Books, Blogs, Articles etc

Books

Blogs and websites

Chapters in books

  • 2021 “Seeing out the Old Year in Santa Rosa Xochiac” and “The Truth about Cinco de Mayo” in “Insider’s Guide to the Best of Mexican Holidays: 22 experts guide you through Mexican celebrations of life, death, and everything in between” (edited by Carmen Amato).
  • 2019 “The Border Story: the effects of a barrier wall.” 104-114 in Judy King. 2019. Echoes from the Wall: Real Stories of Mexican Migrants. Mexico Insights.
  • 2017 Paul Christopher Walton (compiler/editor) Marians on the Mawddach. 2017. Strategol Publishing. Tribute to geography fieldwork, including original field sketch.
  • 2016 “Art in Ajijic” and “Lake Chapala: writers’ muse for more than a century” in Insider’s Guide to the Best of Mexico (edited by Carmen Amato).
  • 2006 “Recreación y turismo en la cuenca Lerma-Chapala” (Recreation and Tourism in the Lerma-Chapala Basin) in La cuenca Lerma-Chapala. Un Atlas sobre el ambiente, su gente y los recursos. (Mexico: INE/UNAM/CONACYT) Includes three original maps.
  • 2004 “Life is like a bicycle tyre,” contribution to John S. Anderson, 2004. Queen Mary’s 1954-2004. Queen Mary’s Club, Walsall.
  • 2000 (1st edition), 2005 (2nd edition) “Climate and Geography” in Mexico’s Lake Chapala & Ajijic. The Insider’s Guide, by Teresa Kendrick. Austin, Texas: MTI.
  • 1997 and succeeding editions. “Chapala, Ajijic, Jocotepec” and “Tlaquepaque” in Traveler’s Guide to Mexico.
  • 1994 “Fascinating scenery of Western Mexico’s “Volcanic Belt”, and “Snowbirds and Butterflies” in Mexico Living and Travel by Jean and John Bryant. California: MRTA.
  • 1992 “Enjoying Jalisco”, chapter 13 of Retiring to Mexico, edited by Nellie and Len Friedman. Indianapolis: ACC books.

Academic Journals

  • 2009 “Geography gets a makeover. From place and space to climate change and globalization in a new syllabus for the 21st century” joint article with Simon Oakes in IB World, January 2009; issue 55, p6.
  • 1997 “Can Mexico’s Largest Lake Be Saved?”, pp. 68-71 in Ecodecision, No. 23, Winter 1997.
  • 1988 “Comentario a un artículo sobre geomorfología”, pp. 53-55 in Geografía, Año 1, No. 2. (INEGI, Mexico).
  • 1985 “A Sediment Sock: or non-quantitative instant suspended sediment analysis in the field”, by C. Seiffert, Bottorf, Bruce, Tolson & Burton, in Teaching Geography, Vol. 10, No. 3, January 1985.
  • 1982 “Sun and Sombreros; Some Observations on Fieldwork in Mexico”, pp. 171-175 in Teaching Geography, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1982.

Travel articles

Published credits for more than 250 travel, natural history and ecotourism articles, most with original photographs, include:

  • MexConnect (formerly Access Mexico Connect)
  • Aeromagazine
  • Aerovias
  • Chapala Hoy
  • Chapala Riviera Guide
  • Clubmex (formerly Mexico West)
  • Conecciones (LCS magazine)
  • Ecodecision
  • El Jalisciense
  • El Ojo de Lago
  • Guadalajara Reporter
  • Lake Chapala Review
  • Los Cabos News
  • Manzanillo Riviera Guide
  • Ocho Columnas
  • Mexico File
  • Mexico Journal
  • Traveler’s Guide to Mexico
  • Travel Mexico
  • Travelmex
  • Ventana Magazine

Translations

  • 1998 Spaces of Lake Chapala (Espacios del lago de Chapala). Carlos Valencia Pelayo. Editorial Agata, Guadalajara.
  • 1996 A Drink Named Tequila. José‚ María Muriá. Editorial Agata, Guadalajara.
  • 1995 Juan Rulfo and the South of Jalisco. Wolfgang Vogt. Editorial Agata, Guadalajara.
  • 1994 Tonalá Ceramics – Living Roots. Gutierre Aceves. Editorial Agata, Guadalajara.
  • 1993 Paricutín, 50 years after its birth. Simón Lázaro Jiménez. Editorial Agata, Guadalajara.
  • 1992 Past Times in Chapala. Jesús González Gortázar. Editorial Agata, Guadalajara.
  • 1988 Maps and Charts of Mexico from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. Various authors. INEGI/INAH, Mexico.

