I'm sitting in LAX waiting for my flight back home after a whirlwind four days with National Geographic at the TCA summer press tour in Beverly Hills. I got to meet the most incredible, kind, and genuine people with the Channel, and was privileged to meet the people involved in all of NatGeo's new shows coming up this fall.
The presentation for "Border Wars" was brief (each show only had 20 minutes to answer questions from the press), but it was a huge success. There were six of us on the panel (which is larger than average), including Nick Stein (series producer) and Natalia Baldwin (his field producer), USBP Agent Justin De La Torre, CBP media liaison Bill Anthony, and BELO-TV border reporter Angela Kocherga. We all got a chance to speak, and the press asked some good questions. Here's a photo of our panel:
In addition to prepping and doing our own thing, we got to support (and be supported by) producers and cast of really cool upcoming NatGeo shows like "Rocket City Rednecks," "Mad Scientist," and "Men of WILD." Where else would I get to hang with people who have multiple PhDs and do crazy experiments to advance scientific understanding, crocodile wranglers, and deadly animal experts? Here's a photo of me with some of the "Men of WILD" you'll see on NatGeo in the fall:
On a personal note, my publisher had 100 advance copies of Cartel printed out exclusively for this event, and I'm thrilled to say that not a single copy remained on the table when the journalists were done picking up their NatGeo freebies. I also gave out dozens of book promo cards to people who told me they really wanted the book, which was exciting! The TV star sightings were pretty cool, and I was able to get photos with actors from "Entourage," "Friday Night Lights," "True Blood," and a few others.
Bottom line, this trip has made me into a die-hard NatGeo supporter, and I'm super excited about the upcoming season of "Border Wars"! Please check it out when the third season premieres in September...I promise you won't be disappointed.
Sylvia ... it's gonna' be tough to get your feet back on the ground and re-join the real world. You know - that place where middle class American families are becoming an extinct species. By the way, do you want us to mail you a coupon for a dinner special at Del Taco??
P.
Posted by: P | July 29, 2011 at 02:57 PM
And yeah ... I was kidding above. :-)
(except about the middle class becoming extinct).
Good luck with your book !!!
P.
Posted by: P | August 01, 2011 at 02:59 PM
LOL! Thanks, P :).
Posted by: Sylvia Longmire | August 01, 2011 at 03:02 PM
Can't wait to see the Natgeo series and I have been a long time fan of this website. I can't wait. Sylvia, you've done a great job in keeping me informed as I continue my studies on the Mexican Drug War. Best of luck and continue the hard work! Well deserved.
Posted by: Jesus E. Gonzalez | August 26, 2011 at 08:43 PM
@Jesus - Thank you so much!!
Posted by: Sylvia Longmire | August 26, 2011 at 08:44 PM