Santa Fe is one of the prettiest cities I've seen. We're here through Sunday with some of our Las Cruces friends, and on Monday we'll go our separate ways. Though I don't expect to be actively selling my books on this trip, I will leave business cards on bulletin boards at all the RV sites—a low-key approach to be sure.
Oh, do you wonder what that ripping sound is? Well, I had a book signing at the Coas Bookstore in Las Cruces today. A nice elderly lady named Sandra sat down to chat with me and said she'd buy my book. She hailed a clerk and asked exactly how much my book was with the tax—$16.05, she was told. My, you're going to bankrupt me, she said as she peeled off three twenties. We stopped her from paying $60.05, but by golly, she was about to do it.This is my May column for Southwest Senior, which arrived in today's mail:
Local authors, local books: Silver City’s Bear Mountain Lodge
By Bob Sanchez
Was she an heiress?
That’s what historian and writer Donna Eichstaedt wanted to know as she read the sign saying that Mrs. Myra McCormick was ill and the Bear Mountain Lodge near Silver City was closing. Perhaps the woman was related to the family of Cyrus McCormick of mechanical reaper fame. “We are always looking for interesting stories,” Eichstaedt told me, and she saw possibilities—New Mexico had often been a destination for heirs and heiresses back when such people were more common.
Had the answer been yes, the story would have developed differently. But Mrs. McCormick was no heiress, although she turned out to be an interesting woman in her own right. So Eichstaedt decided to write an article about the lodge anyway, and the article developed into a short book, Silver City’s Bear Mountain Lodge: The Untold Story. Seeing photos of Mrs. McCormick and the lodge “really got (Eichstaedt’s) adrenaline going” and inspired Eichstaedt to start writing.
Apparently, Myra McCormick was a “peculiar and caustic” character whose personality was forged in the Depression. During her research, Eichstaedt heard stories of McCormick doling out a single washcloth and a single towel per person for a guest’s entire stay at the lodge, and of a guest catching her pouring water from a dog’s dish into a pitcher meant for iced tea.
As it turned out, the original owners became the book’s primary focus. In the 1920s Juanita Franks and Walter Langer married and settled in New Mexico to run a home for disturbed boys, but their backgrounds were too different for them to stay married. After a stint back east, Juanita returned home to New Mexico, while Walter’s heart was on the east coast and in Europe. In time he became a renowned psychiatrist and a disciple of Sigmund Freud. As his contribution to the Allies in World War II, he wrote a secret report for the U.S. Government that analyzed Hitler’s psyche with remarkable accuracy. Once declassified in the early 1970s, the report became a best-selling book entitled The Mind of Adolf Hitler, which incidentally I remember reading. The divorce of Franks and Langer, Eichstaedt says, is a “classic example of how the power of history separates people.”
Juanita Franks tended the lodge for many years before selling it to Myra McCormick. Juanita lived to be 103, and a photo of her and the author grace the back cover. McCormick in turn left the lodge to the Nature Conservancy.
Eichstaedt has a real curiosity about New Mexico, which she conveys through her clear and entertaining writing. An assistant professor of history at Dona Ana Community College and a director of the Doña Ana County Historical Society, she earned her Ph.D. in history from Illinois State University. She had been dean of Lincoln College in Illinois before moving with her husband to Las Cruces since 1992.
Donna credits the Nature Conservancy for their support in her researching and writing the book. Her next project will be an article about the psychoanalyst Eduard Hitschmann, whom she describes as having been Sigmund Freud’s best friend.
Published in 2008 by Southwest Senior Books, Silver City’s Bear Mountain Lodge is out of print, but copies are available through Coas, Southwest Senior, or from the author. It’s well researched and well written, and a good addition to the library of any lover of New Mexican lore.
If you are a published local writer and would like me to review your book, mail a copy to:
Southwest Senior
P.O. Box 1053
Las Cruces, NM 88004
Attention: Bob Sanchez
Be sure to include your contact information.
Bob Sanchez is the author of Getting Lucky, available from Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/gettinglucky, and he blogs at http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com.
Indian Blanket
We just returned from an RV trip into central Texas, where the April wildflowers are beautiful, and the politics—well, they are what they are. The hateful political sign is in an empty storefront in downtown McGregor, not far from W's old stomping ground of Crawford. Note the "FBO" at the top. Any guesses as to what that stands for?
