New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, and Lynn Crain Plus a Bonus Post

Every state has a saying and I must admit mine has intrigued me for over thirty years. It was in the mid-1980s that I told my husband I wanted to live in New Mexico. See, I’d had been enchanted since I was a child and after a few field trips there with my geology classes, I knew it was the place I wanted to be.

It took me over forty years to fulfill that life-long dream as we did not move here until July of 2016. Yet I can remember driving through New Mexico as a kid as we moved from southern Ohio to

Nevada. At that time, we passed through Albuquerque and I could tell even then it was special.

But the trip that sold me not only on New Mexico but the southwest as a whole was a trip through the area. We stopped at places like Navajo National Monument, Monument Valley, Chaco Canyon – the only place that was in New Mexico and right then I knew there was something very sacred and special about the land of enchantment.

Even more than that, New Mexico is the land of George R.R. Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, the Conquistadors, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Pueblo Indians, the Apaches and more. There is something so special here, that it has been painted, used in movies and fought over since the very first moment that the Spanish stepped onto its soil. History runs deep here and can be seen in every corner – from the plazas in Santa Fe to Taos to the town square in Las Vegas where Longmire was filmed.

When I first moved here, I fretted over not fitting in but I shouldn’t have worried as diversity runs the gamut from foreigners to Native Americans. Of course, the Natives were here when the Spanish came. There is a big difference, and I didn’t realize this when I arrived, between someone with a Spanish heritage versus a Mexican heritage. Those from Spain were mainly from merchant stock until later when a few of the upper class arrived to put their stamp on New Mexico. If your heritage is Mexican, you are actually part of the Native American culture as that’s who was here when the Spanish arrived.

Americans came when Mexico put out the call for settlers. Sure, there were a few of us here before then but it wasn’t until after the War with Mexico and we got Texas and much of the southwest, did our countrymen come in droves. Discrimination was rampant on all sides and no matter what your color or religion here, you were in a minority somewhere in the past. Eventually, the mish-mash came together quite nicely resulting in this wonderful and vast state.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still issues today but there isn’t one place in this world where there aren’t. Someday everyone will take the ideas of the Native Americans and make them our own. There is an inherent oneness with nature and all its bounty according to their philosophy and I have to agree.

I love living in the mountains and am thankful this is where we came. The temperatures average in the low 80s in the summers with the occasional 90s peak. Still, it’s a long way from where we lived in the past as they just have had over 30 days with temps above 105. Even Albuquerque doesn’t have temps that high.

Our house sits on the edge of a mesa, those flat top mountains you read about in Tony Hillerman’s or Craig Johnson’s novels. We look down in a canyon and have been blessed with abundant wild life. I remember the first time my husband told me to slowly come to the kitchen window as there was a buck standing just right outside. We see deer and rabbits almost every day.

Then came the night when I heard something hit our trash can and knew it was big. Next morning, there was trash all over the yard. My husband was on travel and I let him know when we talked that it might have been a bear. He told me that he’d believe it when he saw it. The next weekend after he came home, our dogs went crazy in the back yard and we discovered they’d treed a bear in the yard next door. Yet, my husband wasn’t quite convinced because he thought it was a fluke. The next week, we continued to see garbage dumped and hear neighbors tell us there was a bear about. One night we were walking the dogs at night and two houses down the dogs inside those homes were going nuts. When I commented that I hoped it wasn’t us setting them off, his casual reply, “Maybe it’s the bear in the tree.” I suggested we hightail it back home and he agreed not only with us leaving but that there was a bear in the neighborhood.

And these things are only after two summers! Imagine what it will be like in twenty years…I can’t wait!

Now, I want to introduce you to my latest story. It’s in a very different kind of desert. Here’s the scoop on Escape to Africa:

Take a trip to fascinating, breathtaking, beautiful Africa, without ever leaving your home! These stories will send you on a journey filled with danger, love, and excitement. Travel from Casablanca to Morocco, across the plains of the Serengeti, to the ruins of Carthage, from the desert of Algeria, to the shores of Tripoli. Six international romance authors share spellbinding love stories told across time.

This collection includes romantic suspense, and contemporary, historical, time travel, and paranormal romances by Award-Winning and Multi-Published Authors: Denyse Bridger, Lynn Crain, Alicia Dean, Gemma Juliana, Marie Laval, and Jenny Twist.

Interested yet? Here’s a little more on the stories themselves:

Dangerous Liaison - Historical Romance by Denyse Bridger

In late 1942, Casablanca, liaisons can be deadly, especially those that involve intelligence the Germans are willing to kill for...

