home> about SIRLS > News

Noted Mystery Writer Susan Wittig Albert Featured Guest at UA Library School Fundraiser

Event at Benson’s popular Singing Wind Bookshop features latest adventure in the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries series of novels.

TUCSON - Susan Wittig Albert, noted author of the wildly popular China Bayles Herbal Mysteries novels and other bestsellers, will visit the Singing Wind Bookshop in Benson on Sunday, April 15, 2007 from 1 to 3 p.m. to promote her new book, "Spanish Dagger."

Albert will discuss the herbal lore that inspires her fictional adventures in a talk entitled "Spanish Dagger, Chili Coyote and Beaver Tail: Herbs and Mysteries of the Southwestern Desert." The public is invited to the free book fiesta, which benefits The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science, Arizona's only graduate program for library and information science studies.

Albert is best known for her mystery stories featuring the fictional herbalist China Bayles, a hot-shot Houston criminal attorney who leaves the big city to buy a herb shop in a small town only to find mystery and intrigue involving signature herbs connected to each adventure's major theme. Albert is also the author of "The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter," "The Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries" (written under the pseudonym Robin Paige and co-authored with husband Bill Albert), non-fiction works on herbs and cooking, and books and writing workshops on life writing and personal memoirs.

Booklovers and aficionados of local history and culture who make the short half-hour drive from Tucson to the town of Benson's Singing Wind Bookshop for Albert's tour will be rewarded with free refreshments and gracious ranch-style hospitality amidst the best collection of southwest literature available anywhere.

Owner Winn Bundy opened the Singing Wind bookshop in 1974, a year after receiving her master's degree in library science from the UA. Inspired by author and librarian Lawrence Clark Powell, whom she credits with instilling a love of books and literature, Bundy spurned further academic pursuits in favor of staying on the working ranch run by her husband Joseph Smelt. Guests at her popular book fiestas sit on a sun porch or under large trees, enjoy refreshments and listen to nationally known authors talk about their work.

Albert will remain on hand to sign books and speak with the audience after her presentation. Net proceeds from the sale of books at the Susan Albert book fiesta will benefit the UA library school, according to director and professor Jana Bradley.

"We are thrilled to have Susan Wittig Albert come to talk to us about her work, and we're also very thankful for Winn Bundy's generosity to us and other organizations who have benefited from previous book fiesta events," Bradley said.

To find the Singing Wind Bookshop, take I-10 to exit 304 in Benson. Drive north for about two and one-half miles and turn right on Singing Wind Road, marked by a metal signpost. The gate to the ranch house and bookshop is about a mile down the dirt road. For additional information, contact the School of Information Resources and Library Science at (520) 621-3565, or the Singing Wind Bookshop at (520) 586-2425.