Referred by Tricia Fields

~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~
Flattered to see over a dozen
hits referred to my web site today
through the web site of an author
named Tricia Fields. Ms. Fields
was the winner of the *2010
Hillerman Award for Best First
Mystery.* She also has a new
book set for release on the 5th
of March.

Check out her site for details!
~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~

Murder and Mayhem: A Call to Mystery Writers

~Promotional flyer for the Hillerman Prize~
Designed by Felicia Lujan

Anne Hillerman was recently featured in a great article in the Albuquerque Journal. The article was written by Kathaleen Roberts and was titled Leaphorn and Chee Together Again. Anne Hillerman is a smart, sweet, and talented woman who is continuing a writing tradition which was started by her father Tony Hillerman. Her late father was a New York Times best-selling author of an 18-book series of mysteries featuring the characters Leaphorn and Chee. PBS has called Leaphorn and Chee “a classic crime-fighting duo.” In the fall of 2013, HarperCollins will publish Anne’s newest book and a continuation of this Hillerman mystery series. Her book will be titled “Spider Woman’s Daughter.” In the first quarter of 2013, I plan to sit down with Anne to interview her about the release of her upcoming book. She has agreed to a feature piece for my site, and I am excited for the opportunity to interview her.

I was honored to be asked by Anne to design a flyer to promote the Tony Hillerman Prize competition. The flyer was circulated at the New Mexico Book Association Holiday Party on December 6, 2012. The competition is sponsored by Wordharvest (LLC) and is co-sponsored by St. Martin’s Press (LLC). This prize is awarded annually for best first mystery set in the Southwest. The winner receives a contract with St. Martin’s Press for publication of the novel and $10,000. The Hillerman Prize is named after New Mexico’s best known mystery author, Tony Hillerman. It is open to any writer who has never been the author of a published mystery. The prize comes with awesome acknowledgment from a body of professional and amateur writers. I myself aspire to submit something someday. The book submission must include murder or another serious crime or crimes, which must be at the heart of the story. There also must be an emphasis on the solution rather than the details of the crime.

All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1, 2013. As of 2011, the prize has been awarded for The Replacement Child by Christine Barber, The Ragged Edge of Nowhere by Roy Chaney, The Territory by Tricia Fields, and City of Saints by Andrew Hunt. For further details, please visit the Wordharvest web site at http://www.wordharvest.com/contest.php. Here you can take a look at the official Rules and Guidelines for the Tony Hillerman Prize.

Time for The Raven

The Raven (DVD)

After a 2 mile hike at Tent Rocks (National Monument) I’m ready for some heart stopping entertainment, my heating pad, and bed. I have been waiting to watch The Raven (I do love me some Poe)! I got a New York strip steak (ground up) to make a patty with garlic mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Yum! Sounds like a plan- hopefully I can watch a DVD about a writer and a serial killer while I eat–haha!

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Haunted Heritage??

Wow– this was super cool! Today one of my friends asked me if I knew of any new books with New Mexico ghost stories since I am the Dark Archivist. MuAhaaaa… Anyhow- I had rattled off a few today, but decided to go online tonight to see if I could find anything else? I just happened to come across this book in my searches, and apparently I assisted one or both of these authors several years ago? I do not remember a mention of this book, because I am sure I would recall this title? I will have to run out right quick and get me a copy! I was acknowledged in this book in 2007, which means I must have helped these authors in 2005 or 2006? All these years, and I never knew? Amazing what you can come across online without even realizing it right? The book title is Haunted Heritage: A Definitive Collection of North American Ghost Stories by Michael Norman and Beth Scott. I would like to tell you how it relates to New Mexico history, but I can’t do that until I read it! There are several New Mexican ghost stories worth telling…

***Acknowledgement***
Haunted Heritage: A Definitive Collection of North American
Ghost Stories by Michael Norman and Beth Scott

Marilyn Monroe Will Visit with Writers in Santa Fe

Post cards for the 2012 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico

I am so happy and so honored to receive an official request to be a part of the 2012 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference team! This will be my second year. Last week Jean Schaumberg paid me a visit and dropped off some conference post cards. She told me that she and Anne Hillerman would like to have me back this year. Jean asked me which days I would be willing to work? Well— of course my answer was **everyday!!

This year, the conference will run from November 8 thru November 10. It is such a magical event filled with books, pens and paper, computers, connections, and great minds! The conference inspires me to push forward with my unique ways of expressing myself both in writing and orally. This particular conference has been bringing upcoming and successful writers/authors together since 2004. Jean (also of the School for Advanced Research) and Anne (Tony’s daughter and a former New Mexico journalist) are the women behind WordHarvest and the writers conference. The conference is hand tailored by these two phenomenal women.

