Susan Lang

Prescott novelist Susan Lang will discuss “Breathing Life into Your Characters ” when the Professional Writers of Prescott meet at 7 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 29 in the Founders Suite of the Prescott Public Library.

For most writers, fully-alive characters–characters that readers can’t help but care about–do not pour magically out of their pens (or keyboards).  Even the most lively plots will fail without having characters that interest readers, and living characters come not only from employing the standard strategies: portraying character with action, dialogue, internal thought, etc., but also from mining imagination. When writers dig down to where characters live inside them, they come alive. Lang’s talk will be an interactive discussion about strategies for breathing life into characters.

Lang is the author of “Small Rocks Rising,” “Juniper Blue,” and “Moon Lily” and winner of the 2003 Willa Award. In 2007, she received a Project Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts for her forthcoming novel “The Sawtooth Complex.” She is Faculty Emeritus at Yavapai College, and Founding Director of the Southwest Writers Series and the Hassayampa Institute for Creative Writing.

For more information about the meeting, call Leslie Hoy, 445-4218 or visit www.prescottwriters.com.

Bestselling author Diana Gabaldon has said of it, “High Crimes is delicious; a funny, pell-mell romp of an adventure rife with psychics, FBI agents and clowns,” and bestselling author Charlaine Harris, whose books have inspired HBO’s True Blood TV series, has written, “You’ll enjoy the unlikely twists and turns in this novel, and both characters are delightful.”

Old Sage Bookshop is located at 110 S. Montezuma Street in Prescott. For more information, call (928) 776-1136 or email books@wellredcoyote.com.

A Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty Paranormal Mystery

Rhodes is the Founding Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. Her current position as Piper Endowed Chair and Artistic Director of Piper Global Engagement includes advancing creative writing relationships between Arizona State University MFA students and universities in several foreign countries.

Jewell Parker Rhodes

Rhodes is the author of five novels: “Voodoo Dreams,” “Magic City,” “Douglass’ Women,” “Voodoo Season,” “Yellow Moon,” and a memoir “Porch Stories: A Grandmother’s Guide to Happiness.” “Hurricane,” a sixth novel, is forthcoming, as well as the children’s novel “Ninth Ward.” She has also written two writing texts, “Free Within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons for Black Authors” and “The African American Guide to Writing and Publishing Non-Fiction.” She is currently working on a young adult novel, her eleventh book, entitled “Dorian.”  Rhodes has also served as editor and project coordinator for “Devotedly, Virginia,” a biography of Virginia G. Piper, written by Melissa Pritchard. Learn more about her at www.jewellparkerrhodes.com

For more information about the meeting, call Leslie Hoy, 445-4218 or visit www.prescottwriters.com.

w/ He Is We

Flagstaff- The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s Summer Plant Sale and Penstemon Festival are scheduled in early July to take advantage of the monsoon rains. Horticulturists at The Arboretum are propagating herbaceous perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees that are acclimated to our area and are sure to do well in your garden.

The Member’s Preview takes place on Friday, July 9. From 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., a presentation by horticulturists and vendors will feature plants for various garden microclimates and Arboretum members will get first pick of the best penstemons and other plants available this season.

On Saturday, July 10, the Plant Sale and Penstemon Festival will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Local growers from Warner’s Nursery and Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed will have a wide selection of specimens to choose from. There will also be homegrown species of penstemons, as well as plants from Mountain States Nursery in Phoenix. Members from the Audubon Society will be tagging bird-friendly plants that are for sale.  In addition to the plant sale, visitors can enjoy a selection of Arboretum-themed merchandise and gardening books. Plant-inspired face painting will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Arboretum is a botanical garden, research center, and nature preserve dedicated to educating the public about the plants and plant communities of the Colorado Plateau.  It is located four miles south of Route 66 on scenic Woody Mountain Road in West Flagstaff.  The Arboretum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., April through October.  General admission is regularly $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for children 3-17 and free for children under the age of 3.  For more information, visit thearb.org or call (928) 774-1442.

