Watch “Tony Hillerman Writers Conference 2014 – Felicia Lujan” on YouTube

Missing this conference…

Watch “Hillerman Writers Conference (2015)” on YouTube

Going though my personal archive and realized I hadn’t shared these memories on-line! I really miss this conference and working for and with wonderful, creative spirits every year.

Intellectuals Love Pop Culture

I had a great learning experience at the 2016 Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (SWPACA) Conference thanks to scholarship funds. If I can’t find outside funds to attend this conference again next year, I would gladly pay my own way. I thought ARMA San Diego was the best conference I had been to until SWPACA. I love being around like minded intellectuals. There is really nothing like it. I do want a PhD someday.

I made it a point to keyword search the program (which was close to 150 pages) for the words archive(s), culture, history, and New Mexico. I focused my time at the conference on those sessions for the greater good. I love learning things to benefit both my knowledge and my agency. Everytime I could, I supported New Mexico professors and students by attending their presentations. There was so much great research presented during this conference. I also made a presentation there.

I did attend a small handful of sessions that were chosen because of personal interest. One was a session titled “Myth and Metaphor in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien,” which happened to be delivered by a University of New Mexico (UNM) professor. Another awesome presentation gave an analysis of “Penny Dreadful,” which I love, by a teacher from Texas. That session featured another presentation on the research of a UNM professor and student on violent video games and children. There was one on how Batman’s suit employs STEM!! Then there was one on fetishism and the villainess. You know I went to that one!!

The mission of SWPACA is “to promote an innovative and nontraditional academic movement in Humanities and Social Sciences and to celebrate America’s cultural heritages. To provide an outlet for scholars, writers, and others interested in popular/American culture, to share ideas in a professional atmosphere, and to increase awareness and improve public perceptions of America’s cultural traditions and diverse populations.”

Amazing…

Whatever It Takes

What will I do?
Whatever it takes.

•Digital composite by Felicia•

2016: The Fire~ Part 1

2016
Resolution
Promise
GUARANTEE
#FIRE
Personal
Professional
Physical

••Digital composite by Felicia Lujan~ includes a photograph of me and 16 layers.••

The Rundown

Wow!! You haven’t heard from me since Saturday because I’ve been super busy! I’ve been swamped from: the gym; to the printer; to meetings and a hearing and more meetings to come; to homework and school politics; and the completion of my Killer Frost cosplay.

This busy week is far from over. I still have: two all day meetings; an early morning to work magic, become Killer Frost and turn D into The Scarecrow; and a Friday night dinner party at my house! It never gets easier, but it’s all worth it and rewarding when I can breathe!! So what do I have to report?? Hear is the best news from the last four days.

#1 !!!~
On Sunday, I hit my personal best on the dumbbell bench press with two 50 pounders for 12! That means my 1RM for that movement may be 70z!! I love it!! It’s straight comedy to Google pics of women using dumbbells for this (which is why I choose this pic). They are always like 3 to 5 pound weights. Commmee on! Really?

••NOT CUTE••

#2 !!!~
The Tony Hillerman Writers Conference is next week and I completed the program. I met with the printer yesterday and signed off on the proof. Yeayyyyy!! The final looked awesome and I added great quotes from writers this year! I had some resolution issues with Adobe InDesign, but got it all figured out in perfect time. Phew!

••MY 2015 PROGRAM DESIGN••

#3 !!!~
Tonight I put the final stitches into my blue velvet, Killer Frost dress. This cosplay keeps with the trademark icy theme of this super villainess. I attached icicles to the bottom of the dress. Tonight I stitched in the sparkling tulle and silver snowflake cape. Hopefully I can pull this frozen look off. I’m hoping this cosplay comes together just right early Friday morning.

••A HINT OF KILLER FROST••

P.S.
I was HQ in 2013, though I liked Poison Ivy better in 2014. Interesting that this year in the news, Harley Quinn is the Most Popular Halloween Costume Nationally on Google Search. That’s old news to me. This year be like a sea of Harley Quinns. Like Young Jeezy says in his awesome song Me OK… “Mister if I’m talkin’ you should listen, game is free OK.” Maybe in 2017 everyone will be Killer Frost?

My Lil Hillerman Interview

————————————–
This interview is from the 2014 conference. It just went up on the Wordharvest channel on YouTube this week, so I wanted to share it. I’m honored to have my interview footage alongside those of several famous and infamous authors. Unfortunately, the sun was in my eyes, so I’m squinting through the whole thing!

Coincidentally, the video footage was edited by a guy from my gym. He recognized me and told my boss he knew me. He knows me from a very different world LoL. He was proly like… “is this the same gal? Hummm?” I never knew he did stuff like this. I guess you never know what iron lovers do on their spare time eh?

I’m looking forward to the 2015 conference. The author of Longmire will be there to talk about the move to NetFlix, which is awesome!!! I loved meeting him even though I don’t love any cowboys. Maybe I’ll ask him if he killed off Chase since I’ve only watched the first episode. I thought it was kinda symbolic in my real world.

