TIERRA RED goes to Ruidoso, New Mexico --

-- in a BIG way!


We have four -- yes, you read that correctly -- FOUR book signings scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in Ruidoso, New Mexico:

November 27th

Pinecliff Resort, 401 Hwy. 70W -- 10am to 11am
Books Etcetera, 2340 Sudderth Drive -- 1pm to 3pm

November 28th

Crown Point Condominiums, 220 Crown Drive -- 10am to Noon
High Sierra Condos, 504 Excalibur -- 1pm to 3pm


If you have always wanted to visit this beautiful mountain community, Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to do so. Holiday spirit abounds, the ski area opens, and thousands of visitors come to shop and play. Ruidoso is charming to visit any time of the year but the holidays seem to enhance the experience.

Come visit with me at any one of these venues!

Sad State of Affairs . . . .

I don't write books for children. However, I do work through my Kiwanis Club to bring books to children. All of our fund-raising efforts for the past ten years have been geared toward buying books for school libraries in our community.

A friend on the west coast reported this evening that she witnessed a well-known author of children's books turn away a child who could not afford one of her books at a book-signing event today. The child only wanted her autograph on a slip of paper. And the author refused to do that for her.

How has it come to this? Do we, as authors, want to encourage children to love reading or are we in this just for the sales?

I wish I had been there. That little girl would not have gone away disappointed and empty-handed if I could have done something about the situation. And I wish I could buy that book for her . . . .

A Special Day . . . .

Took a break today from doing research for the sequel and attended a wonderful function sponsored by The Friends of Thomas Branigan Memorial Library here in Las Cruces. This was the 27th annual Authors Luncheon which was held at the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. Tierra Red had been submitted for this competition last February.

Although Tierra Red did not win this competition, I felt quite honored to have competed with the winner, NMSU Professor Jon Hunner, and so many other great local authors including Robert Boswell and Bob Sanchez.

Tables were provided for book sales and signing by the library committee and we happily met with so many lovely patrons eager to buy and read Tierra Red. Thank you -- all of you -- for making my day!!!

To the past and back . . .

Over the Labor Day weekend, we traveled up to northeastern New Mexico and the locations of portions of Tierra Red. We have done this many times before, but on the spur of the moment we took a drive up a back road behind the Montezuma Castle and into Gallinas Canyon.

Jim had an ulterior motive for selecting this route as he wanted to check out the old "ice pond" area in the Gallinas River -- his mother had told him stories of the times she went skating on that pond as a child. This pond was not only used for recreational purposes but really was the source of blocks of ice that were cut for use at the Montezuma Castle resort back in the late 1800's and early 1900's.



While we were in the canyon I was pleasantly surprised to discover this bluff above the pond area. Anyone who has read Tierra Red will be familiar with the setting of Guy Boardman's Willow Creek Ranch and how strongly he stated that everything echoed off the bluff at the rear of the ranch. Let me tell you, he was right! Although Willow Creek Ranch was fiction, every dog's bark and every vehicle that drove through Gallinas Canyon last Sunday did indeed echo off this bluff. You would have enjoyed seeing the huge grin on my face knowing that I described it correctly.

Montezuma Castle is always a stunning sight to behold, even after all these years. The United World College dwells there now and keeps the Castle in wonderful repair. Imagine, over one hundred years later and the Castle still seems magical when one drives around the curve of a road and it suddenly appears in the middle of the forest. Just as captivating as it was the afternoon that Lily and Roman fell in love . . . .

Back in Las Vegas we were pleased to find that the facade of both the Plaza Hotel and the Ilfeld Building next door have been masterfully restored. In fact, the Plaza Hotel ownership bought the Ilfeld Building and made a lovely ballroom on the first floor, then expanded it's room count by adding more hotel rooms on the upper two floors. I rather think Lily would have approved of this arrangement heartily.

So, you may well ask, just where did all those cars come from and where are the horses and carriages? Can't tell that I am working once again in 1900 . . . .

Wonderful Morning at COAS

A BIG thank you to all the enthusiastic readers who came to COAS Bookstore this morning and early afternoon! It was wonderful to discuss historical points regarding the two major locations in TIERRA RED -- Las Cruces and Las Vegas, New Mexico.

And a big hug to all the great folks who work at COAS Bookstore -- always feels like coming home whenever I am there.

Tomorrow's the Day!

Be sure to drop by COAS Bookstore in the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces, New Mexico tomorrow morning between 10am and 12noon. Pick up your copy of TIERRA RED and see if you can solve the puzzle of this historical suspense novel before the end . . . .

TIERRA RED -- Clues to the puzzle

As I began typing today's date, it occurred to me that one of the most significant events in Tierra Red took place on August 4, 1899. An important clue to the puzzle surrounding the land grant scheme at the heart of this mystery is contained within Chapter Forty-Four, the chapter which reveals a glimpse into the psyche of Serena Vargas y de la Ordono de Ortega -- a major character in solving Tierra Red's crimes.

The chapter begins here . . . .


Wrapped in a thick wool shawl, Serena spent the better part of the night pacing the high-walled garden of her hacienda. Images and thoughts continued to swirl lazily through her mind as the dawn's first light filled the sky. Long after her personal maid, Maria, found her there and scurried to bring hot coffee, Serena lingered watching the day unfold. She ached for her old maja -- the gypsy in Seville who had mentored her in tapping into the unusual extrasensory skills she possessed -- for she was mystified by the sensations that had assailed her in Lily's sitting room.

