You are here: Michael McGarrity > Update Archives
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OCTOBER 2005 |
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It's a glorious rainy day in Santa Fe. In fact it's unusually rainy and the weather has made me lazy and disinclined to write this update, which means it will be probably short and sweet. September has been a great month, with a research trip to Lincoln County as one of the highlights that, while it was great fun, couldn't hold a candle to my son's wedding on the 24th. It was a perfect New Mexico wedding in every way; setting, music, food, drink, a handsome happy groom, a beautiful glowing bride, and a crowd of guests who had a wonderful time. During the trip to Lincoln County, I did a book signing in Capitan, New Mexico, (Home of Smoky the Bear) at the Southwest Book Roundup, a small store owned by Carolyn Schrader. A whole parcel of people showed up and bought lots of books. It was a great event with a stunning turnout. Speaking of events, upcoming sometime next spring, I've been asked to participate in the centennial celebration of the Roswell, New Mexico Public Library, which I will most certainly do. I'll keep you posted about the particulars as it draws near. (I do enjoy supporting libraries. They enrich our communities.) The month ended with the submission of my corrected and edited galleys to Nothing But Trouble on the way to my publisher in New York City. Now that the book goes into production, I can move ahead and get started on the next novel. Remember the Tony Hillerman conference in Albuquerque is coming up in early November. Click on the link to find out more and register. That's it for now
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SEPTEMBER 2005 |
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You'll notice that we continue to feature the Tony Hillerman Mystery Conference scheduled for Albuquerque in early November. Many times I'm asked if I will be attending the various mystery conferences and conventions held throughout the country and the answer this year is "No". The Hillerman conference will be the only one. So if you're inclined to spend a day to two with me and the likes of David Morrell, Margaret Coel, Fred Harris, James D. Doss, and of course Tony, click on the link and sign up for what promises to be a great event. Folks have been asking what Nothing But Trouble is all about, where it will be ;set, and what characters will be featured in the story. To satisfy the curious, I'm ending the update with the synopsis that will be on the cover of the book. I hope it wets your appetite:
As separate investigations embroil Kerney and Sara in circumstances that will forever changes their lives, Kerney must care for Patrick while Sara plays a dangerous game of Pentagon politics. Packed with family secrets, international intrigue, and memorable characters, this is McGarrity’s most ambitious and involving novel to date, traveling an accelerating arc from Santa Fe to the desert grasslands and mountains of the Bootheel, the most secret levels of the Pentagon, a resort town on the coast of Ireland, and back to an adrenaline-charged climax on a desolate landing strip a few miles north of the Mexican border. See you next month.
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AUGUST 2005 |
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For those of you who are paperback fans, Slow Kill will be released on August 2, and an ad will run in four regional editions of USA Today, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston on August 4. I have also been advised that the audio rights to Slow Kill and Nothing But Trouble have been sold. So for those of you who enjoy books on tape, both titles will be available sometime in the future. (I don't know exactly when). As I mentioned last month, I'll be appearing at the Farmington Public Library on Monday, August 15 at 7 PM. If you live in the four corners region of New Mexico, I hope to see you there. It's always a relief to get a completed manuscript finished. Sometimes I don't know how I do it. The process is both a struggle and a joy. Whatever sense of satisfaction I have is always dampened by the thought that I could have done it better. Di, my Australian Web Mistress, has given the site a new look, and I love it! I hope you like it too. Another important message from Di is that she has had a major computer crash and knows she lost the notification for some welcome subscribers to the update service. If you have subscribed in the past 2 weeks, please send an email to Di That's it from Santa Fe. Stay safe and be happy. |
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JUNE 2005 |
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Webmistress Di here — it's my turn to write the update this month. Michael's computer is sick and he's asked me to fill in till next month. With only 2 months to the deadline to finish things, as you can imagine the last thing he needed was computer problems ... but Michael's son Sean is seeing what he can do so hopefully he'll be up and running again post haste. In the meantime he told me to tell you he's working really hard on the book and is, as we say in Australia "head down, bum up" ( or is that too rude for a family web site? <G> — OK, then he's flat out like a lizard drinking ... whatever terminology you use, he's working very hard! He did have a day off, the first in ages, to cook and share some steaks with the family on Memorial Day and hopes that whatever you all did, you enjoyed it. He'll be back next month with the update with all the news. Cheers from the Antipodes Di. |
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MAY 2005 |
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In April, I wrote about the cover for the new book, Nothing But Trouble, due out at the end of the year, and talked of how the process of arriving at a decision regarding the cover design takes place. Fortunately, as I mentioned before, deciding on a cover for a new book has been a positive, collaborative effort with my publisher, which has resulted in dust jackets that have strong appeal to readers. Well, our first attempt at the cover you saw last month has now been superseded, and the "new look" is here for you take a gander at. Although my initial request for your feedback about the original design generated little interest, I thought you might like to vote on which of the two you like best, so have at it! Why the new cover? The primary concern with the first attempt was that it gave a false impression of the sense of place. But, since there is no sense of place to the new cover, you might be inclined to scratch your head and wonder what all the fuss is about. Simply put, the new cover will hopefully grab readers' attention without limiting it to a regional audience. I guess you could call it mass marketing. Since you're probably screaming, "enough,
already," that's the story on the cover.
