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2022 New Releases for SWW Authors #1

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Lynn Barker, Robert D. Kidera, Carol H. March, Karen Meadows, and Lynne Sturtevant represent the diverse membership of SouthWest Writers (SWW) with books published in a variety of genres in 2022. Their new releases couldn’t fit in this year’s interview schedule, but look for 2023 interviews or updates for many of these authors.

A list of interviewed SWW authors with 2022 releases is included at the end of this post.

Futurus Rex (July 2022) by Lynn Barker. In this dark future, the denizens of outposts along primitive trading routes struggle to survive and grow under medieval conditions and the harsh rule of Techno-wizards. One popular young songsayer, Aliena, is encouraged to lead a band of misfits against the oppressors but she feels far from qualified. She needs a strong battle leader and the man awakened in a cave is destined to be that person for he is Arthur, the once and future king. As legend has it, he, along with his faithful knights who rest beside him, will come forth to save his kingdom in its hour of greatest need. Unfortunately, the only one of his beloved knights to survive the long sleep is…the traitorous Modred. Co-written with Star Trek icon Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana.

You’ll find Lynn on IMDb.com and Amazon.

Robert D. Kidera, Tony Hillerman Award Winner and author of the Gabe McKenna Mystery series, brings readers a new thriller in 2022: CHANDLER IS DEAD. An unbalanced killer-for-hire stops during a driving rain to pick up a naked, drugged-out teenage girl hitchhiking on a desolate two-lane highway outside a Colorado ghost town at 3:27 a.m. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? If you’re a fan of Richard Stark/Donald Westlake’s Parker novels, you’ll love this one.

Visit Bob on his Black Range Publishing website, listen to his Black Range Pub podcast, and look for all of his releases on his Amazon author page.

When Spirit Whispers: A Journey of Awakening (January 2022) by Carol H. March is a 2022 New Mexico/Arizona Book Award Winner. Do you struggle with important decisions? Feel depressed or anxious? Get overwhelmed, with no time to create the life you want? To recover, heal, and thrive, say hello to the one who knows you best. Your Wise Inner Guide can lead you to your natural, creative self. It knows your fears, challenges, and your heart’s desire. It can show you how to create a life of meaning and purpose at any age. When Spirit Whispers: A self-guided journal for accessing your intuitive wisdom — the companion workbook — is also available. Inspirational quotes, questions for reflection, and writing prompts invite you to develop an active relationship with your Wise Inner Guide who will lead you to your inner Creative Self.

Find When Spirit Whispers and the self-guided journal on Amazon.

It’s a Tango, Not a War: Dancing with Type 1 Diabetes (May 2022) by Karen Meadows. Are you dancing with your diabetes? Most of us are not. We have been told to go to war with diabetes! But It’s a Tango, Not a War is a book about partnering with T1D (or any kind of diabetes). Do you know what to do to stay well? Do you think you can do it? Do you want to? This book offers humor, empathy and practical recommendations for finding your own way with diabetes and living more easily, even joyfully. Discover current medical guidelines embedded in inspiring stories of how others have met diabetes challenges and triumphed. Think about new routines for living well with what some consider a curse.

You’ll find Karen on KarenMeadowsDiabetes.com. Look for It’s a Tango, Not a War on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Ghost of Walker’s Gap (The Off-Kilter Chronicles Book 2) (April 2022) by Lynne Sturtevant. Visiting homemaker Ginger Stewart doesn’t believe in ghosts — until the spirit of a dead artist materializes in her backseat. New to Walker’s Gap, the most haunted town in West Virginia, Ginger soon discovers ghosts aren’t the only ones disturbing the peace. A mining company wants to strip the surrounding hills of their riches. But they’re searching for treasure in the wrong place. Something much more valuable than coal is hidden beneath the historic town’s brick streets. Ginger teams up with Birdy, an elderly woman with Appalachian magic running through her veins, and Ronnie, an expert in mountain legends and folklore. Can they discover the secret of Walker’s Gap and put its troubled spirits to rest before greed consumes them all?

Visit Lynne on her website LynneSturtevant.com. For all of her books, go to her Amazon author page.

SWW Author Interviews: 2022 Releases

E. Joe Brown
A Cowboy’s Destiny (Artemesia Publishing, August 2022)

Ed Lehner
Grandpa’s Horse and Other Tales (AIA Publishing, March 2022)

Chuck Greaves
The Chimera Club (Tallow Lane Books, May 2022)

Melody Groves
Trail to Tin Town (Five Star Publishing, June 2022)
Before Billy the Kid: The Boy Behind the Legendary Outlaw (Two Dot Publishing, August 2022)

Joyce Hertzoff
Winds of Change (August 2022)

Cassie Sanchez
Embracing the Darkness (October 2022)

Avraham “Avi” Shama
Cyberwars — David Knight Goes To Moscow (3rd Coast Books, May 2022)

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



2021 New Releases for SWW Authors #4

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Linda Davis-Kyle, Mary A. Johnson PhD, Sharon Vander Meer, RJ The Story Guy (RJ Mirabal), Léonie Rosenstiel, and John L. Thompson represent the diverse membership of SouthWest Writers (SWW) with books published in a variety of genres in 2021. Their new releases couldn’t fit in this year’s interview schedule, but look for interviews/updates for most of these authors in 2022.