I like to keep the action moving by limiting descriptions of locations to the minimum that will give a graphic sense of place, enough to trigger the reader’s imagination. My first editor always said don’t underestimate your readers. They know a lot more than you think they do. I prefer to let them give their imaginations free reign.Sid is my protagonist. He lives and works in Madison, a suburb on Nashville’s northeast side. Here’s how his office location looks as he arrives one morning before daylight:Up early the next day, decked out in gray sweat pants and a faded Yellowstone tee shirt, Sid got back to his regular morning run through the neighborhood. He covered four miles at a brisk pace, honing his powers of observation as he went. He noted the black van in the gravel driveway, the ornamental birdbath beside an oak tree, the red bicycle leaning against a fieldstone house, the large white mailbox with a bashed-in side. Last night’s blustery wind had been replaced by a less turbulent breeze that rustled the trees, tingeing the chilled air with the scent of damp leaves. He watched the sunlight filter through baring limbs and paint slanted yellow stripes on the pavement. This was a special time of day that resonated with his love of the outdoors. He filled his lungs with air and sweated like a boxer in the ring and adored every minute of it.
For a different view of Nashville, here is what Sid sees from his lawyer-client’s office downtown:Sid took the cutoff north to Gallatin Pike, Madison’s Main Street. His office, a grudging requirement of his new life, occupied a corner in a glass and stone building near RiverGate Mall, anchor for the community’s primary shopping area. One strip center after another lined both sides of the street, deserted mini-cities at this time of day.
The Surest Poison’s plot involves Sid’s attempt to track down the man responsible for dumping a massive amount of a toxic chemical behind a small plant near Ashland City. Sid and Jaz LeMieux, his part-time associate, are directed to the rural community that suffered health effects from the pollution.Sid looked out a broad window at the dwarf-like lunchtime figures scurrying along the sidewalk below. After several years as a small town police chief, followed by three years of isolation at his cabin in the woods, he found it difficult to adjust to Nashville’s booming growth, both downtown and in the suburban counties. New skyscrapers had changed the skyline, and the planned 70-story Signature Tower would usher in a whole new wave of changes. Developments like Nissan North America’s new international headquarters in Brentwood reshaped the suburbs. It was hardly the quaint Southern town he remembered from his youth.
Sid Chance grew up in Nashville but spent 18 years as a National Park ranger and 10 years as a small town police chief before shifting to private investigator. I invented the town of Lewisville, where he worked as top cop. The name came from its location near where Meriwether Lewis, organizer of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, died along the Natchez Trace, a historic trail in the 1800s that ran from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi. When Sid takes Jaz down to question a couple of people in Lewisville, here’s what they see:They found the creek and followed the road beside it, soon reaching a spot where the land sloped away from a high wooded hill that appeared to be the one behind the HarrCo plant. Along the bottom of the hill, a hodgepodge of small frame or asbestos siding houses were sandwiched among a few single or doublewides. They saw one typical old two-story farmhouse. Most had battered pickups parked in front. A hayfield spread off to the other side of the road. Large, round bales lined a rickety fence.
To give a better feel for what they faced when calling on the man who caused Sid the most trouble during his law enforcement career, I painted a little more detailed picture of the man’s business.Beyond the grounds of a new high school, older houses lined the highway. That soon gave way to commercial buildings, the usual dotting of fast food restaurants and service stations, and, at the center of town, a typical square housing the old red brick courthouse. A statue of the famed explorer, Meriwether Lewis, stood on a pedestal in front of the building.
The scene becomes more bleak as they head for Hank Keglar’s office.The Long Branch Saloon had a rustic wooden front that fit the name like cowboys fit saddles. Inside were black walls, round tables and booths, and a long bar made of dark wood that could have come right out of some Old West ghost town. Lamps made to look like oil lanterns cast a pale glow over the room. Two men sat at the bar, workmen dressed in jeans and ball caps, beers shedding trickles of foam on the counter. A woman with streaks of gray in her hair and a man in a tweed sports jacket leaned toward each other at a table just beyond the bar. The man’s shirt collar gapped open to bare a gold medallion on a heavy necklace and the hint of a hairy chest.
Several scenes take place around Jaz LeMieux’ mansion near the county line on the south side of Nashville. This is how Sid views it on his first visit:He followed the bartender’s directions and entered a narrow passageway. It had been years since he was in this place, and he’d forgotten how desolate it looked. With one small bulb in the ceiling, the area gave the dusky appearance of a cave entrance. Dark brown walls emphasized the perception. Even the floor had a rough feel, covered by a frayed carpet of indistinct color. Sid and Jaz walked along in silence, stopping at the last door. Sid knocked.