Two events are coming up in May. On Saturday, May 7th, I'll be at the New Mexico Book Fiesta at the Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque, giving a talk on book promotion at 11 am, followed by a signing at B. Dalton at 1 pm. On Thursday, May 12, I will be the luncheon keynote speaker for the annual New Mexico District Attorneys' Conference at the Sheraton Old Town Hotel in Albuquerque. Since book lovers and prosecutors are two groups of people I can easily relate to, both events should be a lot of fun for me. It's been a lovely, wet April in Santa Fe. Quite a welcome break from the five-year drought. |
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APRIL 2005 |
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Although Nothing But Trouble won't be
published for nine more months, the cover art for the dust jacket is done and
presented here for the first time. You may ask why it is that art work is done
by a publisher before a book has even been completed? The answer is that the
publisher's catalog of upcoming titles comes out long before a book goes to the
printe The process of creating a cover that satisfies both the writer and the publisher is an interesting one. Contractually, all a writer has in this regard is an advisory role and publishers can disregard an author's input if they so desire. At my publishing house, Dutton & Sons, the art department works up a cover based on what they know about the storyline, and then passes it around to editorial staff, publicity, marketing, sales, my literary agent, and to me for comment and reaction. From the dialogue that ensues changes are either made or another design is undertaken. In my case, the staff at Dutton has been very open to my suggestions and those of my agent, Barney Karpfinger, and have diligently worked with us to create cover art that has shelf appeal and will draw the reader's eye. It really is extremely important in a consumer-driven world to have a cover for a book that invites shoppers to reach for it. As the Kerney series has grown in popularity, the covers have changed, moving away from landscapes in the earlier titles to more of what I would call high-impact images. Some readers miss the southwestern regional flavor of the first four book covers, and I can understand why, given that they reflect the strong sense of place that underscore my stories. But the later covers have been worked-up with a eye to step away from a regionalism and broaden the appeal to readers. I've read accounts by writers who have horror stories to tell about perceived missteps by publishers regarding the cover art for their books, and I've seen a number of novels with dust jackets that are frankly off-putting. I have no such complaints. Dutton has done a great job of working closely with me to produce a book I'm proud of with a cover that works. In fact, I like and respect the people at Dutton so much, I acknowledged all of them in Everyone Dies. The Irishman's luck that gave me the opportunity to become a fulltime writer nine years ago stayed with me when I moved to Dutton and has remained with me since. I hope you like the cover. Drop me a note and tell me what you think of it. |
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MARCH 2005 |
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Remember, I told you about spending a morning watching the filming of a mini-series here in Santa Fe? Well, the title is Into the West, not Out of the West. I guess I was so excited about hanging around with Hollywood types, I spent too much time gawking and not enough time listening (to see where it was filmed, check out the Featured Site above). On January 15, I spent an hour meeting with a class of twenty freshmen enrolled in a communication course at a local high school. I asked them to tell me about the novels they'd read recently other than textbooks, and found to my dismay that only a few of them read for personal enjoyment. In my characteristically undiplomatic way, I pointed out that communication meant nothing unless it was based on knowledge, information, command of the language, and an awareness of the world. Toward the end of the presentation, I asked if they could name the mayor of Santa Fe, our congressman, or a network news anchor. Only one student came up with a correct answer. It was an eye-opening experience. Santa Fe public schools are not known for excellence – far from it. But in a group of twenty freshmen, I expected at least twenty percent of them to be readers. I could rant about this endlessly, but I won't, although the implications are disheartening. Many times I been asked about how I go about writing. Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it ain't. For the past ten days I've been going over the same 25 pages again and again. It happens in every book, and sometimes I just have to trash what I've written and start anew. Not so, this time. I'll make it work, but I'm not quite there yet. In this particular instance it's a question of shifting gears to introduce a subplot into the storyline that spotlights Kerney's wife, Sara, and harkens back to Slow Kill. How's that for a teaser? Di tells me that folks continue to sign up for my monthly updates. Thanks to all of you for taking an interest. I really do appreciate it. . |
