I helped make a documentary called Wallace, and it just made its world premiere at the Sun Valley Film Festival. Now, we’re bringing the short film back to its hometown on the last Friday & Saturday of April.
Where: The Sixth Street Melodrama & Theater in Wallace, Idaho Dates and Times: April 26th and 27th, with showings at 6:30 and 7:30 pm Price: Free
We encourage donations to the Melodrama, so please bring some cash with you. Tickets are now only available at the door, on a first-come-first-served basis only.
If you reserved tickets already and haven’t picked them up yet, your tickets will be available at the Melodrama. I will be there, too, so just ask for me if you run into any problems!
Come see me at the Sixth Street Melodrama this Saturday from 2:00-4:00 pm! I’ll be reading with three other authors after the Founder’s Day parade. We will all be selling and signing books as well. For more information about this Saturday’s big event, click here: https://www.wallacefoundersday.com/events.
Yesterday I drove over to Spokane Public Radio to talk with Verne Windham about Wallace’s Founder’s Day event this Saturday, the book, and a little about my own background as well… It was a live broadcast, but you can listen to the 17 minute show here: http://spokanepublicradio.org/post/studio-author-heather-branstetter.
In the Spokane Public Radio studio holding a copy of the book
After the show, I met up with a guy who told me an interesting story about Dolores… I’m still getting some new stories and so pleased that you all are writing in to share your own experiences. I’ll post them here in the next few weeks. In the meantime, keep sending them in. You can email them to abusinessdoingpleasure@gmail.com if you have something you’d like to share.
I’m working on a follow-up book that will add to the history of the houses but focus mainly on the story of the FBI Raid in 1991 and the history of federal intervention in the Silver Valley. I’ll write more about this soon, but welcome your stories about this subject area as well…
I keep selling out my copies almost as soon as the publisher can ship them out to me, but I just got another bunch of books in yesterday, so if you still haven’t snagged your own copy yet, you can order a signed copy for $22.00 by clicking the “Buy Now” button below, where you can pay using your PayPal account or a credit card. They ship via Media Mail, which means they arrive very quickly if you’re near me, but can take up to a week to travel the country…
Melissa Luck’s four minute story about the book and the town broadcast on the channel four evening news last Friday.
Before the interview, I was a little worried that the show would inevitably go the direction of either romanticizing or sensationalizing sex work in Wallace. But talking with the journalist/producer turned out to be easier than I anticipated. She somehow made me feel comfortable, like we were just having a conversation, despite the big camera lens and lights in my face.
Talking with Melissa Luck at the Oasis Bordello Museum (photo taken from her blog)
I thought the resulting show was professional, multi-faceted, and intimate in tone. But you can judge for yourself by watching it here.
Also, Melissa posted a review of my book on her Blogger site, where she is documenting her resolution to read a book per week this year. Check it out! P.S., her other book reviews are worth your time to read as well — her perspective is funny and feminist, too (imagine that).
More books finally arrive later today! Just in time for my reading and signing event at the Wallace District Mining Museum Thursday, June 8 at 6 pm, if you want to join us.
Click on the “Buy Now” button to the right for your own signed copy!
The publisher ran out of my book before it even came out. That means that the book sold around 1,000 copies before its official release day even arrived. This is a good thing, I keep reminding myself as I’m pushing the prepaid preorders out the door.
As of May 17, if you ordered a copy from me on my website or gave me cash or sent in a check but haven’t received your book yet, don’t worry–I’ve got you covered and they are on the way. But if you told me you wanted a copy and didn’t already pay me, you might want to get over to Wallace to pick up a copy from one of our museums, retail shops, and a few food and drink places before they sell out as well…
I just sold out myself, but I think I will have some copies available at the reading Friday, since the publisher’s sales rep is dropping off the few he has left. I’m not sure how many at this point, since I’m prioritizing the prepaid orders.
We are waiting on the press now. I’m told more will be available the first week of June. For now, you can put your order in with me and I’ll put you on my list and it will be fulfilled in early June.
Here’s some press the book’s been getting from D.F. Oliveria, who writes the “Huckleberries” column on Idaho for the Spokesman-Review:
Keep an eye on the blog for some more content in the future–local historian Mike Feiler found a cool old article interviewing Dolores and a few of the girls in 1973. I’m going to post most of that here soon. I’ll also post a transcript from my interview with Maggie McNeill (aka The Honest Courtesan) from back in 2015. Our talk didn’t make it into the book, but you’ll probably want to hear what she has to say…
To get on the backorder list for one or more signed copies from me,
you can use your credit card or PayPal below and I’ll ship them as soon as they come in!