A list of interviewed SWW authors with 2021 releases is included at the end of this post.

Getting Ready to Write: Reviewing English Grammar (March 2021) by Linda Davis-Kyle. This colorfully illustrated e-book shares a useful, but fun, way to help pre-teens, teens, and beyond teens review grammar, mechanics, and writing basics. It shows beginning writers nine facets of writing they can control to strengthen their courage to write. It also fosters a “Never give up attitude” to help wordsmiths stay on track. Getting Ready to Write is a treasure of supplemental ideas for educators, writing coaches, and homeschoolers to add to their own lesson plans. The activities and exercises will also be handy for parents, grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents, and mentors who are tasked to teach.

Visit Linda on WritingNow.com and on Amazon.

Love and Asperger’s: Jim and Mary’s Excellent Adventure (Atmosphere Press, November 2021) by Mary A. Johnson PhD. What do you do when the man who courted you turns out to be different after marriage? When Jim began to behave strangely, Mary thought she had made a huge mistake. She had fallen in love and left all that was familiar in New Mexico, to marry and move to Oregon with this man she met online. One day, she had a surprising epiphany while doing laundry. How had she missed the obvious cause of his quirky behavior? In this memoir, readers experience the possible unraveling of the marriage ties. The future rests on Jim’s willingness to accept his diagnosis of Asperger’s. Come along on Jim and Mary’s adventures—some fun, some difficult, some comical, but all loving—as they eventually work together to engineer an excellent solution!

You’ll find Mary on her website at MaryAJohnsonPhD.com and on Amazon.

Tapestry: Tales, Essays, Poetry (November 2021), A Collection of Works by Northeastern New Mexico Writers, is edited by SWW member Sharon Vander Meer (who is also a contributor). Tapestry: Tales, Essays, Poetry showcases thirty-two writers and sixty-nine distinct works of poetry and prose, truly weaving a tapestry of life and creativity. There is no duplication, proving once again that the art of writing is as diverse as the people taking up a writing implement or sitting down at a computer, and turning on their imaginations. This first collection from Las Vegas Literary Salon lets us know there are many writers in our communities with stories to tell. We share their stories here with gratitude to those represented in these pages.

Tapestry is available on Amazon. For Sharon’s other releases, visit her Amazon author page.

Trixie: Round Brown Ball of Dog (November 2021) by RJ The Story Guy (aka RJ Mirabal). Trixie’s adventures continue as she learns to have more Dog Fun with her people and looks for new things to do. Then everything is put aside when the Brown Dog takes on an unexpected challenge. Sure, Trixie likes fun, sniffing, walking, running, and playing, but those have to take a back seat for a while. Trixie still can’t talk like you, but she can get across what she wants and how she feels when she grunts, whines, whistles, barks, growls, wags her tail and body while singing her Dog Opera. Fortunately, RJ The Story Guy has interpreted all this for your reading enjoyment. Big things to overcome, toys to chew and tug, new people to bring into her life, places to go, lots of exploring, and a new fantasy adventure await inside.

Visit RJ’s websites at TrixieTheBrownDog.com and RJMirabal.com. Trixie: Round Brown Ball of Dog is available on Amazon.

Protecting Mama: Surviving the Legal Guardianship Swamp (Calumet Editions, November 2021) by Léonie Rosenstiel. Léonie, whose mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, struggles with an implacable, court-appointed guardian against the backdrop of centuries-old family myths and miscommunication. Mama wants their story told, but the courts demand that secrecy enshroud all guardianship records—forever. After years of struggle and Kafkaesque frustration, and with the help of a brilliant, unconventional attorney, Léonie goes to war with the establishment in an attempt to help others find their way through the swamp of legal guardianship.

You’ll find all of Léonie’s books on her Amazon author page.

Monkey Wrench (Truck Stop Book 2, April 2021) by John L. Thompson. George Olsen’s life is one big lie. As a witness in a mob money embezzlement operation turned deadly, he lives within the WITSEC program and has had plenty of trouble adapting to life. Never look back. It’s one of the sacred rules within the WITSEC program. But when he hears an old flame has moved back to New Mexico, he takes a chance and returns to his old stomping grounds only to discover that decision could prove to be fatal. People are looking for the half-million in embezzled mob cash buried somewhere in Torrance County. The same money Olsen and his friend found years earlier, the same money people have died for, and the same money wanted by an army of killers who will stop at nothing to get it.