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FEBRUARY 2005 |
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After an intense and exhausting week of editing and rewriting the first half of Nothing But Trouble, it was in good enough shape to send off to my publisher. Although I spent most of month at the keyboard, I took several small but interesting breaks to do some research and make an appearance as a guest speaker. Early in January, I was allowed to sit in on a meeting with
senior commanders of the Santa Fe Police Department and learn about a computer
program that had recently been put into use to analyze criminal activity in
defined areas of the city. Simply put, It is a state of the art system that
allows the department to set goals, develop case plans, allocate resources, and
respond rapidly across all organizational units to reduce crime in targeted
neighborhood.. Very interesting stuff.
Later in the month, I spent a morning on location watching a made for television mini-series, Out of the West, being filmed. It was quite a treat to see what goes into the filming of just one sequence, and the timing of my exposure to how movies get made couldn't have come at a better time, as it will be of value to me as I plow through the second half of Nothing But Trouble. A Western co-produced by DreamWorks, Out of the West will be a twelve hour series scheduled to show on a cable channel later this year. The cast and crew have been shooting in New Mexico since last August. Finally, on January 15, I was the banquet speaker at the 4th annual conference of the Quivira Coalition at the Hilton Hotel in Albuquerque. The coalition is a remarkable organization that has brought together ranchers, conversationalists, environmentalists, and others to "foster ecological, economic, and social health on western landscapes through education, innovation, collaboration, and progressive public and private land stewardship." What makes the Quivira Coalition extraordinary is that it cuts across political boundaries and brings together people with diverse points of view who share a common desire to protect, preserve, and restore the vanishing lands of the west and promote sustainable ranching practices that benefit man and nature. I encourage you to visit the coalition's website at www.quiviracoalition.org I think you'll be impressed. With half a book under my belt, I'm treating myself to a few days off before getting back to work. It still amazes me how lucky I am to make my way as a writer and have so many wonderful adventures and new experiences.
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JANUARY 2005 |
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DECEMBER 2004 |
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The Tony Hillerman Writers Conference kicked off
November, and about two hundred people, including participants, presenters, and
staff, gathered in Albuquerque to celebrate Tony's lifetime achievements and
learn about the craft of mystery writing. It was an excellent event and I was
delighted to take part in it.
The very next week, I joined with a group of New Mexico writers to help celebrate the centennial of the Las Vegas, New Mexico, public library, and to participate in a fund raiser for the Friends of the Library. According to current estimates, about $5,000 was raised by the event to help support library operations. The local bookstore that co-sponsored the gala, Tome on the Range, donated all their profits from the event booksigning to the library. You just don't see that kind of generosity very often. It was a wonderful gesture. Except for some holiday socializing, those two events comprised the extent of my outside activities during the month, for I've been bearing down and working away at Nothing But Trouble. However, looking ahead, on Friday, December 3, I'll be at the Joint Stockmen's Annual Meeting in Albuquerque for the Evening with Artists -- Cowboy Style, which will be held at the Hilton Hotel. Max Evans, a New Mexico cowboy and western writer will be there. Among his many works are The Rounders and The High-Lo Country, which were both made into successful motion pictures. Max is a good old boy, and I'm looking forward to hearing some of his yarns and catching up with him. Santa Fe woke up today to a snowy Monday morning, and now the sky is frosty blue, the hills are covered in a blanket of white, and puffs of pinon smoke are rising from fireplace chimneys. It's picture postcard perfect. Have a wonderful holiday season.
