New Mexico Enchants! Vicky Ramakka

 I am glad to have an opportunity to write about New Mexico, specifically San Juan County in the northwest corner, part of the Four Corners region. San Juan County is tucked up against Arizona on the west and Colorado on the north. It covers more square miles than Delaware and Rhode Island combined, plus another Delaware. From my home just 10 miles from the Colorado border, on a clear day I can see mountains in Colorado to the north and in Arizona to the west. Utah is out of sight range, but only a two-hour drive away. 

Archeological research indicates this area has been occupied for thousands of years by indigenous cultures. Spanish explorers passed through here in the 1600s, with Hispanic homesteader settlements flourishing by the early 1800s. Farmington, the largest town in San Juan County, was largely settled by Mormons migrating from Utah, drawn to the agricultural prospects offered by good river bottom land. The San Juan River, the Animas River and the La Plata River, all originating in Colorado's mountains, flow through San Juan County. Farmington is sometimes called Totah, a Navajo word for where three rivers meet.

Early farmers recognized this potential farmland and named their new settlements Farmington, Fruitland, and Waterflow. Tons of apples and other fruits were shipped by rail to all parts of the country. Few of those orchards remain due to an almost complete shift from agriculture to oil and gas production. Oil and natural gas resources brought a significant wave of growth from the 1930s through 1950s. The early wildcatters and well drilling hands came mainly from Oklahoma and Texas. These settlement patterns give San Juan County a hard-working, blue-collar, get-the-job done reputation.

The Navajo Nation takes up nearly two-thirds of western San Juan County. On the opposite side of the county, lies part of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal reservation, which extends into Colorado. A notable feature on the Navajo Reservation is Ship Rock, the remaining pinnacle of a long-ago eroded volcano. Nearby is the town of Shiprock. While writing my novel, The Cactus Plot, I learned to differentiate the spelling of Ship Rock, the geological feature, from the town's name, Shiprock. This is the value of careful research and asking knowledgeable friends to review a manuscript.


In the Navajo language, Ship Rock is known as Tsé Bitʼaʼí’ meaning "rock with wings." Mystery readers will recognize this expression as the title of Anne Hillerman's second book, Rock With Wings. This five-book series (soon to be six with Stargazer to be released in 2021) carries on the wonderful novels written by her father, Tony Hillerman. Like her father, Anne is a down-to-earth, gracious person who generously supports beginning authors. I can attest to that in bringing my first novel into fruition.

One of my favorite events is the Totah Festival held each year in Farmington, over the Labor Day weekend. This two-day celebration of Native American culture includes pow-

wow dances, art and crafts show and sale, and a woven rug auction. I enjoy munching on roast turkey legs and fry bread and admit that my wallet is sometimes much thinner after the rug auction.

Two world heritage sites, Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument, are located in San Juan County. In addition to these well-known sites, there are hundreds of archeological sites to explore in the back county of northwest New Mexico. I am a volunteer Site Steward for a significant rock art site in Largo Canyon that I have visited nearly twenty times. While the intent of the Site Steward program is to monitor and deter vandalism, I just thoroughly enjoy standing before a cliff face covered with petroglyphs and surrendering to wonder—who made these, what were they communicating, why this spot, what was their world like at the time?

Like myself, the heroine of my novel grew up on the East coast. Also like many folks that have adopted New Mexico as their forever home, she replaces initial perceptions that New Mexico is a barren desert with a fascination for its unique high desert environment and falls in love with its sunsets. My motto is, Life is too short to miss even one New Mexico sunset.

Vicky Ramakka is the author of The Cactus Plot, an environmental mystery with a botanist

heroine who uses knowledge of plant ecology to solve two murders. The story is an entertaining

mystery with the underlying theme of protecting endangered species on public lands. Read

more at Artemesia Publishing http://apbooks.net/cactus.html Message Vicky at

Facebook.com/vrwriting.

"This is a delicious, layered Cozy Mystery/Women Sleuth paperback. …it's an informed cultural

and ecological immersion rolled up in a mystery."—Phaedra Greenwood, enchantment

Magazine

Vicky Ramakka

Aztec, New Mexico

You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind.  Henry David Thoreau

(All info provided and released by author) 

Northern New Mexico: Where My Heart Is--Janie Franz

When most people think of New Mexico, they either think of hot desert country like Arizona. In truth, though the whole state is considered high desert country, it isn’t very much like Arizona except in the far south. Up here in northern New Mexico where I live, you’ll find it a much different landscape with its own ambient charms.