ARMA and the 2015 Legislative Session

This year (and probably next) I took off from work for the day to promote my local ARMA chapter. We set up a booth during the 2015 Legislative Session. The chapter is slowly growing and that’s good to see. We had a recent change in leadership, so we will see how that goes. I was nominated for President and Secretary, but decided I couldn’t swing that right now. At present, I’m the Director of Outreach.

I did a lot of networking (both personal and professional) during the session this year. I got to see my friend Linda who was working for Senator Michael Sanchez of Belen at the time. I visited with an old friend, Representative Jim Trujillo of Santa Fe (and Pojoaque~ my home town). We talked about when he coached baseball back in the day for “the twins” (my brother and sister). I even got to chat with Diane Kinderwater that day. She is the Director of Communications for the State Senate. I knew her from years ago when we both worked for a former gov.

The best person I networked with and who I am still in contact with was Dr. Meredith Machen. She is the current President of the League of Women Voters, founder of the Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe and former Vice President of the Santa Fe Community College. She invites me to all sorts of events for writers now. I am so glad I met her. She is well connected in the world of writers (including poets). We know many of the same people, but had never met.

Since I was a young girl, I have loved people. Networking is a necessary part of personal and professional development. Even if people tried, they couldn’t take the networker out if me! It comes natural to me and I love that. My sister always teases me because I know people everywhere we go. She always says “you should run for governor lol.” Maybe I should.

Archivists’ and Records Managers’ Identities

This post is a good read. I completely agree with #2, as #1 is a reflection of professional ignorance! The articles cited at the end are interesting as well.
~~F

Archivists’ and Records Managers’ Identities – Two Opinions: Different Species or United as One?.

An Educational Trippy Trip to the Lone Star State

•••Flight Out•••

Last week I went to a conference in Austin, Texas to make a presentation and accept a leadership award. I learned so much during the course of the week and networked with many people. I visited the beautiful capitol and the Texas State Archives while I was there. 

Austin is an interesting city to say the least, and I can see why they have the saying “keep Austin weird.” After 5 was always a trippy adventure… from the crazy street people, to the bat bridge, to good eats. I didn’t take photos of the weird stuff though!

Amongst a gazillion bars, there was one real gym. It was a Gold’s. I like having a few drinks occasionally, but a gazillion bars is a far cry from my cup of tea! In my off work/downtime, I had the most fun on Lake Travis on my last day there.

•••Amazing Stonework Here•••

•••TX Archives actually had up a NM Archives Poster and a View of the Capitol from my Hotel Room Window•••

•••D Loooooved This Car and Lady Bird Lake•••

•••Me and D on the Bat Bridge on Congress Street and Our Ride in an Electric Car•••

An Author Inspired by the “Keeper of the Records”

••∆ Susan McDuffie and Felicia Lujan in Albuquerque, New Mexico ∆••

I just adore Susan McDuffie. This New Mexico lady is an award winning mystery author who has been inspired to write by a connection to her ancestral lands and her family’s role as “Keeper of the Records.” Given my professional history, you know I have to love that right? How can I not adore a women who has an obvious admiration for record keepers and history?

Susan and I met up at a crime writing extravaganza a few weeks back. In 2011, she won the New Mexico Book Award for “Best Historical Novel.” In 2014, she was a finalist in both the Historical Fiction and Mystery categories. I do love me some creative women! What’s kinda funny is that over the last decade, a good handful of people from out-of-state have asked me if I’m Scottish because of my accent. Interesting… I know.

From Susan’s Medieval Mysteries web site…

Susan’s childhood interest in Scotland was fueled by family stories of the McDuffie clan’s ancestral lands on Colonsay and their traditional role as “Keeper of the Records” for the Lords of the Isles. Although Keeper of the Records may in fact have been a tedious position, it all sounded incredibly mysterious and intriguing to Susan. On her first visit to Scotland she hitchhiked her way through the Hebrides. Her initial visit to Colonsay and the Oronsay Priory ruins planted the seeds for her medieval mysteries.

Crime Writing: Here is to a Killer Future

Yeah… I would say crime writing is a viable option for me. I knew that before I worked and attended day one of “Finding Your Inner Sleuth.” It was a great day. I love learning and with every bit of knowledge I get, I feel more and more empowered. I want to be both a physical and intellectual monster! I’ll be Queen of Iron and Ink!!!

All of the presenters did a great job today! I had such a good day. My bosses keep pushing me to write a book, and I’m getting closer to jumping. I love that I have found my place in the world of writers. I fit in there like hand-n-glove. I learned some interesting things from Detective Mark Manary, Christine Barber, Dr. Irene Blea, Laura Sanchez, and Don Bullis.

I’m looking forward to working in Albuquerque again tomorrow! I wanted to share some of the photos from today and a few of the more interesting things I learned. Here is to a killer future of crime writing!!!

Interesting things about Detective Mark Manary:

å He went into homicide work because he is the survivor of an unsolved cold case. In 1989, his father was murdered.

å His career in law enforcement started as a military cop with the Air Force.

√• He went to a Handwriting Analysis School, where he “learned so much about writing and the use of words.” 💜’ed that!!

å He is President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP- Albuquerque Lodge#1).