A wealthy businesswoman who inherited controlling interest in a lucrative chain of truck stops when her father died, Jaz works mostly in her home office. It’s described this way:When John Wallace opened the barrier, he drove until the mansion came into view. The house sat on a small knoll that likely would have provided picturesque views from the upper story windows except for all the towering oak and elm trees that surrounded it. The mansion looked like an import from the Louisiana countryside with its four gables highlighting the second floor roof and a wood-floored veranda that crossed the front and ran halfway back on both sides.
It looks this way to Sid:Jaz’s office occupied a bookshelf-lined room her mother had called the library and her father ma cachette, French for ‘my hiding place.’ A framed photo of Jaques LeMieux sat on one side of the cluttered desk, a similar picture of his wife, Gwendolyn, on the other.
Setting is a vital part of any story and can serve many purposes besides describing a location. It should be dynamic and pique the reader’s interest in learning more about what is going on. In some mysteries, the setting proves such a compelling feature that it leads to the solution of the crime. Can you think of one that fits this description?Crowded bookshelves stretched around the room. A large metal globe mounted in rich, dark wood sat in one corner. A wheeled ladder on a track stood beside a wall of books, reminding Sid that she had spoken of her dad as a short man. He would have needed the ladder to reach the upper shelves.
Chester Campbell is the author of two mystery series featuring private investigators. The Surest Poison, first book in the Sid Chance series dealing with a chemical pollution case, is just out. He has written four Greg McKenzie novels featuring a retired Air Force investigator and his wife. Prior to turning to fiction writing, Campbell worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer, magazine editor, political speechwriter, advertising copywriter, public relations professional and association executive. An Air Force intelligence officer in the Korean War, he retired from the Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel. Currently secretary of the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and president of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Sisters in Crime, he lives in Madison, Tennessee with his wife, Sarah, and an 11-year-old grandson.
at better person to begin with than my friend David Hoekenga? With three books already published by Xlibris—Santa Fe Solo, Placitas Particular, and The Hampton Court Murders, David shows strong signs of becoming a prolific author. "I have always read voraciously and after retiring had the time to spin some stories," he says. His tale-spinning continues every day "including holidays" from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m., and then he mulls over the story line for the rest of the day as he goes about his other business. "Make time to write regularly," he advises aspiring writers, "and join a writer's group."
Big Bend, of course, refers to the bend in the Rio Grande that shapes western Texas. Travelers can tell they are getting close to the river by the strip of green that stands in sharp contrast to the barren, beige landscape. In the middle of a massive cliff is a notch that's visible from miles away; that is the Santa Elena Canyon, through which the Rio Grande flows.
On our first morning, our friends saw javelinas, but all I saw were some tame deer that seemed to have no fear of humans.
Local author Bob Sanchez will debut as SWS book reviewer
By Cheryl Fallstead
Bob Sanchez’s book, When Pigs Fly, is an absolute delight and, I must admit, a bit of a surprise. I knew that he had written a book about some bumbling outlaws trying to pull off a heist in the Southwest, but didn’t realize how entertaining it would be. You see, I know Sanchez from when we were both members of a local writing club and I just didn’t give him enough credit for having such a devilish sense of humor. Now I know better.
Perhaps if I had studied the jacket notes by other authors I would have grabbed this book for a read sooner. Kathryn Mackel, author of The Hidden, says of Sanchez’s book: "When Pigs Fly is a masterpiece of comic writing combined with a touching story. Quirky doesn’t begin to describe the characters — they’re sometimes terrifying, often hilarious, and always unique. Robert Sanchez has the perfect touch for comedy, delivering a riotous good time while giving us a well-developed protagonist we’ll want to follow for many books to come."
I read the book in just a few sittings, pulled from one chapter to the next because I just had to see what other bits of craziness Sanchez had devised. The characters were developed to such an extent that I could envision them, from the lead bad guy, dubbed Diet Cola, to our hero, Mack Durgin, and his saucy parents.
When Pigs Fly was published in 2006 through iUniverse. He has since sold 500 copies, which is well above the industry average for self-published books, which is about 100. He is currently working with iUniverse to determine if his book will now also be sold in brick and mortar stores as he has reached their Star level of sales. His book is currently available through amazon.com, bobsanchez.com, iUniverse.com, barnesandnoble.com.
