Books published by Sunstone Press

After four years of bitter struggles and immeasurable cost in human lives and property, the armies laid down their weapons and the country was reunited. But there was a magnitude of problems emerging from the rebellious and war-torn South and the now-freed slaves. The freed slaves, excited about their liberation, were led to believe that they would receive "forty acres of land and a mule," but this didn't happen. The politicians felt that freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote was enough for them. True equality was never pondered, and these people, emerging from servitude, were met with apathy and resentment. Who would represent these people, and who would mend the bitter feelings and destruction left by the war? John Wilson, who first appeared in the author's "Hillcountry Warriors" which was acclaimed as "an above-par work of period fiction" by "Publishers Weekly," was such a man. Wilson had fought for the Confederacy and upon returning to his home in Mississippi, felt there was room for all races. In essence, he was a man beyond his time. As long as Federal troops were stationed in the South, some order existed, but when they were removed in 1876, an internal struggle for power erupted. As time passed, Wilson was eventually appointed a district judgeship and he felt that he could make his dream of justice for all a reality. This is his story, and the story of many who labored to mend the bitter feelings and destruction left by the Civil War. Johnny Neil Smith, author of the critically acclaimed "Hillcountry Warriors" of which "Unconquered" is the sequel, is now a retired educator and has always had a deep interest in early American history. Since four of his great grandfathers served in the Confederate Army, he is fascinated with the American Civil War and has spent years of research on the subject.

In what follows can be found the doors to a house of words and stories. This house of words and stories is the Archive of New Mexico and the doors are each of the documents contained within it. Like any house, New Mexico's archive has a tale of its own origin and a complex history. Although its walls have changed many times, its doors and the encounters with those doors hold stories known and told and others not yet revealed. In the Archives, there are thousands of doors (4,481) that open to a time of kings and popes, of inquisition and revolution. "These archives," writes Ralph Emerson Twitchell, "are by far the most valuable and interesting of any in the Southwest." Many of these documents were given a number by Twitchell, small stickers that were appended to the first page of each document, an act of heresy to archivists and yet these stickers have now become part of the artifact. These are the doors that Ralph Emerson Twitchell opened at the dawn of the 20th century with a key that has served scholars, policy-makers, and activists for generations. In 1914 Twitchell published in two volumes The Spanish Archives of New Mexico, the first calendar and guide to the documents from the Spanish colonial period. Volume Two of the two volumes focuses on the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Series II, or SANM II. These 3,087 documents consist of administrative, civil, military, and ecclesiastical records of the Spanish colonial government in New Mexico, 1621-1821. The materials span a broad range of subjects, revealing information about such topics as domestic relations, political intrigue, crime and punishment, material culture, the Camino Real, relations between Spanish settlers and indigenous peoples, the intrusion of Anglo-Americans, and the growing unrest that resulted in Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. As is the case with Volume One, these documents tell many stories. They reflect, for example, the creation and maintenance of colonial society in New Mexico; itself founded upon the casting and construction of colonizing categories. Decisions made by popes, kings and viceroys thousands of miles away from New Mexico defined the lives of everyday citizens, as did the reports of governors and clergy sent back to their superiors. They represent the history of imperial power, conquest, and hegemony. Indeed, though the stories of indigenous people and women can be found in these documents, it may be fair to assume that not a single one of them was actually scripted by a woman or an American Indian during that time period. But there is another silence in this particular collection and series that is telling. Few pre-Revolt (1680) documents are contained in this collection. While the original colonial archive may well have contained thousands of documents that predate the European settlement of New Mexico in 1598, with the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680, all but four of those documents were destroyed. For historians, the tragedy cannot be calculated. Nevertheless, this absence and silence is important in its own right and is a part of the story, told and imagined.Let this effort and the key provided by Twitchell in his two volumes open the doors wide for knowledge to be useful today and tomorrow.--From the Foreword by Estevan Rael-Gálvez, New Mexico State Historian