Economic newsletters (writer/editor)

  • Lloyd Mexico Economic Report. Monthly subscriber newsletter to 130,000 clients in 28 countries, January 1994-March 2006.
  • MexConnect Mexico Economic Report. Monthly, April 2006-August 2006.
  • O’Rourke and Associates Mexican Economic Report. Monthly, June 2009-December 2019.

Original maps and map credits

  • 1996-2010 Lake Chapala Village Street Plans and Touring Maps. Numerous editions.
  • 2000-2010 Series of interactive on-line maps for MexConnect website.
  • 2021 James H Creechan. Drug Wars and Covert Netherworlds: The Transformations of Mexico’s Narco Cartels. University of Arizona Press. Map of Mexico’s highways.
  • 2019 Joyce Wycoff. Kaleidoscope of Mexico.
  • 2015 Stacy B. Schaefer. Huichol Women, Weavers, and Shamans by Stacy B. Schaefer. UNM Press. Map of Huichol lands.
  • 2008 Alexander Kerekes. Finding Lost Civilizations (Park Place Publications, Pacific Grove, California). Map of Nayarit.
  • 2006 Callaloo. Journal published by the Department of English, Texas A&M University, College Station Texas. Map of Veracruz.
  • 2005 “Mexico’s Roswell” shown on The History Channel in 2005-6. Map of Chihuahua.

Mentions in popular books

  • 2021 Jorge Varela Martínez Negrete. Los poetas del bromuro y otros sucesos inesperados. Guadalajara.
  • 2018 Michael Morrison. The Worst Golf Course Ever. (Mentioned for having been the inaugural winner of the Sutherland Tassie golf competition at Royal Worlington GC, UK.)
  • 2007 Raul Angulo Coronel. An Idol for Sheila Machen. Vantage Press, Inc.
  • 2004 Starley Talbott. Lasso the World. Plainstar Press.
  • 1996 Sandra Scofield. 1996. A Chance to See Egypt. Cliff Street Books, Harper Collins.

Dedications, Credits and Acknowledgments

  • 2022. Jorge Calderón Riebeling. Leyendas Mexicanas Fantásticas: Misterio, pasión y brujería del río Lerma. Editorial Shanti Nilaya.
  • 2022. Charles Shields. Lorraine Hansberry: The Life Behind A Raisin in the Sun.
  • 2016. Charles Shields. The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel: John Williams, Stoner, and the Writing Life.
  • 1997. Richard D Perry. Blue Lakes and Silver Cities. Espadaña Press.

Sombrero Books

As sole proprietor of Sombrero Books, I have overseen the editing and publication of several Mexico-related books by fellow authors, including:

Awards

  • 1988, 1989, 1990 First place on three occasions in the annual ARETUR international competition “The Best of Mexico” for travel articles about the Monarch Butterflies, the State of Jalisco, and the Copper Canyon, respectively.
  • 1989 Winner of Silver Platter awarded by Jalisco State for Best Travel Article about Jalisco.
  • 2024 Awarded the Luis Pérez Verdía gold medal by the Asociación de Cronistas Municipales de Jalisco for contributions to the history of the Lake Chapala area.

Editorial roles

  • 1988–1996 Contributing Editor, Travelmex.
  • 1987–1997 Regional Representative, Traveler’s Guide To Mexico. Responsible for editorial material and advertising sales in Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara, and the Lake Chapala region.
  • 1994–1996 Member of the Travel Mexico Magazine Group Advisory Board.
  • 1992–1995 Contributing Editor, Aeromagazine (Aeromar).
  • 1990–1994 Board Member of ARETUR A.C. (Association of Tourist Reporters and Editors of Mexico).

Memberships

  • IBG-Royal Geographical Society
  • Geographical Association (UK)
  • Hawk’s Club, Cambridge