WILD News - What's New with Author Sandi Ault and the WILD Mystery Series

DATELINE MARCH 20, 2010: Western Writers of America names Sandi Ault's WILD SORROW a finalist for the SPUR Award for Best Short Western Novel of 2010. Previous winners of the SPUR Award include Tony Hillerman, Louis L'amour, Larry McMurtry and Sandra Dallas. You just don't get to be in better company than that!	CLICK ON PICTURE TO SEE IN ITS OWN WINDOW Sandi Ault and Margaret Coel Booked in L.A. DATELINE MARCH 11-14, 2010: Sandi Ault goes WILD and gets Booked in LA at the Left Coast Crime Booked in LA Mystery Convention. Check out the photos in our WILD Mystery Tour Album.
DATELINE LATE FEBRUARY, 2010: Sandi Ault takes the WILD PENANCE Tour to the Greater Kansas City area. First up for that leg of the tour is a WINTER EVENING OF STORIES IN THE PARLOR party at the reknowned bookstore I LOVE A MYSTERY. Friends, family, and WILD fans enjoy frank conversation, candid Q&A, and in-character readings from the new book in a casual (almost in our jammies) kind of cozy atmosphere. Another packed house with standing room only, and another fun party with brownies, hot chocolate and more with the WILD Bunch!	Fans Enjoy A Cozy Evening in the Victorian Parlor With Sandi Ault at I Love A Mystery The crowds for Sandi at I LOVE A MYSTERY are always standing room only! Check out all the photos of all the fans on our WILD Mystery Tour Album Page!
	DATELINE LATE FEBRUARY, 2010: The WILD Bunch converge on Will Wyatt's Cowboy Couture for a WILD West Fashion Show, Hoedown, and Author Party for Sandi Ault and WILD PENANCE. Cowboys and Cowgirls come out in their finest duds, and the fashion show models strut their stuff in Will Wyatt's best finery. Beloved Kansas City singer/songwriter and recording artist, Beth Scalet, performs music for the crowds, and the WILD Wranglers for the event provide gourmet edibles and potables. See all the pix on our WILD Mystery Tour Album page.
Click On Picture to See Larger Size Sandi Shows Off her Muscles         DATELINE MID-FEBRUARY, 2010: The New Mexico portion of  The WILD PENANCE Tour  is a huge success, with events in Taos and Albuquerque, and some of the WILDest friends and fans onboard! Visit the WILD Bunch Mesa to read all about this chapter of the WILD Bunch! AND DON'T LISTEN TO ANY OF THOSE RUMORS! Yes, we have fun at the Adobe Bar  at Doc Martin's when we're in Taos, yes the music is good, the food sublime, the drinks refreshing, but NO, we do NOT dance naked on the tables!	DATELINE MID-FEBRUARY, 2010: The WILD PENANCE Tour continues with events in Colorado. Sandi is especially excited to appear at the (new) OLD FIREHOUSE BOOKS in Fort Collins, CO. Wow! What a great bookstore! Click On Picture to See Larger Size Sandi Tells Stories to the Fans at Old Firehouse Books
Click On Picture to See Larger Size The WILD Bunch at the WILD Mountain Get Down for WILD PENANCE	DATELINE FEBRUARY 6, 2010: The WILD Bunch gather at the Estes Valley Library to celebrate the release of WILD PENANCE with Author Sandi Ault at the WILD Mountain Get Down. In the photo, left,  is wearing her Laurie 2-Dog chaps complete with buttons hammered from authentic antique bawdy-house coins from all over the West—the official currency for services in the WILD days in those establishments. Sandi also sports her replica Colt Peacemaker six-shooter in a tooled holster. The WILD Mountain Get-Down was another standing-room-only party complete with edibles, potables, music, poetry, and an author's panel featuring members of the original WILD Bunch, the Fall River Writers. Friends and fans filled the library's meeting room and spent an afternoon of fun in celebration of yet another WILD Mystery!
DATELINE FEBRUARY 2, 2010:  WE LAUNCHED WILD PENANCE! A crowd of WILD Friends and Fans descended on the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ, to celebrate the release of WILD PENANCE, the fourth in the WILD Mystery Series. Author Sandi Ault was delighted to see all her AZ WILD Bunch friends and to share tidbits about the new book with them. WILD Bunch Members brought friends and treats, the bookseller provided champagne, and the party was WILDly fun! Wolf Diva accompanied gallery owner Bill Bishop, bringing that much-desired element of the WILD to the event. Friends and fans arrived from all parts of the state (and even from Colorado), and everyone had a great time! The tour is launched, the book is released, so let the WILD begin!	Click On Picture to See Larger Size Sandi Reads by request from WILD PENANCE To see more photos and media from the launch party and the tour, click HERE.
Click On Picture to See Larger Size THE CROWD LISTENS AND ASKS QUESTIONS AT THE LAUNCH PARTY	DATELINE FEBRUARY 2, 2010: Reviews for WILD PENANCE begin to roll in, and the critics like what they see! Library Journal said, "Verdict: Ault's love of the outdoors and her respect for American Indian culture are evident in her vivid descriptions of the culture, people, and northern New Mexico landscape. ... Nevada Barr fans and mystery aficionados still mourning the late Tony Hillerman will snap this one up as well as other titles in the Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning series. Enthusiastically recommended."  To see some other quotes from the early reviews for WILD PENANCE, click HERE.
DATELINE FEBRUARY, 2010: The WILD PENANCE Tour continues with events in Estes Park, CO, Boulder, Fort Collins, Albuquerque, the Greater Kansas City Area, and more. Sandi and the WILD Bunch have a series of WILD parties planned. To see if one is happening near you, or to find out more details, click HERE.	DATELINE FEBRUARY 01, 2010: Author Sandi Ault and WILD PENANCE are featured in an in-depth interview with Wolf Schneider in ALBUQUERQUE ARTS Magazine. The magazine's website also offers the first three chapters of WILD PENANCE as a sneak peek for readers. Great timing for Sandi's upcoming tour event in Albuquerque!
DATELINE UPCOMING: JUNE, 2010: Author Sandi Ault will be featured in the June issue of NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE with an in-depth feature, interview, and review of WILD PENANCE. This author who loves the enchanted landscape will talk about wolves, the WILD, and writing the WILD Mystery Series. Watch for it on your newsstand or in your mailbox in mid-May!	Click On Picture to See Larger Size Author Sandi Ault is on tour now for WILD PENANCE
	DATELINE NOVEMBER, 2009: TONY HILLERMAN'S LANDSCAPE: ON THE ROAD WITH CHEE AND LEAPHORN by Anne Hillerman with photos by Don Strel is released to celebrations and ceremony. Sandi Ault shows up to support her friends and the birth of this wonderful tribute. The book is a poignant and touching text-and-photographic journey through the landscape immortalized in Tony Hillerman' s beloved mystery series featuring the legendary Navajo police officers Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee. Anne and Don create a dramatic slideshow presentation with guest readers, and they present it to terrific acclaim as a benefit for the Hillerman-McGarrity Scholarship Fund for Creative writing at the University of New Mexico, and as a fund-raiser for the Santa Fe Public Library.
Click on picture to see larger size Sandi and a fan at the Santa Fe Public Library event Click on photo to open in its own window Sandi with renowned Native American film star, Wes Studi	Click on photo to open in its own window Large Crowds Came to Celebrate the Events
Click on photo to open in its own window Sandi Visits at the Library	Click on photo to open in its own window Wes Studi, Michael McGarrity, and Sandi Ault among the guests at the Santa Fe Library Event
DATELINE NOVEMBER 8, 2009: The South Side Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library dedicates a teen patio to Tony Hillerman, complete with an engraved stone celebrating his achievements as a journalist, teacher, and storyteller. The Rama band of the Navajo offer a blessing ceremony and consecrate the space as sacred. The Mayor of Santa Fe declares it Tony Hillerman Week in Santa Fe.	Click on photo to open in its own window Anne Hilerman, Sandi, and Marie Hillerman at the Blessing Ceremony for the new library patio Click on photo to open in its own window Sandi and Don Strel watch the ceremony and dedication
Click on photo to open in its own window Sandi and husband Tracy celebrate in Los Angeles	DATELINE SEPTEMBER, 2009: SANDI AULT heads to Los Angeles to pick up the WILLA Finalist Award for WILD INFERNO. Click on photo to open in its own window Sandi and husband Tracy at the WILLA Awards
DATELINE SEPTEMBER 12, 2009: WILD INFERNO is recognized again! This time, it's the WILLA Finalist Award, given by Women Writing the West. Sandi Ault will attend the WWW Conference in Los Angeles to accept her finalist award. This honor, named for Willa Cather, the Pulitzer-Prize-Winning author of many works, including DEATH COMES TO THE ARCHBISHOP, is the result of judging by an independent group of 21 librarians, not affiliated with the WWW. Past WILLA Winners include Annie Proulx and Issabella Allende.
DATELINE AUGUST, 2009: WOW—Women On Writing Ezine features an in-depth, one-on-one interview with author Sandi Ault conducted by Chynna Laird. This extensive feature gets the gals talking WILD! Take a look at it by clicking HERE, or on the graphic to the right..

