The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O'Keeffe (23 page)

Acknowledgments

Georgia O'Keeffe taught at West Texas State Normal College from 1916 to 1918. My tenure as the academic vice president of that institution—renamed West Texas State University—coincided with the seventy-fifth anniversary of its founding. I decided we should ask O'Keeffe to grant us the right to make prints of a painting she had done while teaching there and allow us to sell those prints to fund scholarships.

I gave the task of approaching Ms. O'Keeffe to my wife, whose charm and grace were best suited to the task. And it helped that she is also an artist and an art historian. O'Keeffe granted her request. So Georgia O'Keeffe is the first person I want to acknowledge. For helping fund scholarships, for inspiring this book and—most important—for her hauntingly beautiful paintings of New Mexico.

The second person I wish to acknowledge is my wife, Lai. For everything.

Thanks to my daughter, Claire, and my sister, Pat, for reading the manuscript. Thanks also to the non-family beta readers who could have more easily said no. That group includes Ofélia Nikolova, who not only makes excellent substantive suggestions but also catches typos in all the languages employed. She is personally acquainted with every diacritical mark and knows which way they slant. Stephanie Raffel of Sandia Park, New Mexico, read the manuscript with her usual enthusiasm, and her experience as a Spanish teacher and margarita drinker were both helpful. Tom Lake, archaeologist, is not responsible for any errors in Hubie's statements about the discipline, especially the fact that Hubie uses
shard
, which all self-respecting anthropologists know should be
sherd
or, even better,
potsherd
. Maybe Hubie uses the nonprofessional term as a jab at the program that expelled him. Even I don't completely understand him. Tom is not only an excellent archaeologist, he is also an expert on New Mexico, and most summers will find him there with his students. He allows them to take time out from doing archaeology things in order to do other things such as visit Old Town and Treasure House Books. Since most of his students are from New York, a trip to New Mexico must be an eye-opening experience.

I also benefited from the suggestions of Lisa Airey, author of the excellent
Touching the Moon
. I loved that book, even though it's in a genre I rarely read. Andy and Carolyn Anderson of Questa, New Mexico, have been with me from the start of this series and, like my other readers, are friends as well. Jane Robinson of Lake Park, Georgia, is in the group, as is newcomer Barbara M. Lane, MSW LCSW. Barb is also a Diplomate Jungian Analyst, and you can make of that what you will.

As always, I am indebted to my agent triumvirate—Barbara Bitela, Ed Silver and Philip Turner for their support and advice.

Thanks to my publisher, Open Road, for hiring the talented Peggy Hageman to edit this book. Her insight into the characters and her ability to follow the convoluted plot resulted in changes that make me appear to be an accomplished writer.

Special thanks to two friends who are, in fact, accomplished writers—Tim Hallinan and Anne Hillerman. They made time in their busy schedules to read the manuscript and write blurbs. Anne and Tim are each a source of reading enjoyment and a reminder of the miles I have to go as a writer.

About the Author

J. Michael Orenduff grew up in a house so close to the Rio Grande that he could Frisbee a tortilla into Mexico from his backyard. While studying for an MA at the University of New Mexico, he worked during the summer as a volunteer teacher at one of the nearby pueblos. After receiving a PhD from Tulane University, he became a professor. He went on to serve as president of New Mexico State University.

Orenduff took early retirement from higher education to write his award-winning Pot Thief murder mysteries, which combine archaeology and philosophy with humor and mystery. Among the author's many accolades are the Lefty Award for best humorous mystery, the Epic Award for best mystery or suspense ebook, and the New Mexico Book Award for best mystery or suspense fiction. His books have been described by the
Baltimore Sun
as “funny at a very high intellectual level” and “deliciously delightful,” and by the
El Paso Times
as “the perfect fusion of murder, mayhem and margaritas.”

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by J. Michael Orenduff

Cover design by Andrea Worthington

978-1-5040-2085-5

Published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com