Mesa Book Crawl
Book Crawl?
The Rule is Simple
Join the rest of the participants at the starting point to pick up your passport and begin a self guided tour of downtown Mesa. Meet authors, buy some books, shop the hosting stores, and turn in your passport for a chance to win a prize from one our many sponsors.
Restaurants on the crawl will have food and drink specials themes for the day, and retail shops will have specials and other opportunities to save.
And Then, of Course, There Are the Authors
At each location of the tour will be between one and four Authors, with a display of their books. Your passport earns you entries in the prize drawing based on the number of authors you visit and the number of books you purchase.
A Day of Fun... and Prizes
At the end of the day, you'll turn in your passport to Book Crawl Headaquarters, and we'll do a drawing to award a set of Prizes provided by Downtown Mesa Merchants and others.
2022 Mesa Book Crawl Authors
Excited for the first Mesa Book Crawl? So are we!
Here are the authors that will be at various locations on the magical day of. Where will they be? Be sure to show up at crawl HQ on the day of the event and get your passport.
The author's most recent title is pictured. Book links open Amazon unless otherwise noted.
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Bledsoe, K.A.Science Fiction K. A. Bledsoe’s writing journey began at the age of six with a short story about kids living on a space station. Writing has been a constant despite a multitude of other jobs, and life, trying to get in the way. But persistence paid off. The most recently published is a science-fiction series about a spacefaring family. They aren’t lost but that doesn’t mean there’s no danger. Born, raised and still residing in Arizona, the author continues to pen stories in all genres despite house cats underfoot and the occasional bobcat or roadrunner strolling through the backyard. |
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Campbell, MarcusPoetry |
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Cole, DarciDarci Cole is an author, narrator, and podcaster whose debut novel TARGET is a gender-swapped young adult fantasy retelling of Robin Hood. She and her husband run Colevanders: a wand shop catering to lovers of magic and cosplay. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and four children. |
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Covington, JustineHistorical/Regency Romance Justine fell in love with the Regency when her grandmother introduced her to Johanna Lindsey at age fourteen (thank you, Grandma!). Twenty-five years later, Justine decided it was time to write the Regency historicals she loves, rather than simply read them. When not writing, Justine enjoys reading, playing games that make her mind work, and spending time with her family. The desert southwest is her home, where she lives with her family and mini-Schnauzers Chewie and Chopper. |
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Davis,BruceSci-fi/fantasy |
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Dukelow, RobertHistorical Fiction Robert Dukelow worked 33 years as an Army Counterintelligence Special Agent, mostly in Europe, but also in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon. He now lives in Gilbert, Arizona where he writes, gardens, teaches at the Mesa Community College, and hikes in the mountains. |
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Eaton, PamYoung Adult Pam Eaton lives in the deserts of Arizona, but she’ll always consider herself a New Englander at heart. She graduated from Arizona State University with degrees involving education and history. While she loves history, it’ll always take a backseat to the fictional world she stumbled into as a young girl. She lives with her husband, three kids, and two crazy but lovable labs. It’s a chaotic life, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Especially since they let her read an insane amount of books, and watch way too many Food Network shows. |
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Finefrock, Cynthia AnneJuvenile Fiction/Children Cynthia Anne Finefrock lives with her furry roommates, Winston and Sparrow in Scottsdale, AZ.
Before she ventured into the world of writing, Cynthia graduated from the University of Southern California before obtaining her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from Cornell University. Academics aside, Cynthia’s true passion is experiencing as much of the world as possible through the lens of her camera. After designing a website to showcase her diverse photography, Cynthia decided to edit her dog Winston into her travel landscapes. What started as a comical exchange between friends has transpired into a published book. Cynthia’s debut book “Winston the Traveling Dog” is a First Place winner of the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. It is also a recipient of the Readers’ Favorite Five Stars Award and Reader Views Kids Five Star Review Award. |
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Francis, MimiRomance/Contemporary Romance Mimi Francis writes contemporary romance of the spicy, steamy variety. She loves writing tropes and frequently uses them in her series, Second Chances in Hollywood and Loves of Lakeside. Mimi stumbled into writing when her favorite obsessions led her to writing fanfiction. With encouragement from friends, family, and her readers, she successfully made the jump to writing original fiction. |
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Gardner, TerrieNon Fiction/Memoir/Self Help A native Texan, Terrie moved to Arizona 23 years ago with her family. This married, mother of four, grandmother of 11, calls Gilbert home and loves the small town feel of one of the fastest growing townships in the country. Writing has been a passion since childhood. The sensation of writing with a great pen on a crisp sheet of paper is still excites her. Although it has always been a passion, writing was placed on hold while Terrie taught elementary education and raised a family. |
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Gallo, RebeccaRomance Rebecca Gallo writes steamy and spicy contemporary romance, most notably the Presidential Promises duet. Age gaps are kind of her thing since she is in a real-life age-gap romance. She aims to write romance reminiscent of the soapy television mini-series she grew up watching alongside her mom. In addition to writing, Rebecca is a full-time high school English teacher, mom, and self-proclaimed wine snob. |
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Gershkowitz, HowardFiction/Thriller Howard is 65, married (42 years) with one child (age 34), and has lived in Arizona since 1981. Maintaining a journal for most of his life, he’s accumulated a significant amount of material to write about. To date, he has published two dozen short stories along with a poetry chapbook, ‘Observations.’ His debut novel, ‘The Operator,’ was published in October 2018 by ‘All Things That Matter Press.’. His latest release, ‘Not on My Watch,’ from the same publisher, is out now and is available on Amazon or visit his website at Gershwriter.com. |
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Goldner, RitaChildren’s Picture Books Rita Goldner's passion for nature, drawing and writing made picture books a great fit. Rita hopes that instilling understanding of endangered animals/habitats and global ecology will help her readers learn to preserve this when they grow up. Her storytelling style, colorful whimsical pictures, and lively action-packed plots, make learning fun. Her new book, Agent H2O Rides the Water Cycle precipitated (pun intended) from her desire to teach the importance of water. |
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Gordon, David AlynScience-Historical Fiction I have been a social studies teacher, principal, and founding owner of the Grand Canyon College Preparatory Academy in Tempe, Arizona. I grew up reading and watching science and historical fiction. I am also a big baseball fan. I have combined my various passions in the Jigsaw series, which focuses on time-traveling teens thrust into major historical events—many of which never made the standard history books. I was born in New York and now live in Arizona with the love of my life Gwyn. We are both are dog people, and enjoy travel and food—Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines in particular.