Bob has written reviews for the internet review of books since its inception in October 2007, and serves as its Web master. Bob will be taking on another role in April when he debuts as the Southwest Senior book reviewer. Each month, Bob will tell us about books he has read that have a connection to our readers: recently published books that are either written by regional authors, about our area, or related to topics of interest to seniors. If you have a book to suggest for Bob to review, e-mail the editor at swsenior@comcast.net. Authors may send a review copy to Southwest Senior, P.O. Box 1053 Las Cruces, NM 88004, attention Bob Sanchez.
After working as a technical writer for 20 years when he wrote user manuals for non-technical people, Sanchez decided to delve into writing fiction. Long-time Massachusetts residents, Sanchez and his wife had always wanted to visit the Southwest. Over several years they took vacation trips to Arizona, including popular locations such as Sedona, the Grand Canyon and the Tucson area. It was radically different from their home in New England, but they both loved it and kept coming back.
He says, "I started thinking about a character that I had been working with before. I had written several novels before and I had used a character named Mack Durgin, who was originally cast as a private detective in the Lowell, Massachusetts, area."
He even had an agent working to find a publisher for one of the books, entitled Getting Lucky. Unfortunately, that book didn’t sell and Bob set it aside and started a new one. "I decided to move my character to a place that was both new to me and new to him," he said.
The trips to Arizona, where much of the book’s action takes place, served as research, along with contact with on-line friends and through Web sites. Sanchez says that he was able to help make the story details more accurate by asking those friends who live in Tucson. At one point, the javelina in the book was going to rest under a mesquite bush, but his friend in Arizona suggested it would more likely take a nap under a jojoba bush. Another detail he gleaned was that a cactus wren makes a sound like a car backfiring.
Some things in the story came from Sanchez’s life, like an uncomfortable situation he places one of his characters in that has to do with an unzipped zipper. It didn’t happen to Sanchez, but he was the one who had to let the unfortunate man know something was amiss. He filed the situation away in the back of his head to use someday in a book.
Mack Durgin, the main character in the book, is a retired police officer. In the unsold book, Getting Lucky, Durgin was a private detective, which required a fair amount of research for the Sanchez. Since Mack now has two different backgrounds, Getting Lucky has been rewritten with a new central character. That book will come out in the next few months through iUniverse. "I just decided that I would make the central character a different person so I wouldn’t have to worry about contradictions in backgrounds," Bob explains.
He may also do more books with Mack Durgin. "I’ve started something but haven’t gotten too far along with it. It would be based in Pincushion (the imaginary town Bob developed in When Pigs Fly), but would bring him over to New Mexico. It’s going to center on the space port," he says.
I woke up in the dark, shivering to the bone while searing pain sent yellow and purple flashes across my eyes. I could hear the wind but couldn’t feel it. Maybe this was hell, where eternal punishment came as a grab-bag of assaults to the skull, the back, the noseGod, the stench! My maker must have condemned me to die and smell my own rotting flesh, its cold vapors drifting up to my nose and corroding my insides as well. Mixed with the smell of Clay Webster’s carcass was a sweeter smell, but one no less sickening: I must have drunk myself to death with cheap booze and fallen into a slag heap of unrecycled waste.
Maybe I could come back in another life and try again. In my next life I would study library science. Librarians didn’t go to hell. They didn’t wake up face down in turkey carcasses, smelling like peach brandy, feeling like they’ve been sleeping in a.
I looked straight up and saw the stars.
I was in a Dumpster.
HARDCOVER FLAP/PAPERBACK COPY
When beautiful Bonita Esquivez hires P.I. Clay Webster to find her husband, Lucky, Clay expects an easy missing-person case. But when Bonita bites a poisoned bonbon, more than a quick buck is at stake. Clay needs to establish exactly who Lucky is and determine if his client could be lying to him.
Fifty-five-year-old Clay Webster knows pain; he lost his thirty-year marriage, his son, Sean, and his twenty-eight-year police career. Trying to build a new life, his wit is his weapon, and humor is his first line of defense against life’s assaults. His search for Lucky centers primarily on Lowell, Massachusetts, where he tries to save a drowning teenager in a canal and hires yet another teenager, Denton La Rock Junior, who has been making prank phone calls to his home. Clay looks for links between Lucky and A Touch of Love, the new porn shop in town.
Meanwhile, Senator Carleton Swinburne rails against the city’s perceived moral decay, personified partly by ex-cops such as Clay Webster. Perhaps Chantal Ladoute, Clay’s old friend the ex-nun, will be his moral gyroscope as he navigates an increasingly dangerous course.
My friends at the Internet Writing Workshop blog pose an interesting poll question:
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