Do you know those days when everything goes right, when things run smoothly and there isn’t a single bump in the road? Well, that was yesterday afternoon, January 31^st, when my friend Nancy Ramírez and I had a book signing at the Lea County Museum in Lovington.

She was presenting her bilingual poetry collection Pain and Love in Poetry / Dolor y amor en poesía. The poems were inspired by her life and experiences. She had already shared some in the tertulias at our friend Richard’s home, where we have spent (and hope to continue spending) delightful afternoons filled with literature, gossip and great food.

By the way, Richard has also written a poetry book, Resurrección, which he presented in Miami last year. I hope he presents it here soon!

I talked about my novel Last Seen in Havana, the fifth book in the Havana Mystery series, published in 2024 by Soho Crime. Mercedes, the protagonist of Death under the Perseids, returns to Havana to look for her mother, an American woman in love with all things Cuban who disappeared when her daughter was four years old. At the same time, Mercedes must decide what to do with the family home, an Art Deco mansion that is about to collapse on top of her grandmother Mamina. Mamina, in turn, seems to be sharing the house with an ill-tempered ghost…

Sarah Weinman wrote kindly about this novel in The New York Times, saying that it “explores how family ties may fray, but somehow manage to hold together.”

I had fun with the book because the Art Deco house is inspired by a real place, and Mercedes has a few things in common with me… though not as many as Teresita, the protagonist of The Novel Detective…I’ll tell you more about her in another post.

The Erazo family (Antonio Fabián, Soeli and Lorenzo), founders of the International Spanish Literature Club in Midland, were there with us. Gracias a mis buenos amigos for their support and their beautiful gift!

As for the venue, the Lea County Museum, some readers may remember that this is the same museum where I took my ESL students last semester. They wrote articles inspired by the museum rooms and outside areas, like the Baker School, the Love House and The Mercantile. Later the collection was published thanks to a grant from New Mexico Junior College. Of course, I brought along their book, Learning Local History, to share it with our audience.

I’m very thankful to Eydie Runnels Clement, vice president of the museum’s Board of Directors; Christy Newton, its director; Elaine Vigil; and to everyone who supported us with their presence.

I hope we continue holding events at the museum, which has such a comfy, welcoming atmosphere. And since you all know how much I enjoy a good hustle, I’m already going to suggest this… how about a literary series with local authors presenting their books there as well?