As the tumultuous year that was 2023 winds down, with little regret from many, I am overwhelmed by the Best-of lists that flood my email inbox and every newspaper and magazine headline. Looking back can be illuminating, and reflecting on history is important, but I always prefer to keep my gaze forward.
Personally, the year that is ending was an amalgam of stress, joy, and triumph—though that didn’t make the senseless violence, widespread existential threats, and despair any easier to take—and I am looking forward to the New Year and the events of Book Tour 2024.
To kick off the tour, our road trip south will take us to visit friends and family along the coast to Los Angeles. More on visiting my old hometown of Venice, a bit later…A few days later, on Friday, January 26th, Russel and I will be attending the annual Local Authors event at the fabulous Central Library in downtown San Diego. Having attended these over the years, with our Sea of Cortez Review anthology, I can say that the event is a much anticipated celebration of our city’s home-grown talent.
My first January book-signing event—let’s call it my California book launch— will take place at the Wine Pub in Point Loma on Saturday January 27, from 2 to 4 PM. The event is hosted by the wonderful indie bookstore La Playa Books, where you can already find my book today. Being that the event will be held at a nearby Wine Bar, there will be wine, of course, but I understand that they serve excellent coffee drinks as well; more on that event here and on my social media pages as I learn more.
A mid-week highlight will a gathering of Substack writers—this will be the first time I will get to meet other Substackers in person, since becoming a Substack creator myself, and I am so excited. Plus, it is also held at a venue that specializes in delicious exotic food and fine wines so that adds a little bit of anticipation, too. I’ll be sure to report how it goes, but the evening promises to be delightful.
That Friday, February 2nd, I will be at San Diego Writers, Ink (SDWI), as part of the monthly First Friday events in Liberty Station with a talk and book-signing. I love the local SDWI community and the night is bound to be a fun and festive one.
The next day, on Saturday afternoon Feb 3rd, Russel and I will be up at the Oceanside Yacht Club doing a slideshow and talk about our years sailing to and around Baja California’s Sea of Cortez, the coast of mainland Mexico, and Central America on a small sailboat.
The next weekend, Jan 10th, I will be teaching a class at SDWI on “How to Start, or Finish Rewriting” your manuscript at the Ink Spot at Liberty Station; those who want to know more, or want to attend, can find more info, or register for the class, here on the SDWI site.
Valentine’s Day will find Russel and I regaling the audience with tales of adventure and exploration at Helix Brewery as part of the ongoing adventure talks called Wild Wednesdays hosted by A-16, the much-beloved former brick-and-mortar-store that now is an online-only site for selling their unique outdoor clothing and accessories. Should be fun because we love A-16 and also—beer!
The next night I’ll be doing a solo talk at Southwestern Yacht Club as part of their ongoing Sailfleet events, in coordination with the Women Who Sail San Diego. All female sailors are invited to attend and can register through Event Brite by clicking on the link at WWSD’s Facebook page. Leave a comment below (or DM me on IG or Facebook) if you want more info on either of the yacht club talks.
The long President’s Day weekend, Feb 16-18, will be spent with my writing tribe, the Southern California Writers Conference (SCWC), at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Circle in San Diego’s Mission Valley. The weekend promises to be a joy—I get to do a talk with the ever-inspiring Judy Reeves (along with Janis Thomas, another brilliant author) followed by a book signing, so as you can imagine I am beyond excited.
I will be teaching a number of SCWC workshops and am available for advance reader submissions, too, so click here to learn more and register while you can still get a discount (until Jan 1). Don’t delay—there is limited attendance at the conference and a cap for advance reader submissions as well. I look forward to seeing my writer friends there as I have at each conference, for more years than I can count!
Our last leg of the big book tour will take us up the coast to Venice, California, where we’ll stay with our friends Aaron and Monica at their amazing Air B&B just blocks from the beach and Canals in one of my very favorite places in the world. Aaron is the son of Nancy Zoss, my “other mother” and dear friend, who has single-handedly done more to promote my book than anyone else, short of my publicist and publisher.
Nancy and I often browsed titles at Small World Books on the Boardwalk in Venice, and she helped with my campaign to get a book signing there. The event will be on Wednesday Feb 21st from 6-8 pm; I hope my local friends will attend and help me celebrate coming full-circle from my early years writing haikus in Ruth Glatt’s class at Westminster Elementary to having my memoir for sale at Small World Books.
As you can see, the upcoming book tour will be jam-packed with events, but I also look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones, so if you haven’t subscribed yet, please do, and I will keep you all posted as events are firmed up or added. Also, if you haven’t read or written a review of my book, you can do both right here.
And lastly, this newsletter is coming a day late due to the loss of our faithful canine crew member, Ready the boat dog. I am still too weepy to write much about my furry friend of over 12 years, but you may rest assured that her passing was peaceful and calm, surrounded by love and treats. I promise to do her justice in writing soon, as well as posting some adorable pics on my social media pages. Until then…
hasta pronto!
We are all so excited for you to be back here with us in San Diego. I'm looking forward to being with you at some of the book events--I'll be the one with the big ol' grin and vigorous and rowdy applause. I love that photo of Ready; I know you must miss him terribly and so will we, those of us who know him mostly through photos and stories. Heartbreaking when our furry loves must leave us.
First of all, so sorry about Ready. On another note, what a fantastic events list you have planned, and that's just the first part of the year! I am sure it will all be fun, inspiring and a great success! Suerte y Prospero Año amiga.