Enjoy an evening of fine dining in the gardens at The Arboretum.

Flagstaff- The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s 2010 Summer Soirée will take place on the evening of Saturday, July 17.  The 2010 event includes a silent and live auction, with the feature painting donated by renowned Navajo artist, Baje Whitethorne, Sr.  Whitethorne will be present at the event.  Auction items from local artists and businesses can be viewed in advance on The Arboretum’s website, thearb.org.

New this year is the “Remembrance Photograph” station as guests enter, sponsored by Cameron + Kelly Studios.  Dinner is provided by Thornager’s Catering, featuring carving stations of smoked turkey and grilled leg of lamb.  Local jazz trio, Zazu, will be the musical entertainment.  Bill Blume, always a crowd pleaser, will serve as the auctioneer once again.

The evening in the gardens will be relaxing and entertaining with the San Francisco Peaks as a backdrop.  Appetizers and a silent auction begin at 5:30 p.m.  Dinner and the live auction begin at 6:30 p.m.  By attending The Summer Soiree and contributing to the fundraising activities, you are helping to sustain the beautiful gardens and supporting important programming that visitors continue to learn from and enjoy.  Please call to reserve tickets ($100 each) or sponsor a table at the $1000 level.  For more information, please call (928) 774-1442, ext. 124 or email Elizabeth.Vogler@thearb.org.

The Summer Soirée is sponsored by Morning Dew Landscaping and Viola’s Flower Garden. Beverages provided by Pesto Brother’s Piazza and Nackard Beverage Company.  Flowers donated by Splendid Things.

The Arboretum is a botanical garden, research center, and nature preserve dedicated to educating the public about the plants and plant communities of the Colorado Plateau.  It is located four miles south of Route 66 on scenic Woody Mountain Road in West Flagstaff.  The Arboretum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., April through October.  General admission is regularly $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for children 3-17 and free for children under the age of 3.  For more information, visit thearb.org or call (928) 774-1442.

Out Everywhere June 15th
Nat Geo Music

CD’s/MP3′s, Photo’s, Interviews, & Guest List Available Upon Request

Offer the first 2 singles off ‘El Existential’ to your readers: “El Consejo” & “Telaraña” (feat. Curt Kirkwood from The Meat Puppets)

Grupo Fantasma photo by Daniel Perlaky

The members of Grupo Fantasma have been doing things their own way for over a decade now, which continues with the subsequent summer tour in support of their highly anticipated and self-produced ‘El Existential’ on Nat Geo Music, heating stores up everywhere June 15, 2010. An exceptional follow up to their Grammy nominated ‘Sonidos Gold’ (2008), this new effort’s love for exploration using the sounds and fundamentals of traditional Latin styles is uniquely reminiscent of Fania Records; and GF, like Fania’s staple of artists in its prime, has been on the corner long enough to not only be tough, resilient and self-assured, but also be mature enough to turn out top quality material repeatedly on its own terms. On stage expect unraveling spools of cumbia, salsa, son montuno, Afro-funk, psychedelia, bolero, jazz, folkloric, cinematic soundtrack and even startling hints of new wave integrate naturally with a tightness and explosive stage presence that only Grupo Fantasma can provide.

The band’s incendiary live show has stockpiled rave reviews across North America, Europe, and beyond. After catching Fantasma at the 3rd annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in their hometown of Austin, Texas, Dead Milkmen frontman Rodney Anonymous noted that “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen these guys come out of a Tex-Mex drum solo into Led Zeppelin‘s Moby Dick.” “Grupo Fantasma is as tight as one would expect from a band that routinely backs up Prince” exclaimed LA Weekly and the Washington Post affirmed that “the ten members represent a new generation of latin music.” Highlights from the past few years include the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo, Jelly NYC Pool Party, Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the horn section performing with Prince at Coachella, London’s 02 Arena and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a two ten day engagements to entertain troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Grupo Fantasma was also selected to perform at WOMEX, the exclusive world music expo in Copenhagen, Denmark this past October. 2010 will have the band once again criss-crossing the globe with club shows and festivals worldwide! DON’T MISS THEM LIVE!