John L. Thompson also published a nonfiction book, It’s a Lonely World: An Indie Author’s Journey (Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them), in August 2021. Are you the new guy trying to learn this self-publishing gig? Have you tried to self-publish your book and wonder why it has failed to gather sales and reviews? You got a book script, but don’t know where to start? Do you feel like self-publishing will mark you as an amateur? You and thousands of other Indie-Authors are not alone. For decades, the stigma of the term “self-published” has meant bad book covers, bad interior formatting, and a bad story in general. Back in the old days, there were no viable services accessible to the self-publishing author. You were lucky if you knew a guy who knew another guy who was an editor. This is no longer the case.  Thousands of editors, artists, and promoters are out there in the land of the internet to help you. With Amazon publishing thousands of titles per week, there is no reason why you, the Indie-Author, should fail in launching your book with, at the least, moderate returns on your hard work.

Visit John’s Amazon author page for all his releases.

SWW Author Interviews: 2021 Releases

• Jeffrey Candelaria
TORO: The Naked Bull
• Marty Eberhardt
Death in a Desert Garden
• Melody Groves
When Outlaws Wore Badges
• Holly Harrison
Rites & Wrongs
• Robert Kidera
A LONG TIME TO DIE
• BR Kingsolver
Soul Harvest
• Marcia Meier
Face, A Memoir
• Victoria Murata
The Acolyte
• Barb Simmons
The War Within: A Wounded Warrior Romance
• Gina Troisi
The Angle of Flickering Light

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



2021 New Releases for SWW Authors #3

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Valerie Baeza, Parris Afton Bonds, BR Kingsolver, François-Marie Patorni, and Judy Willmore are members of SouthWest Writers (SWW) with 2021 releases that couldn’t fit into this year’s interview schedule. Look for interviews or updates for most of these authors in 2022.

A list of interviewed SWW authors with 2021 releases is included at the end of this post.

Valerie Baeza’s Story of My Life (October 2021) is a gripping epistolary novel that possesses unforgettable characters and impassioned storylines. When the worst happens, how do you move on? Garence Leitner had it all: a meaningful career traveling the world as a writer and photographer, the quintessential cottage in Bourton-on-the-Water, England, and the love of his life, Sabina. Now, with each passing day, the memory of her suffocates him. Even new romantic love delivers misery. Garence has sold the cottage, and can barely stand to look at what were once their prized possessions. But one alluring leftover item does claim his attention: a piece of luggage containing all the letters he and Sabina exchanged. As the letters transport Garence back through five years of emotional highs and lows, he will move into the shadows of despair—where love, hope, and friendship also pervade. Can these letters be his saving grace? If Garence cannot find a reason to live without Sabina within three days, he will take his life.

You’ll find Valerie on her website at ValerieBaezaAuthor.com and on Amazon.

The Betrayers (Lagan Press, May 2021) is the fourth book in The Texicans series by Parris Afton Bonds. Love and hate combine to endanger the Paladíns and all they hold dear. A violent scuffle between Drake Paladín and Roger Clarendon results in a none-too-subtle message to the Paladíns: politics is dirty business. From hereon, the Paladíns suffer failures and sabotage across their many business ventures. Eventually, even the sprawling South Texas ranch the family fought for and won the right to at the Battle of San Jacinto is put in peril. Rallying together to save their ancestral home, the Paladíns put niceties and tolerance behind them. This is war. But the battle to exterminate the Clarendons brings Preston Paladín to pre-war Nazi Germany—and the disarming charms of Fabienne Allaman. But on whose side is she really? And dare he risk the fate of his entire family for the love of a resistance fighter with nothing to lose?

For all of her books, visit Parris on her Amazon author page.

BR Kingsolver’s newest novel, The Gambler Grimoire (August 2021), is the first book in the urban fantasy mystery series Wicklow College of Arcane Arts. When Savanna Robinson arrived at Wicklow College to assume her new teaching position, she was curious about the abrupt departure of her predecessor. Then she discovered he had been murdered. No one knew who killed him or why, but everyone had their theories and suspects. Even the police—arcane and mundane—didn’t seem eager to investigate. But Savanna discovered a possible connection with the murder of a broker of rare arcane books. Were there really spells that could change your luck? When her own life is threatened, and the murders begin to pile up, she knows she can’t leave the mystery unsolved.

Visit the author’s Amazon author page.

The Politician’s Breviary: a Companion to Leaders and Influencers and Those They Seek to Control (French Legacy Press, June 2021), by François-Marie Patorni, is the first translation into English of the seventeenth-century Breviarium politicorum. This nonfiction book draws inspiration from the legacy of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, King Louis XIV’s mentor and prime minister. The original 1684 Latin edition was attributed only to an anonymous author, and subsequent editions over the following decades captivated readers as had Machiavelli’s The Prince a hundred and fifty years earlier. Yet, the Breviary’s principles and maxims that unveil how to achieve and retain power are even more relevant to guide today’s leaders and politicians.

The Politician’s Breviary is available on Amazon.