å He had to read and look at data for six months straight to get up to speed on the West Mesa murder cases.

√• His first step as lead in the 118th West Mesa Murders Task Force was to secure the records room. He allowed only two keys. 💜’ed that!!!

Interesting things about Author Christine Barber:

√• She is an amazingly smart woman, former journalist/editor, and friend who I have known for years. 💜 her!!!

å She took the show hands down today!!!

å Her current research into the West Mesa murders will likely give Detective Mark Manary great tips.

√• She is working with an anthropologist who is using scientific techniques to conduct soil analysis for potential West Mesa murder burial sites. 💜’ed that!!!

√• As part of her research for her new book “Rules of Survival,” she has completely emerged herself into the world of sex workers in Albuquerque.

√• She is now publishing the “Bad Guy List.” It is a freaky scary, but informative printout which highlights Albuquerque’s criminal activity.

√• She knows a lot more than anyone I know about serial killers, sex acts, what they cost, who is involved, and the dark fate of Albuquerque’s sex workers.

√• I met Christine years ago… not as an archivist, but as a writer. I invited her to the archives to conduct research for her book “When the Devil Doesn’t Show.” That book is about David Parker Ray, the “Toy-Box Killer” from Mountainair, New Mexico. He was a suspected serial killer. Though no bodies have ever been found, Ray is said to have murdered at least 60 people between Arizona and New Mexico. Together, Christine and I uncovered possible burial locations on mining property owned by Ray.

An Ad to Attract Crime Writers

~~Ad Designed by Felicia Lujan~~

Today I received the final approval for an advertisement I designed last week. It is scheduled to run in the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday. I’m really excited to have been asked to design this particular ad for the 2015 Tony Hillerman Literary Landscapes Series. The ad is for a 2-day workshop titled Crime Writing: Finding Your Inner Sleuth (which we all know I have already found). I’ll be working the workshop on June 19th and 20th in Albuquerque at the South Broadway Cultural Center as part of the Wordharvest/Tony Hillerman Conference staff. The ad went through internal approval, as well as approval by the Cultural Services Department of the City of Albuquerque. When I sent it to the ad rep for the Albuquerque Journal, he said it was “beautimous!” I took that as a compliment being that he has seen so many! It will not look as good halftone, but it will run in a newspaper. I have been doing a lot of design work at night and I love it. I’ll be talking about some of the other projects I have going on soon.

Most of you know that I have been called “The Darkivist” and “The Dark Archivist” at work. This workshop is right up my alley. I have helped with research on several law enforcement investigations over the years. There are going to be 10 amazing speakers during this 2-day writing workshop, but there are two that are going to be very interesting. Detective Mark Manary will talk about being a member of the 118th Street West Mesa Murders Task Force. He has worked with the Albuquerque Police Department for 16 years. These murders mark a very dark time in New Mexico history. The buried remains of 11 women were discovered in 2009 by a woman walking her dog. The remains were discovered on the mesa in Albuquerque. The case is unsolved and the murders are believed to have been committed by a serial killer. Later that day, Dr. Irene Blea will talk about her research for her new book Daughters of the West Mesa. I’m really looking forward to the crime writing workshop.

Work and Mingle Birthday Bash

Yesterday I worked the kickoff for the Tony Hillerman Literary Landscape Writer’s Series. We had a celebration in honor of the late Tony Hillerman’s 90th birthday. His daughter, Anne Hillerman said a few words and signed her newest book while we were at the Tony Hillerman Library.

•••George and Felicia and then Angela "Spence" Pacheco, Felicia and Ana Pacheco•••

The party was hosted by veteran radio and TV personality, Larry Ahrens. Ahrens is currently a Producer and Creative Director at Studio 34 Broadcast in Albuquerque. There were about 75 people there to listen and mingle. It was a really good turnout and the flowers growing at the library were beautiful.

I’ve been working with George for years. He and I can sell some books! We make a good team. Ana Pacheco is also a blast to work with. She is a writer and editor with a great personality. This time she brought along her sister who is the First Judicial District Attorney here in Santa Fe. I liked her! Angela “Spence” Pacheco and I really hit it off. I had never met her and she is super nice.

It was awesome visiting with Judith Van Gieson for a long while. My mom introduced me to Van Gieson’s work so many years ago because she had heard her books were about an archivist. The Claire Reynier series contains some of my favorite historical fiction books. Claire Reynier is indeed a fictional archivist and rare book buyer with the Center for Southwest Research (UNM) in Van Gieson’s books.

Cheers to a very successful event. I can’t wait to work a few of the others in this writer’s series. There will be a two day crime writing workshop in Albuquerque with Dr. Irene Blea at the end of June. Her newest book is about the West Mesa murders. Dr. Blea is a very accomplished woman. I’m excited to work that workshop!

•••Anne Hillerman speaks, a musician, and veteran radio and TV personality, Larry Ahrens•••

Digging Deep

I finally changed my ICRM password. I had been holding on to that damn password with lots of hope. Hope doesn’t get you anywhere though, focus does. I’m going to pass test #1 soon. I needed to change that password even though it hurt. I need to get back to work and remain unstoppable.