Sunbelt Publications in El Cajon, known as one of East County’s best-loved places among local book-lovers recently threw a party at its ‘28th Annual Open House’ for published authors and friends. Owners Diana and Lowell Lindsay hosted the bountiful holiday event in their warehouse.
Sunbelt Publications in El Cajon, known as one of East County’s best-loved places among local book-lovers recently threw a party at its ‘28th Annual Open House’ for published authors and friends. Owners Diana and Lowell Lindsay hosted the bountiful holiday event in their warehouse.
Guests were treated to gallons of chili, plates of crackers, cheese and cookies, bottles of soft drinks, beer and wine—plus several author presentations. The line-up of authors included Jon Rebman, author of “Baja California Plant Field Guide,” Nick Clapp, author, “Gold and Silver in the Mojave, and Todd Wirths, author, “Picacho and the Cargo Muchachos.”
Gary Winters, a La Mesa resident, author of “The Deer Dancer” had the winning raffle ticket for a huge gift basket of books and food. For Winters, it was one more reminder of
the Lindsays’ generosity.
“Sunbelt knows how to throw a party: start with fifty pounds of Diana’s eclectic chili, stirring in lots of book people,” said Winters.
“I chose Sunbelt for publishing my book ‘The Deer Dancer,’ rather than a New York bloodless corporation because I am not kidding—everyone at Sunbelt loves me, and I love them back,” said Winters, ‘ whose novel tells the story of a Yaqui Indian boy on a journey to find his father in Mexico’s second largest city.
La Mesa resident Philip Pryde, author of “San Diego: An Introduction to the Region,” was among the guests enjoying the mingling and nosh. Pryde is yet another writer who has garnered success, thanks to Sunbelt’s attentive service.
“My book is in its 4th edition, and I have Sunbelt to thank,” said Pryde. He had penned the first edition in 1976. The book has been widely used in colleges and universities, particularly for geography and city-planning courses.
The Lindsays have a particular fondness for authors who love and write about ‘Planet Earth and its people’.
Lowell Lindsay is past president of the San Diego Association of Geologists (SDAG). Lindsay stays in close contact with SDAG, which is how he already knew Todd Wirths, current president of SDAG.
Wirths’ book details a fascinating journey through the old mine camps in the Chocolate Mountains north of Yuma, Arizona. Along with Wirths, the Lindsays are personal friends of Gary Girty, the Chair of the Geology Department at San Diego State University (SDSU).
“Girty was my mentor at SDSDU, and Lowell Lindsay has been another one of my encouragers,” Wirths said.
Based on their mutual passion for the desert, mountain and wild lands, the Lindsays originally opened Sunbelt Books in 1966. Diana Lindsay’s Master’s Thesis from SDSU was on the Anza-Borrego Desert; her research was published by Copley Books in 1973 as a book, “Our Historic Desert.” Most recently,
Lowell Lindsay, the CEO of Sunbelt Publications, majored in geology at the University of California Los Angles (UCLA), and went on to West Texas A&M University, where he received a Master’s Degree in Political Science, specializing in Environmental Education. Between the two of them, the Lindsays embrace the landscapes of Southern California, Baja and the American Southwest.
The Lindsays co-authored “Anza-Borrego Desert Region, which is now in its 5th edition. Diana Lindsay most recently wrote “Ricardo Brecedia: Accidental Artist,” an account of the late sculpture artist of the public “Sky Art” in Anza-Borrego’s wide-open spaces.
The Lindsays’ business was officially incorporated as Sunbelt Publications in 1988, publishing and distributing everything from children’s books, titles in natural science and outdoor guidebooks, regional references, and stories that celebrate the diversity of the land and its people.
Sunbelt Publications is located at 1256 Fayette Street in El Cajon. Shopping is available in the warehouse, as well as online at www.sunbeltbook.com.