Judy Willmore’s debut novel,The Menagerie: Passion, Power, and Poison in the Court of the Sun King, was released by Artemesia Publishing in June 2021. Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart had to have Louis, King of France, but his other mistresses stand in the way. Then she meets a  sorceress and Athénaïs gets her wish. But soon Louis hears tales of witchcraft and poison, a conspiracy spreading through his court—like the beasts in the Versailles menagerie, courtesans are clawing their way to his favor, and his bed. He orders Lieutenant General of Police Gabriel-Nicolas de la Reynie to investigate. Mysterious deaths mount while La Reynie presses on, hauling in witches, charlatans, and the nobility alike. Grimey fingers point to Athénaïs, the King’s mistress, with whispers of a black mass celebrated over her naked body. Then La Reynie discovers a plot to kill her.

You’ll find Judy on her website at JudyWillmoreAuthor.com and on Amazon.

Ramblings & Reflections: Winning Words of SouthWest Writers’ 2021 Contest

Ramblings & Reflections includes 54 winning entries from the SWW 2021 writing competition. Inside you’ll encounter aliens, foreign lands, post-apocalyptic environments, supernatural beings, paeans to nature, tributes to the lost, calls to action, wry humor, mysteries to ponder and histories to marvel at. The authors in this volume emote, exhort, evoke, inform, implore, explore, explain, entertain and exorcise. They have engaged in all the best pursuits, which—in the end—are really just one: to look within in order to see more fully without. We hope you, too, will be transported and transformed on the journeys they curate.

Ramblings & Reflections is available on Amazon. For a look at the anthology’s table of contents, go to this page. And visit the SWW Publications page for all of SWW’s releases.

SWW Author Interviews: 2021 Releases

• Jeffrey Candelaria
TORO: The Naked Bull
• Marty Eberhardt
Death in a Desert Garden
• Melody Groves
When Outlaws Wore Badges
• Holly Harrison
Rites & Wrongs
• Robert Kidera
A LONG TIME TO DIE
• BR Kingsolver
Soul Harvest
• Marcia Meier
Face, A Memoir
• Victoria Murata
The Acolyte
• Barb Simmons
The War Within: A Wounded Warrior Romance
• Gina Troisi
The Angle of Flickering Light

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



2021 New Releases for SWW Authors #2

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SouthWest Writers (SWW) is full of authors actively working their dreams. Michael Backus, Darynda Jones, Neill McKee, and Pat Moorman are a few SWW members with new releases for 2021. The releases in this post couldn’t fit into this year’s interview schedule, but look for interviews or updates for most of these authors in 2022.

A list of interviewed SWW authors with 2021 releases is included at the end of this post.

Michael Backus’ newest release, The Vanishing Point (Cactus Moon Publications, September 2021), is about disappearance, trauma and memory, and the possibilities of redemption through a great American road trip and a peek into a mid-western childhood. It is a meditation on Karma and the way we lose and find ourselves over and over again. How did Henry Dolan end up here, heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico? The one place in the world he swore he would never set foot in again—the town where he lost his wife and daughter nearly a decade ago. Maybe it’s the eleven pounds of high-grade weed in the trunk of his car that he can’t sell anywhere else. Maybe it is something much deeper. It is time for him to finally meet his daughter and reckon with the harm he caused. Cadence, now ten, helps Henry open his long locked-away heart, exposing the wounds he has kept concealed. In healing, he finds a mysterious connection between his daughter and his own tragic childhood.

The Vanishing Point is available on Amazon.

Darynda Jones released three books in 2021 with a fourth set to publish in mid-December. In Beguiled (Betwixt & Between Book Three, February 2021), newly indoctrinated witch Defiance Dayne discovers there’s more to life after forty than she’d ever imagined possible. Especially if one is a charmling with enough magics to make her a target for every power-hungry warlock out there. When one of them sends a hunter to town, she knows it’s time to take her talents seriously before the hunter takes her life. The Gravedigger’s Son (1001 Dark Nights Press, May 2021) is a Charley Davidson Novella that follows demon hunter Quentin Rutherford and private investigator Amber Kowalski as they try to stop a supernatural entity before it kills again.

A Good Day for Chardonnay (St. Martin’s Press, July 2021) is book two in the Sunshine Vicram series. All small-town sheriff Sunshine Vicram really wants is one easy-going day. The kind that starts with coffee and a donut and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. Moonlight and Magic is the fourth book in the Betwixt & Between series. Available for pre-order, it will release on December 17, 2021. Darynda also has several other books on pre-order set to release in 2022.

For all of her books, visit her website at Darynda.com and her Amazon author page.

Kid on the Go! (August 2021) is Neill McKee’s third work of creative nonfiction. The memoir is a standalone prequel to his award-winning Finding Myself in Borneo. In this new book, McKee takes readers on a journey through his childhood, adolescence, and teenage years from the mid-40s to the mid-60s. McKee’s vivid descriptions, dialog, and self-drawn illustrations are a study of how a young boy learned to play and work, fish and hunt, avoid dangers, cope with death, deal with bullies, and to build or restore “escape” vehicles. The author recalls his exploding hormones, attraction to girls, rebellion against authority, and survival of 1960s’ “rock & roll” culture, emerging on the other side as a youth leader. He describes his intensely searching university years, trying to decide which career path to follow. Except for a revealing postscript, the story ends when he accepts a volunteer teaching position on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.

