Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Apr 2000, $23.95, 258 pp.
ISBN: 1890208302
(now available in paperback)
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The first novel in a series planned to follow the sacred and secular calendar through its annual cycle opens on Good Friday as The Brotherhood of Our Lord Jesus, the centuries-old lay society known as the penitentes, march singing their ancient, primitive hymns towards their vigil at the morada, the prayer hall in Talpa. One hermano, one brother, has been singled out to die, the assassin striking him down in the graveyard, the camposanto, and tumbling him into the darkened room to lie all night with his unsuspecting comrades. The next morning, one is charged with the act.
This outrage arouses the widowed Christina Garcia y Grant, an attorney who gave up her practice in favor of innkeeping and writing, to defend the accused. Her team is composed of her mentor, La Dona Abogado--Miss Doris Jordan--a sturdy senior advocate, Ignacio Baca, an opera-and-sweet-loving public defender, and Mac McCloud, a doctor vacationing at Christy's La Casa Vieja B&B. This motley crew suspects that Hermandad Pat Salazaar has been set up. Sorting through Satanism, witchcraft, and modern day science, their widening investigation covers Taos, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe....
Seldom has so lyrical a voice described the beauties of Northern New Mexico and the very special culture of its Hispanic and Anglo people. The author writes with humor and compassion, peopling her story with memorable minor characters and recounting local legends with zest. Spring and Easter bloom under her assured hand, leaving readers impatiently anticipating the next festival. Front cover painting by Ray Vinella.
Excerpt from the book Midnight at the Camposanto:
"The assassin stared at the windowless adobe building waiting silently in the moonlight, three large crosses guarding the only door. The graves of the camposanto reached close, some mounded high with bare dirt, most marked with smaller wooden crosses and decorated with plastic flowers, their bright colors taken by the darkness. Here and there a wandering shaft of moonlight reflected on the rare polished stone monument.
"At long last, the dark air carried the barely audible sound of men's voices, chanting incomprehensible words. Night sounds paused expectantly and then this silence around the morada seemed heightened, not broken, by shouted song as the brothers came nearer. Their alabados were plaintive, stirring, but did not move the impatient killer. He forced himself to hunker motionless as the penitentes wailed of Jesus' death and their love of Him. The stalker heard only a gang of wildmen crying out strange foreign chants..."
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Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
March 2001, $23.95, 242 pp.
ISBN: 1890208574
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Enjoy Taos as it celebrates its sacred and secular festivals. It’s murder. Ole!
The warm portrait of New Mexico’s Hispanic community recalls Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima or John Nichol’s Milagro Beanfield War.
The Taos Festival mysteries continue with Las Fiestas! Christina Garcia y Grant’s lovely old hacienda, converted from her grandmother’s gracious abode to a B&B so that lawyer Christy can pursue a writing career, is bursting with guests. Not all of them are welcome. Meanwhile, the Friday night La Fiestacita summons la gente, the people. Though they have come to party, the presence of La Doña Sebastiana, Death, is a reminder that life is only worth living if Death is close at hand. “It’s the edge, the risk, that gives color.”
La Doña Sebastiana does summon someone to her death cart before the night is over, only the partygoers don’t know it. Newcomer Evelyn Bottoms, a suave Englishman, is unaware that his gallery El Museo has been burglarized and Bobby Mascarenas killed. Missing is Cindy, Bobby’s co-employee and the date of lawyer Ignacio Baca, who spends La Fiestacita looking vainly for her. The next morning reveals the grim story.
Christy, moved by Iggy’s grief and willing to help her new friend, Dr. Bottoms, queries her primo, Police Chief Garcia, and learns that her cousin has little to go on. Aided by her more-or-less permanent boarder (and suitor) Mac McCloud, a retired surgeon, and her old friend La Doña Abogado, New Mexico’s first woman lawyer, Christy queries the local arts community and learns that someone is stealing priceless art from local churches. Is there a link between the robberies and the murder? And there seem to be a lot of newcomers to town… Front cover painting by Ed Sandoval.
Excerpt from the book Carreta de la Muerte (Cart of Death):
"The gorge itself seemed a bottomless black rift in the desert that rose on either side of that half-mile split of darkness, undulating away in miles of sagebrush. The barren land finally topped at the surrounding mountains, which stood out blacker than the brilliantly starred New Mexico sky...
"In a frenzy of apprehension, the man braced himself. He had to lean over at an awkward angle to work his arms under the bag. Grunting, he lifted the bag with effort, but there was so much adrenaline pumping though his body that he was able to go at a near-run across the few feet of sidewalk to the railing of the bridge.
"Did he hear a car? Was something coming? This was the part when he was truly committed.
"A short judo-like shout and he heaved the bag and its contents up and over the rail. Endless seconds passed. The man waited for a sound, a splash.
"Nothing.
"Far below, the Rio Grande absorbed his secret."
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Publisher: Unity Books
January 1999, $17.95, 64 pp.
ISBN: 0871592282
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(CD's and Cassette's available in November, 2001)
The hero of Adventures of the Little Green Dragon is a kind, friendly, brave, loving guide who can help young children become aware of their own sense of self-worth and bolster their own self-esteem. Children will identify with the Little Green Dragon's attempts to understand himself and to do the right thing. In ten adventures they'll learn such values as seeing beyond appearances, being true to themselves, settling disagreements peacefully, helping and loving others, and knowing God as the source of all that is. The engaging full-color illustrations perfectly capture the fairy tale domain of the Little Green Dragon and the old-fashioned charm, warmth, humor, and love in the stories. A Wee Wisdom book. Illustrated by Mary Maass.
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Publisher: Intrigue Press, 2nd Rev. edition
February 1998, $18.95, 328 pp.
ISBN: 0964316188
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Before someone shoves a piece of paper at you and says "Sign Here..," remember that you are often involved more than you realize. However to counter the archaic jargon and legal doubletalk, Attorney Mari Privette Ulmer has written a book to answer questions such as what is a contract? what am I obligating myself to? what obligations does the other party have? what if I sign and then change my mind?
"Sign Here" explains the contracts you deal with -- written in easy everyday language.
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