I attended the 2026 San Miguel Writing Fest in Mexico — my very first writing conference, and it was a big one!
Welcome to Letters From Windermere, where I write about:
- HISTORY: mostly Western Canada history, but I love it all.
- WRITING: info about my writing and publishing journey.
- BOOKS: I recommend a good book every month.
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San Miguel Writing Fest Highlights
I’m spending three months in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but this month I made a week-long side trip to this enormous writing conference in San Miguel de Allende. This lovely heritage city is known as the Culture Capital of Mexico, filled with baroque Spanish architecture, located about four hours north of Mexico City.
There I joined 1500 other writers and editors — from Canada, the United States, and Mexico — for a week of workshops and keynote speakers.
I had little spare time, but managed to see something of this beautiful city. The heart and soul of San Miguel is the iconic cathedral Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, famous for its striking pink, neo-Gothic towers that dominate the city’s skyline.
You will not find any new condo towers in this place, as the central area is heavily protected from development. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site with original Spanish architecture and narrow cobblestoned streets.
Aldama Street is considered one of the loveliest little streets in the world.
And there is plenty of quirky charm as well. I’m assuming this is a form of street art!
Apparently this well-known pharmacy named Botica de Santa Theresa always has a dog in residence, and not a little dog, either — this is a Weimaraner. (In spite of his expression, he seemed quite happy to be there and was much admired and petted by the customers.)
Please consider looking up San Miguel de Allende online for more photos, or plan a visit here to see this lovely city in person.
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My Latest Book News
I’m making great progress on my new novel, Touching Grass, set in 1890 on the southern Canadian prairies. Because Longhorn cattle figure so heavily in my book, to be published in April 2027, I treated myself to this necklace!
I thought it was fitting to purchase it in Mexico, since this country is the birthplace of cowboy culture. Cattle didn’t live on this continent until they were imported by the Spaniards. The original Longhorns were driven up from Mexico into the States, and finally into Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The original cowboys were a hardy bunch, the Mexican vaqueros. They introduced tooled leather Western riding saddles, leather chaps, boots with pointed toes and heels (to anchor them in their stirrups), bandanas, and big-brimmed hats called sombreros — which the American cowboys turned into the ten-gallon hat.
A further refinement was made to the hat by Canadians, when the large brim was reduced in size because northern cowboys didn’t need as much protection from the sun. Besides, the smaller-brimmed hat didn’t blow off so easily in the wind, or while the owner was galloping at top speed!
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My Favourite Cold Weather Story
Because I genuinely feel for those of you who are spending the winter in a cold climate, I’m sharing this little story that was told to me years ago by a friend, Bob Friesen of Calgary. He worked for years as a farm equipment salesman on the prairies. In Bob’s own words:
“I was driving into the city with two other guys to look at some farm equipment. I was sitting in the back seat, and the other two were in the front. We were right on the main highway, too, blacktop all the way. Anyway, the car conked out. We pulled over and a big semi-truck came along and the driver said he would tow us to the next service station. So he chained her up, and we jumped back in the car.
“Well, we stupidly didn’t remember that if the ignition wasn’t working, neither was the heater! After we took off, we tried signaling to the truck driver but he couldn’t see a thing because the snow was flying off his back wheels and covering the car. The air flow was making the car even colder! I got in the front seat and the three of us wrapped a blanket over ourselves and we just clung together, trying to share our body heat.
“I thought we were done for. It must have been about an hour to the next town and when he finally pulled into the parking lot, we couldn’t open the doors because they were frozen shut. When the truck driver came over and wrenched open the door, we got out and one by one, we all fell down because our legs were too stiff to walk.
“I hate to think how that poor guy would have felt if he had opened the door and discovered three corpses!”
Anybody from the prairies is familiar with this level of blowing snow.
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Wildwood Ready to Preorder
Amazon may be quick and easy, but many bookstores offer free shipping! For example, Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores will ship free anywhere in Canada if you spend $49. McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon and Winnipeg offers free shipping anywhere in Canada if you spend $50. Other independent bookstores may have similar offers — OR BETTER YET, you can pick up the book in person at your favourite indie.
Wildwood tells the story of a single mother who inherits an abandoned farm in northern Alberta. Preorder now, and it can be in your hot little hands (or delivered to your device, if you prefer a digital book) on April 28, 2026. An audiobook is also in the works.
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Coming Event
If you would like to hear more about my bestselling novel Finding Flora (on the Canadian Bestseller List for 35 weeks!) you can join a virtual meeting for free and hear me interviewed at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. Here’s the link for more information: Winnipeg Free Press Book Club.
And here’s the link to join the meeting: Finding Flora on Youtube.
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Book of the Month
Here I am at the San Miguel Writing Fest “fangirling” over this brilliant young author Rebecca Luang, who was one of the keynote speakers. She has written seven novels at the age of twenty-nine!
Yellowface is an expose of the publishing industry. The book is beloved by writers everywhere (publishers, not so much). In spite of the title it was mostly about a young woman trying to negotiate publishing and social media, rather than race politics. It is clever and funny and very readable.
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Friends, I am back at my desk in Puerto Vallarta struggling to finish the first draft of my book. That will amount to 100,000 words (and probably 99,000 will have to be rewritten, but that comes later!)
A warm welcome to all my new subscribers and a heartfelt thanks to my long-time subscribers. Watch for my next newsletter on March 18, 2026.
Fondly, Elinor