Visit NeillMckeeAuthor.com and his Amazon author page for all of his books.

Pat Moorman’s debut mystery novel, Mad Beach, was released in September of 2021. For Claire Chapman, life in Florida in the 1970s is anything but boring as she spends her days managing the employees of a Publix delicatessen and finessing the art of dealing with some of the deli’s quirkier customers. And though her work-life may be hectic at times—especially around the holidays—she’s happy, spending her nights at home with her cats, wondering what shenanigans her beloved husband, Matt, will get into after work. But when her normal life takes a sudden turn following the disappearance of one of her employees, Claire is determined to find out what happened to her, not knowing the potential cost.

Mad Beach is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

SWW Author Interviews: 2021 Releases

• Jeffrey Candelaria
TORO: The Naked Bull
• Marty Eberhardt
Death in a Desert Garden
• Melody Groves
When Outlaws Wore Badges
• Holly Harrison
Rites & Wrongs
• Robert Kidera
A LONG TIME TO DIE
• BR Kingsolver
Soul Harvest
• Marcia Meier
Face, A Memoir
• Victoria Murata
The Acolyte
• Barb Simmons
The War Within: A Wounded Warrior Romance
• Gina Troisi
The Angle of Flickering Light

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



2021 New Releases for SWW Authors #1

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Joseph Badal, Kirt Hickman, Shirley Raye Redmond, and the writing team of Sandi Hoover and Jim Tritten represent the diverse membership of SouthWest Writers (SWW) with books published in a variety of genres in 2021. Their new releases couldn’t fit in this year’s interview schedule, but look for interviews/updates for most of these authors in 2022.

A list of interviewed SWW authors with 2021 releases is included at the end of this post.

Joseph Badal’s newest release, The Carnevale Conspiracy (Suspense Publishing, July 2021), is the seventh installment in his Danforth Saga. Bob and Liz Danforth are on the vacation of a lifetime—Venice, Italy during Carnevale. But, when they are caught up in the diabolical actions of a secret organization, patterned after the 11th Century’s Hashashiyan, or Order of Assassins, their trip becomes a nightmare of herculean proportion. The Carnevale Conspiracy is an epic tale that brings together international intelligence agencies; a cadre of assassins inspired by a 900-year-old sect and their leader, the Old Man of the Mountain; a global assassination campaign that targets Western leaders; an intrepid MOSSAD agent; and a cast of heroic characters and evil traitors.

You’ll find all of Joe’s books on his Amazon author page.

Assassins’ Prey (February 2021) is book two in Kirt Hickman’s Age of Prophecy series. The great seer Ageus Mortaan foretold the coming of the Age of Darkness, the rise to power of the forces of evil, and the extermination of the civilized races: humans, elves, and dwarves. As the Age of Prophecy saga continues, Nick Mirrin and his friends escape the clutches of the king of Trondor. Together they flee into the uncharted expanse of the Wild Lands, seeking a talisman that will enable them to stand against the Dark Master of Mortaan’s Prophecy. Every step of the way, they’re pursued by: the Chosen of the Master; mercenaries hired by the king; their old nemeses, the Black Hand bandits; and demons specifically designed to be relentless hunters and extraordinary assassins. Nick’s hopes give way to doubt and his gambits become ever more desperate as he and his friends become assassins’ prey.

Visit Kirt’s Amazon author page for all of his books.

In 2021, award-winning author Shirley Raye Redmond published three children’s books in the Read-It! Readers series through Picture Window Books. In Pup’s Prairie Home, Pup doesn’t want to live in a prairie dog hole anymore. It’s deep and dark. Will a hungry, screeching hawk change his mind? In The Princesses’ Lucky Day, Princess May and Princess June are on a hunt for something special. Will they get lucky and find what they are looking for? And in The Princess and Her Pony, it is race day, and little Princess Shy and her tiny pony, Star, are ready to go. The other princesses laugh, but Shy and Star have a plan. Can they win the big race?

You’ll find Shirley Raye on her Amazon author page.

Sandi Hoover and Jim Tritten published their sixth collaboration, Panama’s Gold: A Tale of Greed (Red Penguin Books), in August 2021. Chinese gangs are running investments and infrastructure development in Panama. Lanny Mitchell, a youthfully-retired American environmental lawyer as the antagonist, revisits Panama, to test her idea of becoming a resident ex-pat. She unexpectedly encounters ecological issues and the activities of the gangs. A dormant volcano leaks poisonous gases that kill local fowl and threatens humans. Spanish gold and artifacts are linked to events while the Panama Canal was being excavated with hints at government coverups explaining Yellow Fever that caused massive deaths during construction. Chinese attempts to capitalize on the opportunity to corner the world rare-earth market are thwarted by Lanny and local Panamanians. They want Panama to retain its ownership of the valuable rare-earth and Spanish gold.

Visit Sandi’s Amazon author page and Jim’s Amazon author page.