I live on the edge of Santa Fe, in an ancient village community called Agua Fria. Francisco de Madrid started farming the area in 1603, participating in a long history of native peoples who had farmed the flood plains of the Santa Fe River for over 4000 years. Originally the village was called Ca-Tee-Ka by the Tano and Tewa peoples. Both Ca-Tee-Ka and Agua Fria mean Cold Water. It became an official town in 1640, spanning the area around present day Aqua Fria Street, which is part of the original El Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe. The capital city was originally named La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís, the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi.

I live off San Isidro Crossing, along Rivers Edge Lane, a caliche road along the Santa Fe River. There is a Texas crossing along San Isidro Crossing, which means in very wet years like this one you have to ford the river there to get up to Agua Fria Street. The crossing is named for San Isidro Church, which was built in 1835. Because Santa Fe raised its reservoirs in 1945, farming is no longer possible in the village.

Yet here sprang a rich culture and community built upon a different landscape than arid deserts. It is part of a wider grouping of small towns in northern New Mexico. Less than an hour outside of Santa Fe, going east on I-25, is part of the lush Santa Fe National Forest where the Pecos River begins and rushes southward. Here among its stands of pinon pine and burr oak, there is respite from the rushing of city life.  The Santa Fe National Forest encompasses 1.6 million acres around Santa Fe and spreads northward both east and west of the city.

Farther up I-25 is the sprawling city of Las Vegas, NM. At one time it was called Meadow City and was established because of the vital sheep ranching in the region. It was established in 1835 around a single plaza in the traditional Spanish Colonial style.

When the railroad came in, a Harvey House was built near the rail center to accommodate visitors. Harvey Houses were started by Fred Harvey as chain hotels with fine dining restaurants. Though the business has long since closed, it is being restored by the community as a museum.

Las Vegas is a welcoming community that holds a 4 to 5 day fiesta around the 4^th of July. Norteno music is at the heart of this fiesta, often featuring legends such as Al Hurricane, Jr, Chris Arellano, and Carlos Medina.

Northwest of Santa Fe, Route 285 takes you to Espanola where can go further north to Taos, NM. Founded ouside of Taso Pueblo, the city, like Santa Fe is an artist mecca and home of local musicians, including Billy Stewart and his old time banjo. Just outside of Taos lie vast acres of public land where even wild horses roam.

And sometimes you catch a farrier at work, such as Alexander Gavurnik of Circle G Horse Shoeing.

If you take another route out of Espanola, you’ll find pasture lands and wooded mountains around Chama, NM. It boasts steam train excursions throughout the year. Chama is the gateway to Colorado yet offers great hunting, fishing, and camping. It is another idyllic region in northern New Mexico.

So next time you think of New Mexico, consider coming to northern New Mexico. Explore the hospitality of the people, listen to the music, enjoy the great food, and, most of all, breathe the fresh mountain air.

Though my latest book, Ruins Legacy, takes place in Arizona, I am researching a spin-off, a murder mystery, that will start out in Arizona but will be mostly in New Mexico. It’s a whole different genre for me!

Janie Franz comes from a long line of liars and storytellers with deep roots in East Tennessee. Her anthropology degree is a refection of her wide curiosity. She is an author, a professional speaker, the US acquisition editor and a content editor for MuseItUp Publishing, an academic editor, ghostwriter, and reviewer. Previously, she published an online music publication (Refrain Magazine) and was an agent/publicist for a groove/funk band, a radio announcer, a yoga/relaxation instructor, a music festival publicist, and private chef.  She is the author of twelve titles with MUSE, a freelance writing manual, co-author of two wedding how-to books, and a self-help book. Refrain, Book 2 of The Lost Song trilogy, was a Top 10 Finisher, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, 2013 Preditors & Editors Reader Poll. She lives in Santa Fe where she writes fantasy, archaeology thrillers, paranormal, and contemporaries—and can be found on a dance floor.

Links:

Author Page: https://authorjaniefranz.wordpress.com

Muse It Up Author page:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/56-our-authors/authors-f/145-author-43673

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Janie-Franz/e/B00IT45VYY?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1561235297&sr=8-1

(All material provided/released by author)

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)

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)

                                                      ****
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)