William Curry Holden's Teresita, the Biography of Teresa Urrea, La Santa de Cabora

Rare book collecting update: Finally I got my hands on a first edition, a lovely one, autographed and with the dust jacket intact, of William Curry Holden's Teresita, illustrated by José Cisneros. First pubished in English in 1978, this is the first book-length biography of...

Cyberflanerie: Writing and Reading Edition

Sophy Burnham interview for theWashington Independent Review of BooksEver-inspiring historical novelist, dear amiga, and author of The Art of Intuition, Sophy Burnham, has granted an interview to the Washington Independent Review of Books.Washington DC poet Sunil Freeman's splendid...

Cyberflanerie: Print All Over Me (Again) Sweatshirt Edition

PRINTALLOVER.MENo, I'm not getting a commission from these guys, I don't even know them. I just adore the concept of www.printallover.me Seems to me this is where fashion is going... very personal, very strange, a combination of bespoke and made-in-China (or wherever the...

Cyberflanerie: Bughouse Poet's and Other Far Out Books Edition

Definitely different: Bill Zavatsky on Richard Griffin, the Bughouse Poet, in The Sienese Shredder.Mine it! My amiga novelist and blogger (Work-inProgress) Leslie Pietrzyk has posted her best books read in 2013 list.(Mine mine here.)Honey & Wax has issued an amazing second...

Paperback Edition of Metaphysical Odyssey Into the Mexican Revolution

**Further Update Jan 6, 2014: Yet another version of the paperback edition cover. I think this one is it:***Update Jan 5, 2014: The cover for the paperback has been redone-- here's the draft-- and here's hoping the book is out this month (January 2014):Just got the cover for...

Top 10 Books Read 2013

Madam Mayo's #1 for 20131. Carl Jung's Memories, Dreams, ReflectionsA strange, fascinating, and mightily illuminating memoir. 2. John Tutino's Making a New World: Founding Capitalism in the Bajío and Spanish North AmericaLa bomba atómica! Read my review in...

Cyberflanerie: Pie and More Good Things Edition

PRINT ALL OVER MELonn Taylor, aka The Rambling Boy on pie (and how to tell thems Yankees).My DC writer amiga Judy Leaver is Thankful for the Synchronicity of Good Things.Poet, writer and translator Pat Dubrava just keeps falling in love with people.For my next foray across...

Exploring the Burned-Over District Blog

Few people, and extremely few Mexicans have heard of the so-called Burned-Over District-- yet a vital root of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 lies in this very place. I go on at length about this in my new book, Metaphysical Odyssey Into the Mexican Revolution. Apropos of that,...

W.B. Yeats on Madame Blavatsky: The Trembling of the Veil

W.B. YeatsHow things have changed with the digital abundance! Back when I was writing The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, I found myself shelling out for books I knew I would need to consult often and at length. In addition to some (then) wildly expensive print-on-demand...

Rupert Sheldrake, William Tiller, John Mack

These three gentlemen get a mention in my book, Metaphysical Odyssey Into the Mexican Revolution, in the introductory chapter which provides some background, relevant for my subject, Francisco I. Madero, about 19th century psychic research-- though they are researchers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Sheldrake, a biologist, and Tiller, a Stanford...

The Burned-Over District

One of the fun but sometimes crazy-making aspects of putting together a book is finding the right images and maps. I was fortunate to have worked with expert map-maker Bill Nelson when I did the anthology Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion for Whereabouts Press. So I brought...

Cyberflanerie: Prozac Not Needed Edition

Digby & Iona'sEyes & Stars Signet RingThe weirdest little ring advertisement video ever. (Hat tip to Swiss Miss). Think: Clint Eastwood meets Aleister Crowley.Free live streaming baroque music.The Ultimate Pug Video Compilation.The Contrary Farmer says there are More...

Women Writing the West: A Wilder Rose Goes to the Library

One of the best things I have done for myself in the past year is join Women Writing the West. As a writer born in El Paso, Texas,  raised in northern California and now, though living in Mexico City, writing about Far West Texas, for me, it's a perfect fit. The listserv...

Matching Books with Museums in Mexico City by Carmen Amato

Chapultepec CastlePhoto from wikipediaOver on her blog, novelist Carmen Amato mentioned my novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, as reading for a visit to Chapultepec Castle. Gosh, gracias! Here goes:The museum: Perched on top of a hill, with sweeping views over...