In what follows can be found the doors to a house of words and stories. This house of words and stories is the Archive of New Mexico and the doors are each of the documents contained within it. Like any house, New Mexico's archive has a tale of its own origin and a complex history. Although its walls have changed many times, its doors and the encounters with those doors hold stories known and told and others not yet revealed. In the Archives, there are thousands of doors (4,481) that open to a time of kings and popes, of inquisition and revolution. "These archives," writes Ralph Emerson Twitchell, "are by far the most valuable and interesting of any in the Southwest." Many of these documents were given a number by Twitchell, small stickers that were appended to the first page of each document, an act of heresy to archivists and yet these stickers have now become part of the artifact. These are the doors that Ralph Emerson Twitchell opened at the dawn of the 20th century with a key that has served scholars, policy-makers, and activists for generations. In 1914 Twitchell published in two volumes The Spanish Archives of New Mexico, the first calendar and guide to the documents from the Spanish colonial period. Volume Two of the two volumes focuses on the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Series II, or SANM II. These 3,087 documents consist of administrative, civil, military, and ecclesiastical records of the Spanish colonial government in New Mexico, 1621-1821. The materials span a broad range of subjects, revealing information about such topics as domestic relations, political intrigue, crime and punishment, material culture, the Camino Real, relations between Spanish settlers and indigenous peoples, the intrusion of Anglo-Americans, and the growing unrest that resulted in Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. As is the case with Volume One, these documents tell many stories. They reflect, for example, the creation and maintenance of colonial society in New Mexico; itself founded upon the casting and construction of colonizing categories. Decisions made by popes, kings and viceroys thousands of miles away from New Mexico defined the lives of everyday citizens, as did the reports of governors and clergy sent back to their superiors. They represent the history of imperial power, conquest, and hegemony. Indeed, though the stories of indigenous people and women can be found in these documents, it may be fair to assume that not a single one of them was actually scripted by a woman or an American Indian during that time period. But there is another silence in this particular collection and series that is telling. Few pre-Revolt (1680) documents are contained in this collection. While the original colonial archive may well have contained thousands of documents that predate the European settlement of New Mexico in 1598, with the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680, all but four of those documents were destroyed. For historians, the tragedy cannot be calculated. Nevertheless, this absence and silence is important in its own right and is a part of the story, told and imagined.Let this effort and the key provided by Twitchell in his two volumes open the doors wide for knowledge to be useful today and tomorrow.--From the Foreword by Estevan Rael-Gálvez, New Mexico State Historian

"e;Aguinaldos y villancicos, recetas, tradiciones de Navidad"e;-songs, recipes, and traditions of Christmas from the nineteen Spanish-speaking countries of Middle and South America, as well as from the one state that is officially bi-lingual, are included in this well-researched book. There is a wealth of Christmas music, much of it unknown to North Americans, with tunes and guitar chords, words and translations. And there are recipes from each country for holiday foods, ranging from simple beverages to complex tamales and desserts-from "e;gingebre"e; to "e;hallaca"e; and "e;tres leches."e; Also included are customs and traditions from each of the countries, some common to all, others specific to place, all reflecting the joys of Christmas. An index, glossary, and extensive bibliography make this a valuable resource for readers of all interests. VIRGINIA NYLANDER EBINGER wass a retired music teacher and a teacher trainer, researcher, and author, with special interest in the Hispanic folklore of New Mexico. Among her other publications are "e;Ninez: Spanish Songs, Games and Stories of Childhood"e; and "e;De Colores."e;

Adolph F. Bandelier, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Father Anton Docher are names closely associated with the early colonial days in New Mexico. All of these characters appear in this narrative of Isleta Pueblo which tells the story of Father Docher's life in the Indian pueblo from the day when he first arrived along the road that was bad, but the sunset beautiful in 1891 until the time of the death of his two great friends, Bandelier and Lummis, and his own death several months later in 1928. Father Docher's job was not an easy one, but his great patience and understanding helped him through many difficulties. The story goes into many of these and into much of the legend and superstition of Isleta Pueblo which the Padre encountered during his long life there. He was particularly interested in the story of Father Padilla, the Franciscan friar who came with Coronado's band, whose body was buried in the church at Isleta but which refused to stay underground. JULIA KELEHER was a member and Professor in the English Department of the University of New Mexico from 1931 to her retirement in 1959. She was also a professional writer and edited each of her brother, William A. Keleher's books, all of which have been published by Sunstone Press in its Southwest Heritage Series. Her collaboration with Elsie Ruth Chant resulted in this fascinating collection of incidents for all readers interested in the American Southwest. She was married to Lloyd Chant and raised two children, George Ashley Chant and Julia Jane Chant.

The time is 1887. From any window in Georgia O'Keeffe's Sun Prairie, Wisconsin birthplace home she only saw the Wisconsin prairie with its traces of roads veering around the flat marshlands and a vast sky that lifted her soul. At twelve years of age Georgia had a defining moment when she declared, "I want to be an artist." Years later from her east-facing window in Canyon, Texas she observed the Texas Panhandle sky with its focus points on the plains and a great canyon of earth history colors streaking across the flat land.Georgia's love of the vast, colorful prairie, plains and sky again gave definition to her life when she discovered Ghost Ranch north of Abiquiu, New Mexico. She fell prey to its charms which were not long removed from the echoes of the "Wild West." These views of prairie, plains and sky became Georgia's muses as she embarked on her step-by-step path with her role models--Alon Bement, Arthur Jerome Dow and Wassily Kandinsky. In this two-part biography of which this is Part I covering the period 1887-1945, Nancy Hopkins Reily "walks the Sun Prairie Land," as if in Georgia's day as a prologue to her family's friendship with Georgia in the 1940s and 1950s. Reily chronicles Georgia's defining days within the arenas of landscape, culture, people and the history surrounding each, a discourse level that Georgia would easily recognize. The book includes bibliographical references and indes. NANCY HOPKINS REILY was a classic outdoor color portraitist for more than twenty years and has taught portrait workshops at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas where she had a one-woman show of her portraits. Her advance studies included an invitational workshop with Ansel Adams. Reily graduated from Southern Methodist University and lives in Lufkin, Texas. She is also the author of "Classic Outdoor Color Portraits" and "Joseph Imhof, Artist of the Pueblos," both from Sunstone Press.