Tony Hillerman passed away in 2008. Since I am always wondering about the man behind the legend, I decided to learn more about him. I have been taking the time to read through some of his early work as a journalist with a daughter who followed in his footsteps. I knew he was a reporter for many years when he was young, but I didn’t realize the vast amount of knowledge he had with regard to New Mexico politics in the 50s and 60s? It seems that was his cup of tea! He moved from writing about politics to writing award winning mysteries. This morning at 6:00am, I received an email from WordHarvest titled This Just In! Hillerman Writers Conference Updates. The newsletter said there will be a special event to remember and honor Mr. Hillerman. The presentation will be delivered by his daughter Anne and photographer Don Strel.

In the Bravos: News from WORDHARVEST faculty and alumni section of the email, I was super excited to see novelist/author David Morrell making a return with new research on *my* woman! It’s a sign!!! Ahhh— who believes in those things anyhow eh? Still— I am beside myself…. I met Morrell last year here in Santa Fe. He is the author of the bloody and intense Rambo. Morrell “is also a former professor of American Studies.” He will deliver his newest cultural-icon essay titled Marilyn Monroe: Legend and Tragedy. The only thing missing from this particular conference will be JFK, which in all reality is the real tragedy…

________________________

For more information, visit http://wordharvest.com/

Wordharvest Writers Workshops | 1063 Willow Way, Santa Fe NM 87507 | Phone: 505-471-1565

________________________

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Coincidental Tourist: Jelly Beans and Politics

Marilyn Monroe at Universal Studios_8.6.2012

I loved the strange coincidence that I just happened to be in California during the 50th Anniversary of the death of Mz. Marilyn Monroe. Mass amounts of people went to be near her grave side this Sunday. She was laid to rest in Los Angeles on August 5, 1962. A large memorial wreath was also placed on her star in Hollywood.

On the way to Universal Studios, I got the chance to see the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In 1960, the Democratic National Convention was held in LA. This is where Senator John F. Kennedy was nominated for the presidency. This is also where he delivered his acceptance speech.

Today while at Universal Studios, I again happened to run into the modern day Monroe and snapped a shot. While I was in City Walk, I saw a sculpture of Mz. Monroe. There stood an elaborate piece devoted to the diva which was created using 254,093 Jelly Belly beans. The edible sculpture was priced at $25,409.30! “.30???” Really?? What the? Where did the cents come from?! Now that’s an expensive treat! Haha!

These were all probably just coincidences, but I was more than happy to encounter each one… Today I wondered what Marilyn wrote as a final entry in her mysterious diary? The world may never know?

Jelly Belly Bean Marilyn at Universal City Walk_8.6.2012

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A Birthday, Baseball and Heels

Marilyn Monroe Plays Baseball

Today is Marilyn Monroe’s Birthday. She was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, and died on August 5, 1962 in Los Angeles, California. There was not even a week separating the birthdays of she and her beloved Mr. President. Maybe tonight they will have a drink together in which ever realm accepted them…. Her last public appearance was at Dodger Stadium on June 1, 1962.

Happy Birthday Mz. Monroe—

Marilyn, Mr. President and a Gossip Rag

***Cover of the Globe, Vol.59, No.22, May 28,2012*** Marilyn Monroe’s Love Child with JFK

Wow… Did I really just buy a gossip rag?? I can’t believe it? What a mess- there should be a law against archivists purchasing these things! Hahaha Well what can I say? I couldn’t resist the power of the rag as I checked out in the grocery store tonight. There is just something about Marilyn… I giggled, and maybe even turned red when I gave it to the cashier. So did she. I told her why I was interested, and she fed me stories about her childhood. She said she was captivated by the images and conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Monroe as a little girl. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have childhood memories of an assassin taking out President Kennedy, and the possible murder of a starlet.

Though I did pick up a publication filled with gossip, I did see that the cover noted a new book. I figured it was the one recently put out by Jackie’s former personal Secret Service Agent, smoking pal, and possible lover. It is not that book. This one is a “blockbuster new book” titled Marilyn at Rainbow’s End: Sex, Lies, Murder, and the Great Cover-up. The book “rips the lid off Monroe’s most shocking secrets on the eve of the 50th anniversary of her mysterious death.” The gossip rag claims the book documents the existence of a “love child,” Marilyn’s “heartbreaking abortion,” her “showdown with Jackie Kennedy,” her connection to “Cuban dictator Fidel Castro,” and her “electric touch” with lesbian movie queens.

I would need to track down the book before I could assign any scholarly credibility to it. While those potential topics are interesting, what really topped my list on attention grabbers was a possible diary. It may be that Monroe kept “a red diary, in which she recorded all affairs.” This book is said to have been sought after by the Kennedy family because if it had been discovered, “the Kennedys would have been ruined.” First, I will need to find this new book. I also wonder if the Monroe diary is real? Is it red and soft? How big is it? Where would the diary be? What was Marilyn’s penmanship like? Did she prefer black or blue pens? Would her secrets actually be inked? Hum… If anything, the rag sure got my cogz spinnin’!

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