Official Launch and Book Signings for "Into the West"

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Time
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Venue
Artifacts Art Gallery, Farmington, NM
Price
Free

Into the West is an anthology written by the eight members of San Juan Writers. It is a collection of fourteen short stories all set in the American west. The stories include historical and modern westerns, horror, humor, paranormal, and more—a potpourri of stories to delight any reader.

San Juan Writers is a critique group that has been together for over 15 years. Originally, they met at La Fiesta Grande, a Mexican restaurant owned by Ron McDonald who writes traditional Western novels under the name Lee Pierce.

Gloria O’Shields, Roberta Summers, and Ron are all founding members. Gloria’s first book was historical nonfiction, We Shall be Heard: Women Speakers in America. Her novel Quinn’s Quest, a humorous account of a middle-aged woman’s adventures, has received recognition in several writing contests. Roberta Summers’ second book, Fatal Winds came out in late September and was a local sellout within a week. An award-winning novel, Fatal Winds is a Downwinders story 13 years in the writing—a story about nuclear pollution and cancer clusters caused by radioactive fallout. Ron McDonald aka Lee Pierce has numerous Westerns published along with a highly successful cookbook entitled, What do you Mean the Cook’s Not Mexican? His latest manuscript has just been accepted for publication by Outlaw Press.

Other members of the group include local writers: Anthony Bartley, Cluff Elliott, Linda Fredericks, Traci HalesVass, and Vicky Ramakka. Anthony Bartley, a middle school teacher, writes Young Adult and Middle Grade novels. He has finished two so far, Freak Show Summer and Kids Investigating the Paranormal: Thief of the Dead. Anthony is in the process of finding an agent and publisher. Cluff Elliott, also known as the Farmington Scribbler, has been writing for ten years. He has several short stories published online. He often writes about fairies and other magical creatures in Berg Park and along the Animas Riverwalk. Linda Fredericks is an avid poet appearing at readings in such places as Feat of Clay gallery in Aztec. Her short stories, flash fiction and poems have been published in literary journals. She is working on her first novel, My Australia. Traci Halesvass, former San Juan College professor and founder of One Community, One Book. She hosts the KSJE public radio station’s Write On Four Corners where she interviews authors. Widely published in short stories, her book, Rebuilding is still in manuscript form. Vicky Ramakka’s novel, The Cactus plot, has just been released by Artemesia Press. A murder mystery set in the Four Corners high desert it follows a young botanist hired by the Bureau of Land Management to identify and protect endangered plant species. Vicky recently won a first-place award from SouthWest Writers for her short story, Unintended Consequences – Terrorist Turkeys, which is included in the anthology.



We thank the Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation for providing funding for the publication of the book. The official launch and book signings for Into the West will be at Artifacts Gallery from 9:30 until 2:00 p.m. and at Amy’s Bookcase from 11:00 until 1:00 on Small Business Saturday November 30th.

Venue

Artifacts Art Gallery
302 E Main St
Farmington, NM

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Dates

The event runs from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on the following dates.
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