Flashback to 2011: The Romance of New Mexico with Jeannine Van Eperen

New Mexico, daughter of Spain, your enchantment remains is the first line in a song my sister, Shirley Jansson, wrote to describe her feelings for our state. Years later, when I decided to write an adventure romance story about the early Spanish settlers, and particularly those who settled in and around Santa Fe in the early sixteen hundreds, the words and the beautiful melody filled my head. Daughter of Spain remains one of my favorite books. It was a joy to research and to write about that period in the history of New Mexico.

New Mexico is filled with high mountains and deep verdant valleys, as well as deserts and mesas. I believe it has the best weather in the nation, but that doesn’t mean that it never gets cold or rainy, but the cold season is short, and most often the inhabitants pray for an occasional rain. The wind can blow. Dust storms do occur, but the bright cloudless blue skies are most prevalent. New Mexico is filled with interesting places to visit besides Santa Fe where one can soak up a lot of history. The country’s oldest residence is located in Santa Fe as are several historical and mystical churches and the legendary La Fonda Hotel.

As nice and romantic as the Santa Fe Old Town Plaza is, I’ve always preferred that of Albuquerque, the state’s largest city. The Old Town Plaza of Albuquerque is bordered by Central Avenue (Route 66) and Rio Grande Blvd. A lot of the buildings as well as the church have been there forever, it seems. I never tire of strolling around the plaza and taking in the stores that sell souvenirs, clothing, paintings, jewelry and so forth. There are many restaurants, most of which feature authentic New Mexican specialties. On the east side of Albuquerque you’ll find the Sandia Mountains where one can ride up to the peak via a tram. Atop the mountain is a wonderful restaurant where you can dine while overlooking the city, an especially beautiful sight as the sun sets and the city lights glimmer. My general fiction novels Albuquerque and You Can Bank on It are set in the 1950s with characters that work at the Duke City National Bank. Albuquerque was named after Spain’s Duke of Alburquerque. Highway to Love, is the romance of a female truck driver living just outside the city limits. Rose of the Rio Grande is a romance set in a fictional Pueblo village in New Mexico during the 1930s. Interlude and No Escape from Love are contemporary romances also set in small mountains villages. Gunfight at Whiskey Creek, an Amazon short, is a historical western set in Las Vegas, New Mexico. In my paranormal romance Golden-Rod I took on the task of describing the Carlsbad Caverns and what happens when an earthquake hits and a young woman finds herself sealed off alone with a mysterious male. All my books are on amazon.com and can be found on my publishers’ sites http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Jeannine-Van-Eperen/2117938377

I’ve published twenty-nine novels, some short stories and

articles. My husband and I traveled a lot and I love to use places where I’ve been, such as France, Portugal, England and Puerto Rico. My latest book Gigolo takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Hollywood, California area; and Dubuque, Iowa. A complete listing and information on my work is on my web site https://www.facebook.com/jeannine.vaneperen I hope you’ll visit the website and also grow to love New Mexico as much as I when you read one of my books. It is a lovely setting. Adios for now, Jeannine

(first published 2011-view New Mexico archives for original post)