Page 214

I am profiled on page 214 of the March issue of Albuquerque the Magazine. Will this be the article that finally makes me famous? Probably not, if my last brushes with fame are any guide and that might be a good thing.

In 1989, I lived in Washington DC, and wrote an article called "I fought the law and the law won," for Washington City Paper, the equivalent of Albuquerque's Weekly Alibi. It was about being unemployed in Washington. I had the surreal experience of seeing a Congressional intern in the Metro reading the article. I said "That's me," right before I got off the Orange Line at the Federal Triangle stop. I didn't see his response.

Their were definite repercussions to the article. There was an article about me in Georgetown's paper, which was ironic as I didn't get into Georgetown. When I finally did get a job in the Federal government, I was told specifically that I could not write any more articles. When budget cuts hit and I lost that job, I was so embarrassed that I moved to Roswell, New New Mexico to hide out. I did get a novel out of my Roswell sojourn, but that's another story.

In 1996, I was profiled in the business section of the Albuquerque Journal. The article said that I would be the next John Grisham. My novel, Rattlesnake Lawyer, was not actually published until 2000. Needless to say, I am not the next John Grisham.

A few years ago, my novel, Volcano Verdict was reviewed in New Mexico Magazine. The full page review was the best review of my career. I remember hurrying home every day that month to check amazon.com, and through my careful analysis of amazon ranking, I was able to calculate that ONE person bought my book because of the article. Did I mention that I bought TEN copies of the magazine?

As I've said, I have realistic expectations. I'm still up before dawn writing, working on the next novel. I bought one copy of the magazine, not ten. Maybe my next book will be reviewed in the New York Times...I am not holding my breath if it does.