SWW Author Interviews: 2021 Releases

• Jeffrey Candelaria
TORO: The Naked Bull
• Marty Eberhardt
Death in a Desert Garden
• Melody Groves
When Outlaws Wore Badges
• Holly Harrison
Rites & Wrongs
• Robert Kidera
A LONG TIME TO DIE
• BR Kingsolver
Soul Harvest
• Marcia Meier
Face, A Memoir
• Victoria Murata
The Acolyte
• Barb Simmons
The War Within: A Wounded Warrior Romance
• Gina Troisi
The Angle of Flickering Light

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



2020 New Releases for SWW Authors #1

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François-Marie Patorni, Donna Pedace, Shirley Raye Redmond, and Jasmine Tritten represent a few of the nonfiction authors among the diverse membership of SouthWest Writers (SWW). The new releases in this post couldn’t fit into the 2020 interview schedule, but look for interviews/updates for these authors in 2021.

A list of previously interviewed SWW authors with 2020 releases is included at the end of this post.

François-Marie Patorni’s The French in New Mexico: Four Centuries of Exploration, Adventure, and Influence (April 2020) is the first history of the French in New Mexico. In the book, the author chronicles the lives of French-speaking people from France, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Africa, and the Caribbean Islands; of people with French ancestry who retained some of their French culture; and of people with strong connections to France. The book traces their presence in New Mexico from the 1500s to present times. It tells the stories of influential, unusual, or colorful characters, and those who are not as well-remembered — explorers, adventurers, fur trappers and traders, soldiers, merchants, priests, farmers and ranchers, business people, scientists, artists, actors, politicians, lawyers, criminals, women of note, intellectuals, and other influencers in society.

Visit François-Marie’s website FrenchInNewMexico.com.

Scandalous Women Of The Old West: Women Who Dared To Be Different (September 2020), by Donna Pedace, profiles ten amazing women who lived in the Old West. They dared to step outside the traditional roles of wife and mother, and left society’s conventions behind them. These women engaged in a wide range of interests and professions, and their stories will inspire and entertain. They overcame incredible odds to make a place for themselves in their chosen world, despite the sometimes strong objections of both men and women. Each blazed new trails for women who would come after them.

Visit Donna’s Amazon author page.

Award-winning author Shirley Raye Redmond’s newest nonfiction release is Brave Heroes and Bold Defenders: 50 True Stories of Daring Men of God (Harvest House Publishers, 2020). In the book, readers will meet men who have used their God-given talents to live out their faith to the fullest. The fifty featured defenders of the faith have made a profound impact on the world around them, and in many cases changed the course of history. These inspiring profiles will captivate kids’ imaginations and encourage them to discover their own gifts and how they can use them to glorify God.

You’ll find Shirley Raye at ShirleyRayeRedmond.com and on her Amazon author page.

In August 2020, Jasmine Tritten published her travel memoir On the Nile with a Dancing Dane, and it soon became a #1 New Release in Travel Egypt on Amazon.com. In this adventurous memoir, filled with mystery and surprises, she explores the land of the pharaohs and overcomes challenges and obstacles while following her love for dance and the Egyptian culture. Original artwork and photos are by the author. “Underneath the black and gold glittery outfit, danced a blonde, blue-eyed Danish Viking woman with a Middle-Eastern soul.”

Visit Jasmine on Facebook and her Amazon author page.

Seeing the World in 20/20: A SouthWest Writers Anthology of Award-Winning Stories

The year 2020 fits Confucius’ curse of “May you live in interesting times.” As the premier writers association in the southwestern part of the country, SouthWest Writers is all about writers helping writers succeed. The SWW annual writing contest is open to anyone and provides challenges for poets and authors. Seeing the World in 20/20 contains award-winning entries from each contest category: Biography/Memoir, Humor, Social Consciousness, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Mystery, Animals, Philosophy, Historical Fiction, and more.

Visit the SWW Publications page for all the organization’s releases.

SWW Author Interviews: 2020 Releases

Connie Flores
• Our Fascinating Life: The Totally Accidental Trip 1979
Sue Houser
• Wilmettie
BR Kingsolver
• Knights Magica
Dr. Barbara Koltuska-Haskin
• How My Brain Works: A Guide to Understanding It Better and Keeping It Healthy
Manfred Leuthard
• Broken Arrow: A Nuke Goes Missing
Shirley Raye Redmond
• Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God
J.R. Seeger
• A Graveyard for Spies
Lynne Sturtevant
• Hometown: Writing a Local History or Travel Guide and The Collaboration Kit
Patricia Walkow
• New Mexico Remembers 9/11

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



More 2019 New Releases for SWW Authors

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Authors RJ Mirabal, Don Morgan, Robin Perini, and Vicki Turpen represent the diverse membership of SouthWest Writers (SWW) with 2019 releases in the genres of children’s books, mystery, romantic suspense, and science fiction. Look for interviews or updates for these authors in 2020.

A list of previously interviewed SWW authors with 2019 releases is included at the end of this post.

