Jim Oliver's Healing Music

One of the best things about a book tour is meeting other writers and artists along the way. While in Albuquerque-- where I read at the Bookworks--- I happened to meet Jim Oliver, a composer visiting from Santa Fe who specializes in healing music. As I catch up on (or rather, approach the foothills of the Himalayas of) my e-mail backlog, I've been listening to his CD, "Radiant Heart" for most of today, and recommend it. More anon.

The Book Works in Del Mar and the Bookworks in Albuquerque

That's me blogging--- taking a break in La Posada, Winslow Arizona, surrounded by the stunning artwork of Tina Mion (in the background is her masterwork "A New Years Party in Purgatory for Suicides"), after the book tour's swing through Southern California: Vroman's in Pasadena, Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies at University of California San Diego, Book Works in Del Mar, and then the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles.

In the photo below: my amigo, the King of the Baja Buffs, Graham Mackintosh, who graced my event at Del Mar's Book Works with his always smiling presence. (If there's a joke to life, I'm sure Graham gets it. Check out his latest rollicking memoir about Isla Angel de la Guarda: Marooned with Very Little Beer.) Then, c'est moi in the
Mexican pink jacket; the sales rep for Unbridled Books' (Frank, Bless Your Heart!); and owner of the Book Works, Lisa Stefanacci. If you're anywhere within a 100 mile radius of Del Mar, do not miss this cozy bookstore famed, by the way, for its thoughtful selection on books about the brain. The photograph in the photograph? That's the carte-de-visite of the last prince of Mexico, Agustin de Iturbide y Green. I so wish this group photo included Richard Feinberg, professor of International Political Economy at UCSD, who gave the very generous introduction to my presentation--- pictured below.


This Wednesday June 3 at 7 pm I'll be reading at the Bookworks (this one spelled as one word) in Albuquerque. Click here for more information about that. More anon.