"Valentine's Day & the Love of Books!"

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, we in the book biz should remember how much we all LOVE author events—and especially when it’s an event for a romance writer that happens to fall on Valentine’s Day!

Joan Brady, bestselling author of "God on A Harley" has a new book out, and she’ll be signing it at Mysterious Galaxy Books on Sunday, the 14th. Why Mysterious Galaxy, you say? Because ghosts fall into their eerie subject category, and Joan’s new book "The Ghost of Mt Soledad" features a very romantic—and handsome!—soldier who is unfortunately, a ghost. Set amidst the ongoing controversy of the Mt Soledad Cross, the book looks at fate and love from a very unusual angle. Joan Brady herself is as bright and lovely as her characters, so make time this Valentine’s Day to meet her at Mysterious Galaxy, and get some yummy free pastries from Opera Patisserie and free coffee too!

And if you miss that event with Joan, you can meet her in downtown San Diego on Thursday, February 18, at 6:30 pm, when she will be doing a presentation and signing copies of her book at Upstart Crow and Co, as part of their 3rd Thursday Author Nights. Upstart Crow always has delicious coffee and treats for sale, so wherever you choose to see and hear Joan this month you can treat yourself to sweet treats too! See the Sunbelt Events page for more on these free events.

Speaking of writers—the Southern California Writer’s Conference is back for more fun and learning. Their motto is "Write NOW, You!" and the annual conference (Feb 12-14) is a fun, crazy, writing weekend for a good price. Our Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Redmond will be speaking on a couple of publisher/editor panels, and would love to see you there. Check out the SC Writer’s Conference website for more on that and their other conferences around the state.

The big upcoming cycling event is the Tour de Palm Springs. The Valentine’s Weekend rides and events will take advantage of February’s cool weather to showcase the region’s scenic mountain and desert vistas. Check out the Tour de Palm Springs website here and see how you can support or join the annual charity bicycling event. If you visit Palm Springs, look out for guidebook author and bicyclist Nelson Copp. Nelson will be meeting, greeting, and riding during the weekend event, and would be happy to sign a copy of his Cycling the Palm Springs Region—the newest addition to our Cycling Series.

All the recent California rain has given us "desert rats" big hopes for Desert Season: recent reports from Borrego Springs state that everything is lush and green, so it looks like it will be another great Spring for wildflowers. For some "desert" inspiration, be sure to visit the Marshal South website to see photos and videos and to download some of his published and unpublished stories—it’s been recently added to and improved, so check it out again.

Another great desert event is coming up at the end of the month—the Annual Wildflower Celebration at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument Visitor Center in Palm Desert. Visit the Friends of the Desert Mountains website for more on how to join in on the free fun!