Trixie Finds Her People, written by RJ the Story Guy (aka RJ Mirabal), tells the story of Trixie the Brown Dog. This mama dog is rescued from a situation where she and her puppies were part of a hoard of 23 dogs. After her puppies are adopted, she joins a girl and her grandparents as her new family. At first, everything is new: living indoors in her new home, learning to potty outdoors, getting the occasional bath (not fun!), and being locked in the laundry room at night (really not fun!). Soon Trixie and her people’s lives turn into a series of wonderful, humorous, and sometimes scary adventures. In addition to her real life, Trixie embarks on three fantasy adventures while she sleeps. In the end it’s all about the bond of love between a rescue dog and her true forever family. Available on Amazon.

Visit RJ’s websites at TrixieTheBrownDog.com and RJMirabal.com. Read his 2015 interview and 2017 interview update.

The Voxlightner Scandal is book six in the BJ Vinson Mystery series written by Don Travis (SWW member Don Morgan). No good deed goes unpunished, as investigator BJ Vinson is about to discover. Writer John Pierce Belhaven was murdered before he could reveal the name of another killer—one connected to the biggest scandal to rock Albuquerque in years. Two of the city’s most prominent citizens—Barron Voxlightner and Dr. Walther Stabler—vanished in 2004, along with fifty million dollars looted from Voxlightner Precious Metals Recovery Corp. BJ agrees to help novice detective Roy Guerra reopen the old case which the wealthy and influential Voxlightner family doesn’t want dredged up. But Belhaven was part of their family, and that connection could’ve led to his murder. Or did the sixty-year-old author die because of a sordid sexual affair? Available on Amazon.

You’ll find Don on his website at DonTravis.com. Read his 2018 and 2019 interviews.

Robin Perini’s Forgotten Legacy is the second release in the Singing River series published by Montlake Romance (2019). Forgotten secrets. Forgotten lies. A family legacy…A determined killer. On the outskirts of Singing River, Wyoming, a couple dies in a fire that ravages their remote mountain home. Everyone believes it’s a tragic accident—except FBI profiler Riley Lambert. She isn’t convinced, and neither is her fiancé, ex-Navy SEAL turned sheriff Thayne Blackwood. When they discover that the couple’s daughter is missing, Riley’s dark memories of her own sister’s kidnapping ratchet up the urgency to find the girl—before it’s too late. Dodging danger, they follow a tangled web of clues pointing to a forgotten secret that Thayne’s Alzheimer’s-stricken grandmother holds dear. But when their deadly investigation veers too close to home and brings a twisted killer to Riley’s and Thayne’s doorsteps, can they save those they love and stop the murderer before time runs out? Available on Amazon.

Last Stand in Texas, by Robin Perini, was released by Harlequin Intrigue in early 2019. Two people whose dangerous pasts are never far behind… Will their secrets catch up to them? Stranded in small-town Texas, desperate to keep her daughter from her serial-killer ex, Faith Thomas must rely on covert operative Léon Royce. But he, too, is on the run, hiding his real identity and denying his real attraction to Faith. Protecting her and Zoe becomes his mission…one he’ll risk his life—and heart—for. Available on Amazon.

Visit Robin’s website at RobinPerini.com and read her 2016 interview.

The Delicate Balance is a post-apocalyptic thriller written by Vicki Turpen and Shannon Horst. The Earth is dying—its life forms bound for extinction—unless the most fundamental of changes is made: Carbon-based fuels must be abandoned. Chaos results—migrating hordes of starving people, abandoned hospitals and prisons (patients and inmates still inside), and deserted cities where only cockroaches still live. But then Jesse Forester, the U.N. scientist responsible for the changes that survival demands, finds hints that the data at the core of the new global policy may be flawed. And murders start happening. Rushing headlong into a frantic search for the truth, Jesse and his team discover pockets of people who are living rich and satisfying lives in Eden-like landscapes without any use of carbon fuels. As the plotters Jesse is seeking become more desperate, can these flourishing communities help avert humanity’s slow death from the poisonous fruits of climate change growing at its doorstep? Available on Amazon.

SWW Author Interviews (2019 Releases)

Sherri L. Burr • Complicated Lives: Free Blacks in Virginia, 1619-1865
Kit Crumpton • Please Send Ketchup: WWII Letters from a B-29 Pilot
C. Joseph Greaves (Chuck Greaves) • Church of the Graveyard Saints
Scott Archer Jones • And Throw Away the Skins
Jacqueline Murray Loring • Vietnam Veterans Unbroken: Conversations on Trauma and Resiliency
Neill McKee • Finding Myself in Borneo: Sojourns in Sabah
Sharon Vander Meer • Thunder Prime Hunter’s Light
Don Morgan • Abaddon’s Locusts

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



2019 New Releases for SWW Authors

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Joseph Badal, Parris Afton Bonds, Susan Cooper, Randy Cooper, and Elaine Carson Montague are just a few authors who represent the diverse membership of SouthWest Writers (SWW). The new releases in this post cover different genres—suspense, historical romance, an anthology of short works, and memoir. Look for interviews or author updates for these authors in 2020.

