August 8, 2008 - CORPUS CHRISTI, TX

Mexican Enough is officially out! I can't believe it. My life has revolved around this book since December 31, 2004. First was the 8-month trip to Mexico, followed by six months of academic/journalistic research and drafting five versions of the book proposal, selling the proposal to Simon & Schuster, then another full year of living in artist colonies while actually writing the book. I handed it in at the end of last summer, took a brief breather, then embarked on the edits. And now I'm about to devote the next six months to promotion. Que loca! A million thanks to all of you readers for sending so much love. I seriously couldn't have done it without you.

My awesome friends John and Irene at the Tango Tearoom/Yin Yang Fandango here in town just helped me create a MySpace page for the book that includes MP3 files, so you can listen to me read two chapters at www.myspace.com/mexicanenoughthebook. Check it out!

July 24, 2008 - CORPUS CHRISTI, TX

Saludos desde the sodden south! I returned to Corpus from a 10-day romp around the Berkshires, just in time to greet Hurricane Dolly. My bungalow is located about 70 feet from the seawall, so it's been a little intense. We've been pummeled by rain and wind for 24 hours now, and waves have actually scaled the wall and flooded the lawn. Yesterday, we were under tornado watch for much of the afternoon. At one point, the floorboards began to rumble!

Anyway, just wanted to give y'all a preview of Mexican Enough, which is excerpted in Texas Monthly's August issue: http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-08-01/griest.php. Hispanic Magazine is running an interview in its August issue as well, and Urban Latino and Alcalde are printing reviews. I am still booking fall gigs: 15 cities and counting. (Tucson, Miami, and San Francisco are in the works.) My deepest thanks to everyone who has written in the past few weeks; your letters mean the world. We'll be launching this baby in just two weeks!

See you on the road!

June 12, 2008 - CORPUS CHRISTI, TX

Hola, beautiful people!

Just returned from a month at the lovely Can Serrat art colony in the Montserrat Mountains north of Barcelona, Spain. I logged in a good eight to ten hours of work a day, then went hiking through the surrounding olive groves and mountain wilderness, drank red wine from a barrel, and dined on the latest creation of Norwegian chef/wizard Anne Tonne. Heaven! Writers, take note: Can Serrat offers full scholarships to two writers annually. Apply between January 1-31 and July 1-31 via their website at www.canserrat.org.

Now I'm back in Corpus Christi, Texas for the summer. I'm renting a little bungalow right on the bay and planning my upcoming Border Party Tour for Mexican Enough. Click on the Bloc Party link above for confirmed gigs. Many more are in the works in cities like Austin, San Francisco, Boston, Madison, and Miami. We're also lining up some good media coverage, the most exciting of which is that Texas Monthly Magazine will excerpt the first chapter in their August issue! You can preview another chapter of Mexican Enough in the May/June edition of World Literature Today at: http://www.ou.edu/worldlit/onlinemagazine/2008may/Griest-essay.html.

That chapter profiles the amazing Mexican artist collective Malaleche and their exhibit on the murders in Ciudad Juarez. Mexican Enough has also been chosen as the August read in the National Latino Book Club, which is sponsored by Borders Books, the Association of American Publishers, and Las Comadres Para Las Americas. On Monday, August 25, I'll be doing a live teleconference with readers, and the first thirty to sign up will get a free copy of the book, shipped out by Simon & Schuster! I'll post more details on that soon, but you can learn more about the Book Club at www.lascomadres.org.

Other happy news: 100 Places Every Woman Should Go won "Best Travel Book" in the 2008 International Latino Book Awards, which were announced at Book Expo America in Los Angeles. Thanks to everyone who has sent good wishes about that.

Bueno, I need to start updating the rest of this baby. Hope this finds y'all peaceful and well, and that our paths cross soon. Thanks for dropping by y saludos!

April 23, 2008 - NEW YORK, NY

Hola everybody!

As you can see, my web site has undergone a bit of a face-lift, in preparation for the launching of my new memoir, Mexican Enough. I hope to upload all the changes by mid-June. Thanks for your patience. I've started this journal as a way of posting news. Not quite a blog, but I'll try to write something every couple of months.

I'm in New York City at the moment, but heading to Barcelona, Spain, for the month of May to work on a new book project. Please send your muses that way.

Happy spring y saludos!

Stephanie