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NOVEMBER 2004 |
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After all the excitement in September, October settled down to a quiet month of being back in the writing groove. I've made some good progress with the next book, Nothing But Trouble, and should have half a manuscript done by January. As a bit of a teaser, I thought you'd like to know that the only crime that occurs in Chapter 1 is an off-scene DWI bust. How is that for exciting, dramatic impact?You might well ask what I'm up to. Well, that's the teaser, isn't it? But don't worry, it is a Kerney novel, and more has already happened to raise the dramatic intensity in the next few early chapters. While I've been hard at work, my excellent webmaster, Di Bingham, has just finished an extended, richly deserved holiday in Western Australia. Maybe she'll post her adventures on her personal website for all to read. My upcoming adventures are much more mundane than Di's. I'll finish up October in Austin, Texas, at the Texas Book Festival, then spend an evening at the Lake Austin Spa & Resort giving a presentation (What sacrifices I must make.). After returning home for a couple of days, it's off to the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in Albuquerque, followed by my second appearance on December 3 at the Evening with the Arts ...Cowboy Style sponsored by the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association. Go to www.nmagriculture.org for more information. Sandwiched in between Hillerman and the cowboys, on Friday November 12, I'll be one of a number of writers who will descend upon Las Vegas, New Mexico, to help celebrate the centennial of the Carnegie Public Library. Actually, it should be an exciting month or so, since I'll be hanging out with book lovers, Tony Hillerman fans, librarians, and cowboys -- four of my favorite groups of people. Well, that's it. I tried to jazz up this update as much as I could. But really, I think it would be far more entertaining if Di reported on her holiday. She sent me an e-card with the picture of a famous Western Australian pub on it. So, come clean, Di. What exactly did you do on your vacation? Happy Thanksgiving to all here in the States.
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OCTOBER 2004 |
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The book tour ended in September with Slow Kill topping a bestseller list, being selected as a fall mystery pick by USA Today, and garnering great reviews. Once again, sales are up over the earlier titles.
Two days after my last signing, I
received the 2004 Governor's Awards
for Excellence in the Arts -- Literature,
at the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa
Fe. It was a rare, perfect evening
that began with a public reception for
all the recipients in the
Governor's Gallery at the state capitol,
followed by the presentation ceremony
at the St Francis Auditorium in the
museum, and a private reception hosted
by Governor Bill Richardson and his
wife Barbara at the governor's mansion. It
was standing room only at all the events,
which were beautifully planned and elegantly
produced.
It was an honor to receive the award and to be part of such a distinguished group of the artists I have long admired who were also recognized for their achievements. Awards were given in painting, pottery, music, theater, literature, and to supporters of the arts, including one to the prestigious Lannan Foundation, headquartered in Santa Fe, which has done so much to support literature and cultural diversity throughout the world II was presented with a stylized statuette of a eagle on a marble base and a poster of the event featuring the work of the renowned artist, Elias Rivera, which was signed by the Governor and the First Lady. Elias, who was also honored at the ceremony, graciously agreed to sign my poster, and it is now being framed. Additionally, my wife, Mimi, took it upon herself to have each award recipient, the Governor, and the First Lady, sign the program for the awards ceremony, and it is also at the frame shop. The question now is where to hang them. So far, all that we've decided is that the poster and program must be displayed together. Since I'm not one to rest on his laurels, (although I did spend the weekend reliving the event) it was back to work on the following Monday. I'm planning to have half of the next book, Nothing But Trouble done by January. My publisher, Dutton, is forecasting an early 2006 release date, so there will be no book out next summer. Sorry folks, but this one is going to take me a bit longer to finish. Coming up the end of October, is the Texas Book Festival in Austin, and I'll be appearing on a panel on Sunday, October 31. You can check it out by going to www.texasbookfestival.org. And don't forget I'll be presenting at the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in Albuquerque on the first Friday in November. I have now joined Tony as a Governor's Award honoree. What great company to be in. Click here for more information about the conference. To all of you who came to my signings and had such nice things to say about Slow Kill and the Kerney novels, thank you so much. Without you and those great booksellers who have stood behind my work since the release of Tularosa, my grand adventure as a writer would never have been possible.
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AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2004 |
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Since I'll be traveling on a book tour for Slow Kill for a month starting on August 21, this will be a combined August/September update. Click here to check out the early reviews.Several weeks ago, we added a link to the site of an on-line magazine, Magellan's Log, so you could access a comprehensive review of the entire Kerney series that was written by Doc Cuddy, the editor. I think it gives a fine overview of the first eight novels, and so does my agent, who said to me that I couldn't have gotten a better review if I'd paid the guy (which I didn't). Click here to read the article.