A list of previously interviewed SWW authors with 2019 releases is included at the end of this post.

Bestselling author Joseph Badal delivers Justice (Suspense Publishing, 2019), the third in his Curtis Chronicles series, with the same relentless tension that is a trademark of his award-winning suspense novels. As with all of Badal’s novels, Justice is a bold and complex thriller. It weaves an intricate plot involving multiple international locations, a human trafficking organization, the CIA, Special Operations, corrupt politicians, Bulgarian organized crime figures, Swiss bankers, and a compelling cast of engaging, inspiring, and diabolical characters. The Curtis Chronicles is an epic series that delves into the age-old conflict between good and pure evil, where each book leaves you begging for more. Available on Amazon.

Homicide detective partners Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez return in Natural Causes (Suspense Publishing, 2019), Joseph Badal’s third novel in the Lassiter/Martinez Case Files series. Called in to investigate a mysterious death in a retirement center, Lassiter and Martinez find themselves entangled in a case that might very well involve multiple murders committed by a psychopathic killer. The deeper they get into their investigation, the more complex and dangerous the case becomes, threatening the lives of the detectives and their loved ones. Joseph Badal offers up another suspenseful tale with twists and turns that will keep the reader on a roller coaster ride of drama, action, and emotion from the first to the last page. Available on Amazon.

Visit Joe’s website JosephBadalBooks.com and Amazon author page, and read his 2016 and 2018 interviews.

Before there was New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, or Utah, there was Texas. Molded by Old Mexico and a new rough and ready breed of hearty settlers from around the world, The Lone Star Republic was the thing of dreams—land, riches, liberty, home. With the first volume of her highly addictive Texicans saga, The Brigands (Lagan Press, 2019), New York Times bestselling author Parris Afton Bonds brings us the riveting tale of four wayward souls colliding on the eve of revolution. From the shadow of the Alamo to the bloody fields of San Jacinto, their lives and loves, hopes and allegiances, will be tested in ways none of them could ever imagine. Fast-paced and tightly-plotted, The Brigands is a triumph of historical romantic fiction that will leave readers breathless. Available on Amazon.

When the Heart Is Right (Lagan Press, 2019) by Parris Afton Bonds: When Washington D.C. socialite Alessandra O’Quinn is diagnosed with tuberculosis, she must leave everything she knows to seek a cure in the dry desert air of New Mexico. In her new home, Alessandra meets the local Taos Indians and shaman Manuel Mondragon. As she learns how to heal her body, she finds herself fighting to save her true self, as well as her heart. She soon joins the fight against the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the rights to Blue Lake, where the tribe believes their ancient culture was created out of the sacred waters. Set in 1920s New Mexico, this is a story of politics, male domination, racism, and love against all odds. Available on Amazon.

You’ll find a list of Parris’ publications on her SWW Author Page. Visit her website at ParrisAftonBonds.com and read her 2015 interview.

SWW members Susan Cooper and Randy Cooper are two (of seven) contributors to Lost Echoes Found: An Anthology of Speculations and Memories. Are you looking for stories that will make you laugh or cry or cringe—or wonder? Lost Echoes Found, written and published by the group Lost Echoes, Albuquerque Writers, includes poetry, memoir, and stories for all ages, ranging from science fiction and fantasy to thriller, from horror to ghost stories. You’ll find an alien who looks like a giant grasshopper, a pirate story, an imaginary friend who’s real (and scary), a canine ghost, and a true feel-good story about Parisians. Available on Amazon.

Connect with Lost Echoes, Albuquerque Writers on Facebook and their website LostEchoesAlbuquerqueWriters.com. Read Susan’s 2015 interview.

Elaine Carson Montague and husband Gary Ted Montague’s debut Victory From The Shadows (ABQ Press, 2019) celebrates the human spirit with this true story of love by authors who understand the complexities of being a child who needs educational modifications. Courageous love of a mother. Encouraging love of a teacher. Unselfish love of volunteers. Enduring love of a wife. Pull on Gary’s cowboy boots to see his world with low vision as he abruptly leaves his farm home at age eight and enrolls in a residential school for the blind. With one train ride, his life changes forever. The darkness frightens Gary when he hears Mom’s footsteps fade away. Available on Amazon.

Visit Elaine’s website at ElaineMontague.com.

SWW Author Interviews (2019 Releases)

Sherri L. Burr • Complicated Lives: Free Blacks in Virginia, 1619-1865
Kit Crumpton • Please Send Ketchup: WWII Letters from a B-29 Pilot
C. Joseph Greaves (Chuck Greaves) • Church of the Graveyard Saints
Scott Archer Jones • And Throw Away the Skins
Jacqueline Murray Loring • Vietnam Veterans Unbroken: Conversations on Trauma and Resiliency
Neill McKee • Finding Myself in Borneo: Sojourns in Sabah
Sharon Vander Meer • Thunder Prime Hunter’s Light
Don Morgan • Abaddon’s Locusts

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



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