And the New Mexico Book Award for Cozy Mystery!!

 It did -- it really did! It's right here in black and white and green! https://nmwriters.org/nm-book-awards/

What more can I say? I'm still reeling!

Fried Chicken Castañeda was awarded the Bronze Medal

That's right! It took third place in the Mystery/Crime/Detective category at this year's CIPA EVVY awards. Not too shabby for a first novel, eh? And yes, there were more than three entered in the category. 😆 Excelsior!

Literary Festivals, Book Signings, and Awards Contest, Oh My!

I'm starting with the last first -- I just learned that my novel is a finalist in the CIPA (Collective of Independent Publishers and Authors) EVVY awards in Mystery/Crime/Detective! I don't know how many were entered, but it was certainly more than three. Win or not, it's an honor and very motivating.

From the date of this post, it's pretty obvious that I'm back from the Mesa Verde Literary Festival. We -- the husband, doglette, and I -- made a road trip of it, stopping first at the Hubbell Trading Post. Unfortunately, it was late in the day, so no time to tour the grounds, which were much more extensive than anticipated. However, it's a mere two-hour drive, so we'll be back. 

Then up to Chinle and Thunderbird Lodge. It was adequate for the price and staff were lovely. We might stay there again, but we'd make a point of avoiding their "restaurant." Overpriced bad food. The attraction, of course, was Canyon de Chelly, where I checked an item off of my bucket list by taking the four-hour tour. It covers a little over half the canyon. The next day, we did the rim drive and were able to look down into the parts of the canyon not covered by the tour. TBH, the drive was so jolting and literally bruising that I doubt I could have managed the six-hour. These are just a few of the photos I took. Imagine being able to walk right up to that fence line! I'd love to go back and take the evening/night tour. It would be supernatural.

The next day was Goulding's Lodge at Monument Valley, where we stayed in a "villa" (one bedroom modular home). We had a living area with sofa sleeper, eating area, small kitchenette (no range), queen bed separated by a half-wall, bedroom, and bathroom. Also porch with patio table and chairs. Highly recommended if you can afford it -- which you probably can, as you can avoid eating in the overpriced restaurant. There's a grocery store with extremely reasonable prices, as well. This day was Mike's turn to do the tour, while I stayed home with Treme -- so no photos, but you can find plenty online. He pronounced it "awesome, amazing, and inspiring." Be sure to check out the museum at Goulding's while you're there. 

Finally, up through Mexican Hat and the Four Corners area to the Retro Inn at Cortez. The room numbers are years from the mid- to late-20th century, and each room is decorated according to the year. We had 1953 (or was it 54?), which celebrated Marilyn Monroe! We heard that one of the 1980s rooms is Miami Vice. It's ideally located near a WalMart and several restaurants, and was about 20 minutes from Mancos and the Literary Festival. 

This was the inaugural year of the Festival, and there were, sad to say, more than a few hiccups, some of which were not their fault. They certainly didn't arrange to have the street in front of the venue torn up! Others were the more-or-less-expected for a first time event. I'm sure that the festival organizers will learn from their mistakes for next year. I especially appreciated the opportunity to interact with other authors from the Four Corners states. I would have liked for there to have been more readers/book buyers in attendance. 

My Southwest Writers critique group, Write Minds, has scheduled four signing events in Albuquerque in August. The first was last week at Books on the Bosque. It was an author reading and signing. I learned as much about my fellow authors as those in the audience did! This week, back at Page One Books, but with all five of us, then both Barnes & Nobles at the end of the month. I tell you, it's a full-time job!

And the winners are :

 

These two stories can be found in Mosaic Voices available from Amazon. 

The losers include the short stories "The Good Time Girl"  and "New Beginnings," and the first chapter of Murder at the KiMo (book 3 in the Couriers series). Based on the winners in its category, I'd have to say that the judges don't value cozy mysteries. 

I honestly think that "The Good Time Girl" is at least as good as the two that won, but, of course, it all depends on the competition. I thought about posting it here, but I think I'll hang on to it for an anthology of short stories based on characters from the Couriers series. I've got some ideas about Liz's son ... If you want to read "The Good Time Girl," let me know and I'll email you a copy.

 Oh, yes, one more bit of good news. My Valentine's Day flash fiction made it into the SouthWest Writer's Association Newsletter, Sage. It's on page 5. They even found a site with a copycat recipe! For those who are not aware, Zulu King Cake is an Ambrosia Bakery original.

https://www.southwestwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FebSage2024.pdf