a tiny lizard in my living room
A tiny lizard has been zipping around my Tucson living room, very aware and quick. I zoomed in to see it better — super cute. I think it’s an ornate tree lizard, a native species in the Southwest desert.
montana blues in colorado again
A pretty scene for this author — my new novel, Montana Blues, has made it to North Michigan reservoir in Colorado … thank you, Jodi Peterson.
hummer in my hand
Today I was in the living room by a big window and heard a soft thump. I realized that a bird flying outside had hit the glass. I went out and spotted a hummingbird lying on its back on the ground. I picked up the tiny bird and gently coaxed it back to consciousness for a few minutes. Then it flew off, wonderful. … Yeah, Tucson. Now I’m going to put stickers on the window so birds can see the glass better (I already put stickers on the sliding-glass door a while ago).
my process
My process begins with ideas, of course, and listening to the words. Deep into it, I’ll print out a draft of a novel, then I’ll reread and rewrite, then I’ll print out another draft for another round of rereading and rewriting, and so on. I’ll do some doubling-back to see what I had in some previous draft, all of this for draft after draft until I need to stick my head in a bucket of ice. Sometimes the writing feels as good and easy as singing. Sometimes it’s like digging up rocks with a pickaxe, still kind of enjoyable because it’s solving problems.
montana blues with tom zoellner
A nice surprise — my new novel showed up in the hands of Tom Zoellner during Tom’s August 9 online talk for the Border Community Alliance. Tom is based in the L.A. area, and I was watching his talk on my computer, enjoying his remarks about his eighth book, Rim to River: Looking into the Heart of Arizona. Suddenly he’s recommending my novel to the audience, saying that Montana Blues is “really outstanding fiction … a fast-moving, suspenseful story.” Tom is an Editor-at-Large for the Los Angeles Review of Books, along with teaching as an English prof at Chapman University. Kindness is one of his traits. Thanks, Tom.
montana blues at colorado river confluence
My new novel cools off by the Colorado River, just upstream from the confluence with the Gunnison River — thank you, Ted Moorman, for venturing out there in the mid-August heat.
montana blues on puget sound
Cool green intrigue, Camano Island State Park, northwest of Seattle — another August trip for my new novel, thanks to Darla Hoff.
montana blues on mount lemmon
In August, my new novel climbed to roughly 8,000-feet elevation in the cool forest on Mt. Lemmon, the biggest peak looming over Tucson. Thank you, Doug Biggers, a longtime leader of Tucson journalism (Doug was the original editor and publisher of the Tucson Weekly and the Edible Baja Arizona magazine).
montana blues on jersey shore
In late July, Margaret Regan made my new novel another beach read along the Jersey Shore, at Brigantine Beach. Margaret is a wonderful writer. Her career includes two heartfelt pro-immigrant books and a stint as “a French editor for TV Guide.”
montana blues in dallas airport
Also in July, history prof Kevin Gosner read my new novel while he was traveling to and from the East Coast (he shot this photo during a layover in the Dallas-Forth Worth airport) — thanks, Kevin!