El Existential EPK (Photo’s, Bio, Video’s, Album art, and some other goodies)

US & CANADA DATES
6/9 Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
6/10 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
6/11 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
6/12 Madison, WI @ Marquette Waterfront Festival
6/14 Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone
6/16 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
6/17 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
6/18 San Antonio, TX @ Scout Bar
6/19 Snoqualmie (Seattle, WA) @ KEXP World Music Festival
6/22 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
6/23 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
6/24 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
6/25 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
6/26 Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre
6/30 Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Room
7/1 Huntsville, AL @ Flying Monkey
7/2 Chattanooga, TN @ Miller Plaza / Nightfall Concert Series
7/3 & 7/4 Dayton, OH @ City Folk Festival
7/5 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
7/7 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Festival
7/8 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
7/13 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
7/14 Boston, MA @ Middle East
7/16 Corvallis, OR @ DaVinci Days
7/18 Great Neck, NY @ Steppingstone Park Waterside Theatre
7/20 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

Abroad Dates + More Canada
7/23 Sainte Croix Volvestre, France @ Festival Terre De Couleur
7/24 Vic Fezensac, France @ Tempo Latino Festival
7/29 Sines, Portugal @ Festival Musicas do Mondo
7/31 Luzern, Switzerland @ Blue Balls Festival
8/4 Paris, France @ New Morning
8/5 Karlsruhe, Germany @ Zeltival
8/6 Brugge, Belgium @ Klinkers
8/7 Vence, France @ Nuits Du Sud
8/12 Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub
8/13 – 8/15 Salmon Arm, BC @ Roots & Blues Festival
9/4 Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles @ North Sea Jazz Festival Curaçao


Monday:  O. Allen Huddleston drops the needle on the record to spin us into the week with a Souled Out DJ set beginning at 4:30pm.  Then, we continue our excursion through classic film noir with our Monday Night Movie:  The Killers.  This 1946 film begins as a seemingly trivial insurance investigation becomes a complex tale of love, treachery, crime, and murder.  It is based on a story written by Ernest Hemingway, and stars Bert Lancaster and Ava Gardner.  At the time of its release, The Killers was billed as, “THE MOST SUSPENSEFUL PICTURE OF ALL TIME!”  8:30pm

Tuesday:  Our calendar of events for July is now online for your scheduling pleasure.  Check it out here.

Wednesday:  We’ve got over 800 friends following us on Facebook these days, and the response, dialogue, and interactions have been great.  If you are a Facebooker and haven’t joined the Raven Cafe network yet, you can find us here.

Thursday:  From Fort Myers, Florida…  Roy Schneider is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and cartoonist who blends folk, bluegrass, gypsy, folk, jam, funk, and reggae into a Keller Williams meets Jimmy Buffet meets Leftover Salmon kind of one man show.  8:00pm.

Friday:  Adam Schrader’s DJ Revival returns to the Raven stage to spin away an evening’s worth of music you forgot you loved so much.  8:00pm

Saturday:  The 4 Peace Band is one of the region’s most acclaimed jazz groups.  We’re always excited to have them back.  8pm

Sunday:  BRUNcH!

Your Album Of The Week:  In the 1990s, The Bad Livers turned folk and bluegrass sideways by injecting a little bit of punk and creating an exciting new approach to traditional music.   By 2000, the members of the group began pursuing their own solo projects.  One of these splinter groups, Fat Man and Little Boy, will be playing the Raven this July.  I recommend getting familiar with their debut album, “The Atomic Duo.”

Until Again

Raven