Dear TCL Readers:

I have returned from the dream of an event that was the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, marking my first time visiting not only the city itself, but the entire state of New Mexico. Despite a mean bout of altitude sickness and a constant need for water, I can safely say this is one of the best literary festivals I’ve ever taken part in, and was really bowled over by the care and kindness of the organizers — as well as the steady stream of passionate readers and audience members.

My event, in conversation with local civil rights lawyer Kate Ferlic, was free for the community and benefited the nonprofit NewMexicoWomen.org. I hope to share the full video of our conversation soon, but it was meaningful to discuss Without Consent for an audience who truly wanted to engage with the book, leading to a Q&A session that felt like a real chance to listen to what the audience had to say. I cannot express how much gratitude I feel for being part of this annual event, and 2027 already looks to be equally wonderful.

Of course, the benefit of literary festivals is the chance to spend time with other writers. Some I met for the first time, like Mariah Blake, author of the Edgar-nominated They Poisoned the World, the celebrated Irish writer Colm Toibin, and Kyle Tibbs Jones, co-founder of The Bitter Southerner; or for the first time in person after prior email or social media contact, like the biographer James McGrath Morris and Murderland author Caroline Fraser. And some I hadn’t seen in quite a while, like Susan Orlean (whose project-in-progress sounds terrific) and Judy Blume, who remains the greatest (and was particularly happy talking about other people’s books!)

But Santa Fe offered plenty of other highlights. A trip to Meow Wolf, as weird and immersive an experience as expected and somehow, much more; The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum; shopping for artisan goods at the Railyard Market and clothes at Overland Sheepskin and Lucchese, not to mention various random vintage shops; treats at the Santa Fe Sconery and morning coffee at Crashmurderbusiness (what a name); drinks with a new friend from Bluesky at Herve, a delightful lunch with local writer and artist friends at La Mama, an author dinner at Palace and a solo rooftop dinner at Coyote Cafe.

Then it was on to Albuquerque for a full day before my red-eye, taking the Rail Runner (cheap and highly recommended) and then catching a bus to the Indian Pueblo Center, where I wandered around slowly to soak in the story of Indigenous culture in New Mexico (plus lunch at Pueblo Kitchen.) Then a short visit to the Nuclear Museum and soon it was time to go home.

Some trips feel like new beginnings and some feel like closing chapters and this New Mexico trip somehow felt like both. I read just two books, Soldiers and Kings by Jason DeLeon and the forthcoming American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee, and generally feel like slowing down, doing less but more intentionally, is the state I need to inhabit. Soon, too, it will be a time of intense activity, as I will spend much of the summer as a student at the YIVO-Bard Summer Program, getting my Yiddish ability as close to fluency as I can for some future projects, and also largely for myself. (That is a story for another day!)

Here is what I would love, though:

• If you haven’t purchased a copy of Without Consent yet, or know someone who has been on the fence about buying it, the ebook edition is on sale through Monday, May 25 for the extremely low price of $1.99 across all retailers. Find your preferred one here.

• Sign up (or share the link and tell a friend to) for my virtual narrative nonfiction seminar at StoryStudio Chicago on Monday, June 8, focused on “Writing From the Archive.”

• Subscribe to Flaming Hydra, where I am now a regular contributor (my latest piece, on a strange but pivotal copyright case involving Irving Berlin and song parodies, ran as part of the site’s MAD Magazine week.) It’s $3/month for newsletters five days a week, and I’ve always been surprised, delighted, and provoked by whatever is published by an astonishing group of writers and illustrators.

• Do something that makes you feel good, because lord knows that is at a premium these days.

Take good care and until next time, I remain,

The Crime Lady