March 17, 2023, 7 PM, Back of Beyond Books and the Grand County Public Library present a reading and signing with Scott Graham and his new book: Saguaro Sanction

March 17, 2023

Saguaro Sanction

When Janelle Ortega’s cousin from Mexico is found brutally murdered at a remote petroglyph site in Saguaro National Park, she and her husband, archaeologist Chuck Bender, are drawn deep into a threatening web of hostility and deceit stretching south across the US-Mexico border and back in time a thousand years, to when the Hohokam people thrived in the Sonoran Desert.

Book 8 in Scott Graham’s National Park Mystery Series introduces readers to the landscapes and cultural histories of Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona, providing an inside look at the wonders of the wildly popular national park and its archaeological and cultural complexities.

In addition to discussing Saguaro Sanction we will also be looking at Scott’s earlier title, Canyonlands Carnage which is set near Moab in Cataract Canyon. Canyonlands Carnage was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award last year.

This event will be at the Grand County Public Library, 257 E. Center St. Moab, Ut. It is free and open to the public.

It’s Collee’s turn to give us her Pick of the Week, and after hearing what she has to say, we can’t wait to read for ourselves!

Big Swiss
By Jen Beagin

“Before Big Swiss was published, the manuscript was leaked and a 14-way bidding war for the movie rights erupted in Hollywood. It's no surprise. This book is a compulsive read, usually hysterical and occasionally strickening. The plot centers around Greta; a Gen X'er living in a hip small town working as a transcriber for a sex therapist. She becomes enthralled by a certain client, happens to meet her in real life and a torrid affair ensues. Beyond the sheer delight of this tale is a deeper message about trauma and having a future in the face of it. I loved the sanguine tone throughout and eventually... the mini donkeys.”

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Tonight at the bookstore, we are excited to be hosting a reading with debut novelist Shelley Read! Her book , Go As A River was published earlier this month to much fanfare, and the chance to support an author from our neck of the woods on the Colorado Plateau is one we love to jump at. Below is a bit about this beautiful novel:

“Shelley Read’s debut novel was inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola, Colorado in the 1960s. Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.”

See you at @backofbeyondbooks tonight, 7pm!

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Poetry Open Mic night tonight at 7pm in partnership with @moabarts ! Art in Everyday Language is the theme, and local poets have been molding their pieces since their workshop with @sharizollinger this past week, and are ready to share it with you tonight.  Local poets who didn’t make it to the workshop are of course welcome to attend tonight at the bookstore and hop on that open mic, too! 

#backofbeyond #backofbeyondbooks #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetryreading #openmicnight #moabarts #eatreadsleeplocal