Author Leslie Budewitz Presents “’Stagecoach Mary’ Fields: At the Junction of History and Myth”

Step back into Montana’s past with Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz, who will be appearing at BPL to talk about her collection, All God’s Sparrows, as well as Montana history and her inspiration, the real-life Mary Fields.  Books may be purchased at the event, courtesy of This House of Books, which is also celebrating Independent Bookseller Day on this date! 

Born into slavery in Tennessee, the remarkable “Stagecoach Mary” Fields was a larger-than-life figure who cherished her independence, and is believed to have been the first Black woman in the country to drive a U.S. Postal Star Route, the source of her nickname. All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories brings together three short stories, each originally published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, imagining the life of Stagecoach Mary in her first year in Montana, and a novella exploring her later life.

Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two cozy mystery series, the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, stand-alone suspense. In addition to three Agatha awards, she has been a nominee for the Anthony, Derringer, Macavity and Spur awards, and is a past president of Sisters in Crime and former board member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in NW Montana. Find her online at www.LeslieBudewitz.com