have some fun.
Happy Trails,
Joe