The sun rose higher in the eastern sky and the perfume of morning blooms began to flood the garden. With their scent came the memories of the dreaded wedding day seventeen years ago.

Headstrong and beautiful, Serena stood in her wedding finery on the morning of her fifteenth birthday, demanding explanations from her mother. Though she had known since shortly after her thirteenth birthday that this day would come, she was filled with anger and fear.

"Mama! How does anyone expect me to be happy? He is an old man! He will be taking me so far away from everything I have ever known and loved."

Serafina Vargas y Ordono's eyes misted with tears at her daughter's outburst. She continued to fuss with the white lace mantilla covering Serena's black hair. If she tried to speak, she knew many tears would come spilling forth.

"Mama -- please tell me why must I do this today?"

"Ah, my wild one -- if it were up to me, I would keep you by my side forever," sniffled Serafina as tears rolled down her cheeks. "But you have been promised to Don Ortega since the day you were born."

"Why? Am I some pet to be given away? How can my father have such control over my life? What right does he --" Before Serena could finish her sentence the door of the church rectory was flung open.

Her father's bulky frame filled the doorway as his black eyes swiftly took in the room. His stern expression stifled any thought of disobedience from both mother and daughter. Senor Vargas stepped forward to his daughter and shoved a velvet jewel case into her hand.


. . . . and, if you continue reading on p. 198 through the rest of the chapter you will have found a tantalizing clue to solving the puzzle of TIERRA RED.


See you at COAS Bookstore on Saturday, August 7th from 10am to 12noon . . . .

Tierra Red Discussion Topic

I had an interesting experience while being interviewed on a radio show last summer: the moderator did not know what a Gibson Girl was. After I explained to him that she was the iconic symbol of independent and spirited young women in the late 19th century, he wondered aloud how my main character would have gotten along with the women who lived in the small town of Las Cruces in 1898 -- would she have been too progressive for them?


Whatdya think -- weren't the women of both Anglo and Hispanic heritage who coexisted in the Territory of New Mexico at that time progressive, too?

TIERRA RED Book Signing Date

Come visit with me at COAS Bookstore in the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces, New Mexico on August 7th from 10am until 12noon.

This wonderful bookstore is located in the heart of the setting where this historical suspense novel begins.

See you there!

TIERRA RED Review . . .

Received the judge's commentary sheet for the Writer's Digest 17th Annual International Self-Published Book awards several months ago, just as we were leaving for a wonderful graduation celebration on the other side of the country. That event was followed by another equally wonderful graduation and the family's "May/June birthday season".

It's a bit late in reporting, but here is the judge's review of TIERRA RED:

"This historical suspense novel, TIERRA RED, by K. P. Vorenberg, paints a vivid picture of the early New Mexico Territory. Vorenberg's meticulously-researched plot revolves around a Gibson Girl, which was a great hook. The author's writing style is clear and easily understood, with natural-sounding dialogue. The characters feel very real and true to the time. The book's attractive packaging, including eye-catching cover graphics, gives a bold indication of what the coming story is about. The writing is skillful and the sentence structure varied nicely. The story concept is compelling and includes just enough suspense to keep the reader avidly turning pages.

. . . readers who enjoy well-researched historical fiction mixed with a dash of mystery and romance will very much enjoy TIERRA RED."

Many thanks to Writer's Digest and this anonymous judge for their kind words.

Recognition for Tierra Red

The Armand Hammer United World College near Las Vegas, New Mexico gave a wonderful mention to Tierra Red in it's Spring, 2010 edition.

In a column entitled "Already Famous", the following was listed:

Novels with scenes in the Montezuma Castle and nearby Las Vegas, New Mexico:

Child of a Rainless Year

Cottonwood Saints

Hermit's Peak

The Night Journal

Tierra Red

Many thanks to both the college and Linda King for bringing this recognition to our attention!

Even Lions are reading Tierra Red!

Anyone who really knows me knows that I am an inveterate night owl. Guess who gave a Tierra Red presentation at 7AM THIS MORNING?

The Sunrise Lions Club of Las Cruces invited me to speak at their weekly breakfast meeting -- wonderful group which now has a lot of people reading Tierra Red!

Tierra Red Kindle Version

Great news for all our Kindle fans -- Tierra Red went live in Kindle format on Amazon.com last night!

We will continue to bring ebooks on CD to all our book signings, too. And we are hopelessly huge sticks-in-the-mud 'cause we still love to hold a hard copy in our hands to read . . . .

Tierra Red is being read in Prescott!

Wow -- we had a marvelous time in Prescott, Arizona this past weekend! Many, many thanks to all the wonderful folks we had the good fortune to meet and, especially, to those fabulous readers who happily purchased copies of Tierra Red.

As promised, a Kindle version of Tierra Red is in the works for those of you who prefer to "hold" their reading material in that manner.

The Prescott Resort and Conference Center is a beautiful venue in a most special historic place. We will treasure greatly the time we spent in Prescott . . . .

Tierra Red 'On the Road Again' . . .

With the holiday season behind us, we start anew with book signing dates in 2010. Our first stop this year will be the Kiwanis Midwinter Conference at the Prescott Resort Conference Center in Prescott, Arizona. Our table will be open from noon until 6pm on Friday, January 15th and from 8am until 5pm on January 16th.

We would love to see you there . . .