eNewMexican

2000s

Hampton Sides brought narrative history to the forefront with five signature narrative history books, including Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West (2006) and On DesperateGround: The Epic Story of Chosin Reservoir— the Greatest Battle of the Korean War (2018), which was named a Best Book of the Year by TheWashington Post. He has been living and writing in Santa Fe for about 30 years.

Sandi Ault’s environmental mystery series about BLM agent Jamaica Wild takes on Rocky Mountain rough terrain, wildfires and local sayings like, “Ayuda a otros y Dios te ayudará” (Help others and God will help you).

Furthering her dad’s mystery series set on the Navajo Nation, Anne Hillerman evolves the characters of Leaphorn, Chee and particularly Bernie Manuelito into new plotlines. For instance in Stargazer, Officer Manuelito starts out on a typical day’s work on the rez, serving a bench warrant and dealing with a herd of loose cattle obstructing traffic, but then gets pulled into a case involving her old college roommate Maya, who’s been struggling with addiction and is now confessing to a murder. Bernie isn’t buying it, though.

Snappy mystery novelist Stuart Woods, who’s had dozens of bestsellers (you read that right), often involves Santa Fe defense lawyer Ed Eagle in his novels, with frequent protagonist Stone Barrington flying himself (you read that right too) to Santa Fe Airport.

Kirstin ValdezQuade set her 2021 debut novel, The Five Wounds, in contemporary Northern NewMexico, where a teenager copes with pregnancy and a family in which everyone struggles to do their best. The book was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Her story collection, Night at the Fiestas, won the 2015 National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize.

Santa Fe-based Wolf Schneider has worked as editor in chief of “The Santa Fean,” consulting editor of “Southwest Art” and editor of “American Film.” She reads a couple of books a week.

Who’s Who...who’s Here

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2022-05-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://enewmexican.com/article/282235194252201

Santa Fe New Mexican