When the tour ends in September,
I'm scheduled to receive the Governor's
2004 Award for Excellence in the Arts
- Literature. Two events
will be held on Friday, September 17,
in Santa Fe. At 3:30 pm, there will
be a public reception in the Governor's
Gallery at the State Capitol, followed
by an awards ceremony starting at 5:15
pm at the St. Francis Auditorium in
the Museum of Fine Arts. This will the
31st year the awards have been made,
and I'll be only the 19th recipient
in the literature category, Past
honorees include such luminaries as
N. Scott Momaday, Rudolfo
Anaya, John Nichols, Max Evans,
and Tony Hillerman. Go
here for some new photos
of Santa Fe's unique architecture taken
by Michael's son, Sean.
Speaking of Tony, don't forget the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, Focus on Mystery, to be held in Albuquerque at the Hilton Hotel from November 4 - 7. I'll be there participating with a group of distinguished, best-selling writers. Click here for more information. I hope you enjoy Slow Kill. It will be in the stores on August 19. Have a great remainder of the summer.
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JULY 2004 |
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June was a quiet month, with lots of relaxation, fun, and no writing.My new book, Slow Kill, (Click here to read Chapter 1) will be in bookstores on August 19, and the paperback of Everyone Dies is scheduled to be in stores on August 3. The tour is still being arranged and Di will post it and notify those of you who are on the monthly update mailing list as soon as it is finalized. It will be an abbreviated Southwestern tour this year with no coast to coast traveling. But upon request signed copies will be sent out to all those stores I won't be visiting. Ask your store to order a signed copy if I'm not heading your way.
I mentioned in an earlier update
that I'll be participating in the Tony
Hillerman Writers Conference in November.
The agenda is now complete and you can
learn more by visiting the www.sfworkshops.com
website. It looks to be an exciting,
informative conference, and I'm delighted
to be joining Tony, Jonathan and Faye
Kellerman, David Morrell, Judith Van
Gieson, Fred Harris and others in this
tribute to a great writer and true gentleman.
Come join us if you can.
I'm about to get underway on the next Kerney novel, number 10 in the series, and the working title is Nothing But Trouble. Of course, since I chose it, I like it. But what do you think? Drop me a note.
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JUNE 2004 |
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In May, I traveled to Texas for an appearance at the Friends of the Ft. Worth Public Library Annual Meeting. It was held in the beautiful central library in downtown Ft. Worth and about 50 folks attended. I gave one of my typical, rambling, totally unprepared talks which seemed well-received, and met a lot of very nice people who donate their time and money to promote reading and literacy in their community. Several days later, I was a guest at a dinner and fund raiser for my local library in Santa Fe, the Vista Grande Public Library, where about 65 very nice people assembled and raised money to support staffing and operations. Library events are such fun to do and I'm always delighted when I can fit them in my schedule. Last month brought exciting news. While I was in Ft Worth, I was advised by a telephone message, that I'd been selected as the Crosswinds Weekly Newspaper readers choice, "Best Local Author of 2003." The newspaper serves Santa Fe and Albuquerque and I was selected by Santa Fe readers. Tony Hillerman, was picked by Albuquerque readers. Not bad company to be in! Speaking of good company, earlier in the month, I was advised that I am to receive the 2004 New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts -- Literature, on September 17. Other writers who have received this award include Tony Hillerman, N. Scott Momaday, John Nichols, Denise Chavez, Max Evans, and Rudolfo Anaya. I am honored to be included among such an outstanding group of gifted writers from my home state. An afternoon reception starting at 3:30 on September 17 will be held at the Governor's Gallery at the State Capitol, followed by an awards ceremony at the Museum of Fine Arts at 5:15 PM. Both events are free and open to the public. At the ceremony, seven other recipients will also be recognized for their contributions in music, theater, painting, pottery, and support of the arts. It should be an exciting event. Come if you can. I hope you enjoy reading the first chapter of Slow Kill. If you're inclined, drop me a note and let me know what you think. |
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With the major work on Nothing But Trouble done, August has been a somewhat lazy month except for the talk and reading I did at the 
El Rancho De Las Golondrinas
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