Genre:
Creative Nonfiction, Humor, Love Stories, Memoir
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Bio
Lynne Sebastian is a retired archaeologist with a PhD in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. She carried out research and excavation projects throughout the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, specializing in the archaeology of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Later in her career, she shifted her focus from archaeological research to preservation of the archaeological sites that contain an irreplaceable record of life in the past, serving first as the New Mexico State Archaeologist and later as the State Historic Preservation Officer.
Ultimately, she became a consultant, working nationwide on difficult issues of historic preservation and the management of historic and prehistoric places, and in 2013 she was appointed by President Obama to serve as an expert member of the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. From 2003 to 2005, she was the president of the Society for American Archaeology, and from 2012 to 2014, she served as president of The Register of Professional Archaeologists.
After a long career of publishing books, research papers, and journal articles on archaeology and historic preservation, in retirement she has discovered the joy of creative writing. Describing herself as a storyteller rather than a writer, she has published her first novel, One Last Cowboy Song, and an award-winning short story in Ramblings & Reflections, the SouthWest Writers 2021 contest winners volume. She is currently completing a memoir volume about a very special archaeological project in which she and her husband participated in 1981.
Books
Title: The House of Ravens: An Archaeological Reminiscence
Published: RMK Publications 2024
Genre: Archeological Memoir
“You’re an archaeologist? That must be so exciting!” Archaeologists hear this often. I’m always tempted to respond, “Mostly what we do is get hot, cold, dirty, tired, hungry, and lost. And then we get the truck stuck.” But there is more to it than that, of course. Those of us who have lived intimately with the deserts and canyons of the Southwest, who have reached back across time and touched the remnants of lives lived long ago share a special bond.
“The House of Ravens is a lightly fictionalized account of three months in the lives of a small team of archaeologists camped in a remote part of the Navajo Indian Reservation while excavating ancient sites soon to be destroyed by a strip mine. Sebastian sensitively and realistically portrays the human story of a field crew as it is intertwined with the archaeological story being revealed by their investigations. If you are one of those people who wish they had gone into archaeology and wonder what it would really be like, or if you are just looking for a well-told story with interesting characters, this book is for you.”
Keith Kintigh
Emeritus Professor of Anthropology
Arizona State University
The House of Ravens is now available on Amazon in print and ebook form.
Title: One Last Cowboy Song
Published: RMK Publications 2023
Genre: Western Fiction
One Last Cowboy Song is a finalist in two categories of the 2023 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards.
English professor Amanda Payne and rancher Virgil Ames were unlikely ever to meet and even less likely to fall in love, but they do both. For a time, they share a life of tenderness, laughter, and passion. Both Virgil and Amanda carry scars from long-ago tragedies, however, and after a sudden change in Virgil’s life, the legacy of those tragedies drives them apart. Their story of love and joy, loss and reconciliation plays out against the magnificent backdrop of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, the sweet harmonies of country and western music, and the kindness of true friends.
Available for Sale
Anthologies
Title: Mosaic Voices (The 2024 SWW Winners Anthology)
Publisher: Independently published (September 8, 2024)
“An Unsolicited Testimony”
♦ 2nd Place: Memoir – General
The latest SWW anthology Mosaic Voices features the award-winning prose and poetry from the 2024 SWW Writing Contest. This year we had over 400 entries in twenty-five categories from talented writers and artists eager to share their work. Our winning entries came from all over the country and beyond. The writers are from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and education. Like the pieces of a mosaic, these voices come together in beautiful patterns that enrich each other while also maintaining their own identity. Enjoy this mosaic of voices!
Available for Sale
Title: Woven Pathways: The 2023 SouthWest Writers Winners Anthology
Publisher: Independently published (September 6, 2023)
“Retribution”
♦ Honorable Mention: Short Stories, General
“One Last Cowboy Song”
♦ 2nd Place: Opening Pages of a Novel, Published, General
SouthWest Writers has released a new collection of award winning prose and poetry highlighting the talents of both experienced and novice wordsmiths. This delightful anthology weaves together diverse genres and viewpoints to bring you an eclectic mix of humor, pathos, and intrigue. These pieces were all winners in the 2023 SWW annual writing contest. This year’s contest includes writing categories in both prose and poetry, fiction and nonfiction, spanning the gamut from opening pages of novels to flash fiction to memoirs. The Annual Writing Contest allows both new and seasoned writers to sharpen their skills by taking them out of their comfort zone. We the members of SouthWest Writers hope you enjoy this year’s anthology of contest finalists — after all, you the reader are the reason we write!
Available for Sale
Title: Holes in Our Hearts: An Anthology of New Mexican Military Related Stories and Poetry
Publisher: Independently published (May 29, 2023)
“The Silver Dollar”
This collection of prose and poetry was gathered and created by SouthWest Writers and funded through a grant from the State of New Mexico Arts Agency. These stories were written and contributed by New Mexican Veterans, their family members and caregivers including: Rosa Armijo-Pemble, Joseph Badal, Rebecca Black, Steve Borbas, E. Joe Brown, Laurel Burnett, Sherri Burr, Ivan Calhoun, John J. Candelaria, Judy Castleberry, Brenda Cole, Brinn Colenda, Joshua Colenda, Mark Fleisher, Paul David Gonzales, Linda G. Harris, M. Elder Hays, A. Michael Hibner, Carl Hitchens, KE Hopkins, James Houston and Molly Houston, Carol Kreis, Caroline A. LeBlanc, Jacqueline Murray Loring, Butch Maki, Elaine Carson Montague, Sam Moorman, Evelyn Neil, Thomas Neiman, C.L. Nemeth, Paula Nixon, Harper O’Connor, Jeffrey Otis, Donna Pedace, W. Howard Plunkett, Léonie Rosenstiel, Earl W. Rugen, Lynne Sebastian, Barb Simmons, Ted Spitzmiller, Dale Swetnam, Jasmine Tritten, Jim Tritten, Lawrence Trujillo, Vicki Turpen, KL Wagoner, Regina Washington, Dan Wetmore, Ben White, Josephine White, J. Allen Whitt, Circe Olson Woessner, Norbert Wood, Kay Yoest.
Available for Sale
Anthology: Ramblings & Reflections:
Winning Words of SouthWest Writers 2021 Contest
Publisher: SouthWest Writers (2021)
“The Dude Abides” (p. 223) ♦ 2nd Place, Animals
Sometimes a name is a story all by itself. That was certainly true of a small, curly-haired, floppy-eared, seagoing dog that I once knew. This story of a remarkable canine adventure won second place in the Animals category of the 2021 SouthWest Writers writing contest.
Inside Ramblings & Reflections 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 of this volume ably demonstrate the largesse of storytelling’s landscape, exploring the gamut of literature’s functions. They 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.