Diana and Sally have blogged the excitement we three feel about being accepted to the Tucson Book Festival. It’s a little surreal. When I lived in Tucson for twelve years, it was one of my favorite events. I learned a great deal from the authors who presented lectures on their books and was fascinated with their stories on creating them. I also have to say, I enjoyed filling my book bag with the many books I purchased at the event.
I have returned to visit Tucson nearly every year we have lived in Colorado. How can one not miss the desert with its large and hairy-bodied tarantula climbing your screen door, or a scorpion stinging the bottom of one’s foot the first day of your move to the desert (It really did happen to my husband in our living room. Our son and I immediately charged out of the room, forgetting he might need us to call the poison center—he lived). It was a new world keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes lazing in our yard, doorstep, or a walking trail. I can’t say I miss that, but I do miss the call of the cactus wren, the speed of the road runner and the nut-sized babies of a gambel’s quail scooting along behind their mother. Then there’s the washes, either as dry as a skeleton bone or rushing full after a heavy rain and the spring flowers in all their glory.
The desert is as beautiful as the mountain range I wake up to every morning and this March I will visit it once more. However, the best part will be joining my long-time friends and co-authors to attend a writing event, only this time, we will be part of it. I can’t wait!