MORE NEWSWORTHY EVENTS:
DATELINE JULY, 2009: THE SEPTEMBER EDITION OF COWBOYS & INDIANS MAGAZINE, FEATURING WILD MYSTERY AUTHOR SANDI AULT, HITS, THE NEWSSTANDS IN LATE JULY.
DATELINE AUGUST 8, 2009: Sandi Ault teaches a day-long, intensive WILD Writers Workshop for WordHarvest    in Santa Fe, NM. The workshop, entitled SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION: SKILLS WRITERS NEED TO STAND OUT AND SUCCEED offers hands-on exercises and skill building to a lively group of writers. For more information about Wordharvest and their outstanding menu of writers' workshops,, click HERE.
DATELINE SEPTEMBER. 2009: WILD SORROW releases in large print and audio!

DATELINE JUNE 22, 2009: WILD INFERNO is recognized as a finalist for The Colorado Book Award. This award is given for literary excellence by the Colorado Center for the Humanities. The list of finalists is prestigious, and it is a huge honor to see WILD INFERNO among such distinguished titles.

Click On Picture to See Larger Size LEE ANN STILL LOVES HORSES!	DATELINE JUNE, 2009: BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN WILD Pack Publicist Lee Ann returns from a long stint in a brace, two surgeries, and a touch-and-go time recovering from a horseback riding accident. See her note to our friends and fans below.
To get the latest update from Lee Ann herself, check out her WILD Post on the WILD Bunch Mesa.

Click On Picture to See Larger Size THE WOLF LODGE IN MONUMENT VALLEY

DATELINE SPRING, 2009:  The Wolf Lodge, official Base Camp for the WILD Mystery Series Research Expeditions, makes its maiden voyage with the WILD Crew aboard. Pictured here in Monument Valley, in the heart of Indian Country.

DATELINE LATE MARCH, 2009: COWGIRL DOWN! Pack member and WILD Publicist, Lee Ann, is severely injured in a horseback riding accident. Surgery, a six-week stint in a torturous brace, and too much time in a forced reclined position test the mettle of our beloved Lee Ann. Keep her in your thoughts and think: HEAL!

THE WILD CREW WHO WORKED THE LAUNCH PARTY

CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE A LARGER IMAGE