Thanks for joining me on the 2012 MARA-thon! This includes a physical book tour through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California, and it includes a national blog tour. During the entire MARA-thon, please be sure to download your FREE prequel short story, When Whales Watch at www.MaraPurl.com/downloads. As of January 1, you’ll be able to find purchase links for all e-readers at https://marapurl.com/books/when-whales-watch.
This is posted from the road during my All-Indie-Bookstore book tour titled MAPPING THE JOURNEY OF YOUR HEART. Revisit the entire tour at any time by visiting www.MaraPurl.com/calendar where you’ll see event details, links to the bookstores, and soon, photo archives. Also join me on the ongoing Double Blog Tour, which will be archived at https://marapurl.com/fall-blog-tour-schedule.
Much of a writer’s life requires solitude. Though in our minds, we’re spending time with characters and situations, it’s sometimes startling to look around the room and remember we’re actually sitting at a desk by ourselves. Perhaps that’s one reason we seek out and belong to writer groups. It’s tremendously reassuring to know others are walking the same path.
Of all the groups I belong to, one of my most cherished is Women Writing the West, and every member I’ve spoken with feels the same way. We only get together once a year at our marvelous conference. And, of course, not everyone can attend every year. The conferences are held in a different city each time, which exposes us to new locations and fresh opportunities for researching our stories. The year we met in Los Angeles, I co-chaired the conference and was delighted to share some of the treasures of my town. This year, the conference was held in New Mexico, which happened to dovetail perfectly with my book tour.
Another perfect fit was the indie bookstore Bookworks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Logistically, we authors couldn’t all get to the bookstore, so it kindly came to us, providing a weekend-long array of books by members as well as a schedule of signings. We’re such a supportive group that we actually buy and read each other’s books, and we buy them as gifts for others, too.
Bookworks was founded in 1984 when, as their website reminds us, “We were indie before indie was cool.” They’re still very cool, even in the very hot summer and pretty hot autumn, not only featuring the latest releases but sending knowledgeable, friendly staff off-site to run out conference book sales and signings. And they offer this as a service to all local organizations. In or out of the store, they hold over 300 events a year, showcasing the works of all kinds of authors, from the nationally known who are on book tour, to the locally published who stay close to home. Add to this their blog, their free newsletter and the fact that they’ll soon be offering e-books, and you have local gem that gleams like a fine piece of turquoise, bright as the New Mexico sky.
I’ll be adding this store to my regular list of book-tour stops, and hope you’ll stop by if you’re in Albuquerque. Happily, Bookworks purchased some signed copies for you of Where the Heart Lives and What the Heart Knows.
For more information on the evolving world of The Milford Haven Novels, visit my new website www.MaraPurl.com where you can subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on social media, enjoy photos and videos, discover more special offers and more.