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Heartman, LisaRomantic Suspense Lisa is a coffee-swilling, sass-spewing romance writer who believes love is messy and magnificent. She writes things she wishes she had said, and some she wishes she hadn’t, delighting readers with exhilarating stories and swoon-worthy characters in a world where danger and desire collide©. |
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King, StevenChildren’s Steven King is a well-seasoned graphic illustrator and designer, his many forms of artwork have appeared in numerous books, packaging, games, and toys around the world. Among Steven's many recognitions he is also known for creating all of the iconic U-Haul educational illustrations you see on the roads today. While working directly with leading scientists on these educational illustrations, he was inspired to write his own picture books to make learning fun while helping children understand science. |
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Ladd, A.M.A.M. Ladd has lived in Arizona for 23 years and has worked in the technology industry for decades. She believes communing with nature is the key to a balanced life. Her passions include conservation, spooky forests, and the magical energies all around us. Her hope is to share light and joy with readers as they meander down the trail of her imagination in her fantasy romance novels. The new release, Wild Union is available through her website, amladd.com or via Paperclip Publishing. |
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Marsh, AdamScience Fiction Adam Marsh is a software engineer, U.S. Army veteran, and author of two science-fiction novels, The Changed, and Survived. His novels both received five stars from Foreword Clarion, and his work has been called “nearly impossible to put down,” by Kirkus. As an engineer and lover of all things fantastic, his work tends to straddle the line between the real and the unknown. Adam has a degree in Computer Systems Engineering and a certificate in Novel Writing, both from ASU. |
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McMahon, KathieChapter Book Contemporary Kathie McMahon is the author of the humorous, award-winning chapter book series, Mortimer and Me, about eight-year-old Jimmy and a moose named Mortimer. Kathie taught elementary school for 32 years, where she composed several school musicals. She also collaborated on many youth theater musicals, receiving four ariZoni awards for Original Music Composition. She is a member of SCBWI and hosts the East Valley KidLit Mingles. Kathie lives in Gilbert, Arizona, where you won’t find any moose, but plenty of snakes, gila monsters, and mountain lions. |
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Pelletier, John JayFormer Green Beret Survival Instructor will be in the Book crawl with his Book on Desert Safety and Survival. |
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Simper, SDDark Fantasy S D Simper has lived in both the hottest place on earth and the coldest, spans the employment spectrum from theater teacher to professional editor, and plays more instruments than can be counted on one hand. She and her wife share a home with their two cats and innumerable bookshelves. |
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Skinner, SharonSci-Fi/Fantasy- Middle Grade/Young Adult Author Sharon Skinner (The Healer’s Legacy, Return to Anoria) has written ten published books in the Fantasy, Science Fiction, Poetry and Children’s Picture Book genres. With influences ranging from Peter S Beagle to Ursula K Leguin and many styles in between, Sharon is an avid reader and regularly posts her readings on Goodreads. |
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Smith, Terry L.Science Fiction Terry L Smith calls Phoenix, Arizona home, between bouts of wanderlust. Even a stint in the U.S. Air Force, training pilots in enemy radar detection (not getting their asses shot down), brought her back to the desert. Besides learning to dodge rattlesnakes and bombs, her time in the service taught her to appreciate the military culture and ever-changing technologies. Those experiences help her write strong characters, especially women, holding their own as humanity reaches out into the universe. Come check out her current releases and where you can meet her next. |
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Standage, L.L.Young Adult/ Urban Fantasy L.L. Standage (Amy to her friends), has been making up stories her entire life. In high school, she decided she wanted to be an author and began writing the most cringe-worthy epic fantasies, which, sadly, will never see the light of day. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys laughing with her husband, playing Zelda with her kids, drinking Diet Coke, getting pedicures, traveling, and eating food. She loves chocolate and geeks out over anything having to do with England. She lives with her family in the very sunny, cactus-infested fire hazard known as Arizona. |
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Windrow, JennUrban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance JENN WINDROW loves characters who have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you’ve got the ingredients for the kind of fast paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it’s-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that’s what she claims. |
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Young, Jenn D.Paranormal Romance Jenn D. Young is a native of Washington, currently living in Arizona. She has always dreamed of writing about the characters that have been floating around in her head. Ever since the age of 14, she has been obsessed with romance novels and reading them as fast as she can get her hands on them. Her first love is Paranormal Romance, but she enjoys stories from all across the genre. You can typically find her listening to music or an audiobook, reading, or hanging out with her dogs Hermes and Loki. |
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