A Pirate’s Lady – Time Travel Romance - Lynn Crain

The Pirate’s Lady is a time-travel romance about Amanda Hoskip, a Time Travel Bureau agent, intent on discovering who is tampering with time. But when she’s captured, she must pretend to be the wife of fellow agent and rescuer, Trevor Haines, which seems impossible because he thinks she’s failed her mission.

Dying to Love You - Contemporary Romance with Paranormal Elements by Alicia Dean  

To avoid purgatory, unloving and unlovable Autumn Baines is sent to the Serengeti where she must perform a selfless deed, and find someone to fall in love with her. What she didn't count on was falling in love herself, or that her selfless deed could save a life, but sentence Autumn to eternal damnation.

Treasured Times - Romantic Suspense - Gemma Juliana

Nerissa Noir is a woman with many secrets. Leon Rizzo intends to figure them out, without revealing his own. From the shops of the exotic souk in Tunis to the ancient ruins of Carthage and beyond, deadly mysteries must be solved before time unravels… can they trust each other?

The Ravine of the Wild Woman - Historical Romance by Marie Laval

Algeria, North Africa, 1865.

Lenora Sharp is Azerwal's perfect woman. Brave, determined and unconventional, she is also related to the man who stole his name, his childhood and his identity - the very man and he has vowed to destroy, even if it takes him all the way to hell. Will love get in the way of revenge, or will Azerwal lose his soul before he loses his heart?

An Object of Desire - Romantic Suspense by Jenny Twist

Two students on holiday in Morocco discover that two sinister looking characters are following them. They meet an attractive man who offers to take them to their next destination.  All seems well until one of the girls disappears.

Great your copy today at the wonderful price of just $0.99 here:

Amazon Universal Link ~ myBook.to/EsctoAf

Amazon US ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071GW7WHB

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look into my wonderful state of New Mexico!

I’m offering up 3 fantastic prizes:

Grand Prize ~ copy of Escape to Africa AND one copy of Letterbox Love Stories OR Holiday Magic PLUS something exclusively from New Mexico. The winner  and I will work out the choice.

Next prize ~ copy of Escape to Africa

Last prize ~ copy of Letterbox Love Stories OR Holiday Magic

Leave a comment with a form of contact to enter. 

Award winning author Lynn Crain has done it all in her life. From nursing to geology, her life experiences have added to her detail rich stories. She loves writing full time as she weaves contemporary, fantasy, futuristic and paranormal tales, tame to erotic, for various publishers. Her home is in the desert southwest and she’s just returned from her latest adventure of living in Vienna, Austria while her husband worked his dream job. She loves hearing from her readers at lynncrain@cox.net

Website

http://www.lynncrain.com/

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Crain/e/B00VNP03TE/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/LynnCrainAuthor

(all info provided by Lynn Crain)

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Now Check out This Bonus Post: SouthWest Writers: 

SouthWest Writers (SWW) is an organization devoted to helping both published and unpublished writers improve their craft and further their careers. Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, SWW serves writers of all skill levels in every fiction and nonfiction genre.

SWW had its beginnings in the early 1980s as New Mexico Romance Writers-NMRW- with five members. By 1985, the organization had grown to about 150 members — and NMRW voted to change its name and open the group to writers of all genres.

Take a few minutes to browse the site and learn about their anthology, classes and workshops, and the benefits of membership. If you have any questions, please contact the SWW office. Better yet, visit one of the free, twice-monthly meetings.

If you’re in the area August 5^th, there’s an event that might be of interest. 

Jodi Thomas-HOW TO MAKE CHARACTERS COME ALIVE

Saturday: August 5, 2017    12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Location: New Life Presbyterian Church (after the regular Saturday meeting)
$20 Members, $25 Osher, $30 Non-members

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jodi Thomas will present a hands-on workshop for writers to create characters that will walk off the page. This workshop will also include suggestions on how to write a deeper point of view.

Consider becoming a member.  Membership is $70 a year payable through PayPal. Its a mid-range amount for a year.  That membership gets you discounts to classes, workshops and advertising both on the website and through their electronic newsletter. Those are great advantages and I'm sure there's more to it but, to be honest, the website doesn't point that out as much as I'd like when I look into membership.  Their board is extensive.  If you have questions, click on the contact tab at the top of the site.  http://www.southwestwriters.com
(All info downloaded from SWW site)