Open and Shut

The good news:

Mystery writer Kris Neri and her husband Joe have opened a mystery bookstore, The Well Red Coyote, in Sedona, Arizona. If you're in Sedona make sure to stop by. I certainly plan to the next time my travels take me to Arizona--which I hope will be this fall.

The sad news:

Another independent mystery bookstore has shut its doors.

Last year it was Joan Wunsche's wonderful Coffee, Tea, & Mysteries in Garden Grove, California, where I had the privilige of signing many times, and where Beth Caswell, the Mystery Maven, would interview authors and entertain readers. Beth had her own store years ago, Sherlock's Home.

Now it's Scotland Yard Books in Winnetka, just outside of Chicago. Fifteen years ago, when my first book came out, I visited the store, met "Sherlock," and Judy Duhl, the owner. Judy, who has a bubbly personality and, like Joan, has a passion for mysteries, treated me like a friend and offered me support and encouragement.

I have fond memories of my visits to Scotland Yard Books. I have memorabilia from Coffee, Tea, & Mysteries: two snow globes, inside of which are mini-jackets of one of my books; a ceramic "teapot," formed of a cat perched on top of a stack of my books. They sit on a bookshelf in my office.

On this blog you can find links to independent bookstores around the country. If you need a book, consider ordering it from one of these stores.

And tell a friend...