For a first-time author, you can’t ask for more than to open your local Sunday newspaper and find a review of your new book — and a good one at that.

Especially on the exact day of the book’s official release.

But that’s what happened on Oct. 1 when I opened to the books section of the Albuquerque Journal to find a piece by the paper’s longtime reviewer David Steinberg of Crosses of Iron: The Tragic Story of Dawson, New Mexico, and Its Twin Mining Disasters, which was published by the University of New Mexico Press.

Not only did David write a timely review, but he also included a box listing my upcoming appearances and book signings in October and November.

I would like to thank David and the Journal for taking an interest in my book.