An unexpected death in Donovan Merrill's family makes it necessary that his grandmother, Anna, and he leave the rectory in San Miguel. They move into her summer cottage in the midst of the artist colony in the Laguna Beach of 1938, starting life over. It will be difficult with their diminished resources, but Donovan and Anna prove up to the task. They find friends and mentors among the painters and bohemians, Donovan early on deciding that he will become a painter himself. After the war years, Anna encourages him to study in Paris; he paints for a summer in Provence and survives a difficult winter in Rome. On his return to the states, he finds a place in Santa Fe, starting his painting career in a rented adobe. When he meets Tomas de la Pena, a young Mexican writer, his life begins to tumble. Tomas's efforts at writing are unformed, not so flourishing as Donovan's career, so competitive troubles ensue. After building a house together, they must face Tomas's continuing disquiet. Time in Laguna is good to Anna, happy in her growing circle of artist friends. A love affair and a later marriage to a German expatriate make a striking contrast to her old life as a minister's wife in San Miguel. She worries as Donovan finds his way, and supports him emotionally and financially. But Donovan proves he can succeed on his own. This is the author's fourth book for Sunstone Press, after "e;Why I Won't Be Going to Lunch Anymore"e; in 2004, "e;The Galisteo Escarpment in 2008,"e; and "e;Creep Around the Corner"e; in 2009. DOUGLAS ATWILL grew up in California and Texas, lived in Europe and on the East Coast before moving to Santa Fe to paint. His canvases are shown in galleries thoughout the nation and his avocation is the design and construction of vernacular Santa Fe residences.

An internationally renowned scientist who fears she's taken one scientific risk too many; a distinguished archaeologist who's haunted by taking too few; a world famous financier who's lost everything except his money; an art gallery owner with a heartbreaking burden; a fugitive filmmaker; the head of a battered women's shelter-these are some of the people who find themselves at the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail at the end of the 20th century. Chance has brought them from all over to beautiful, legendary Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they shape, illuminate, and even deform each other's lives unexpectedly, as if on the very edge of chaos. This edge of chaos, a scientific term for that slender territory between frozen predictability and hopeless disorder, is a dangerously unstable place. Learning and change can only happen there, but always under threat of sliding back to frozen order-or over into the chaotic abyss. And Santa Fe's sons and daughters, even now, keep a precarious foothold on "e;The Edge of Chaos,"e; bringing their own pasts and their city's rich history into an uncertain but exhilarating future. PAMELA McCORDUCK has published eight other books, translated into most of the major European and Asian languages. She has written for magazines ranging from "e;Redbook"e; and "e;Cosmopolitan"e; to "e;Daedalus,"e; and was a contributing editor to "e;Wired."e; She was a board member and officer of the American PEN Center in New York, the authors' organization, and an officer of the New Mexico Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She has appeared on many television shows, including PBS's News Hour and the CBS Evening News. CNN based a two-part documentary on her book, "e;The Futures of Women."e;

Following a tragic accident, Leslie Cohen, MD, is driven to live the nomadic life of a "e;locum tenens"e; physician, moving from one temporary job to another, covering the practices of orthopedic surgeons while they take time off. Deeply affected because of her loss, this enables her to avoid forming relationships, both friendly and professional. And she is determined. But all of this changes when she agrees to a one month commitment in Abilene, Texas, temporarily taking over the practice of Hal Hawley while he goes on leave to have surgery for cancer. Soon after arriving she realizes her mistake in taking on an extended post as she develops a strong bond with Doc Hawley and his wife. Even more significant is the friend she finds in Regan Wakeman, a local rancher and contractor. There is conflict in her soul as Leslie tries to protect the memories she wants to keep alive no matter how painful they might be. As the relationship with him progresses, there is a gradual revelation of the tragedy that has remained her secret until now. BARBARA BERGIN practices orthopedic surgery in Austin, Texas, where she resides with her husband and two children. She competes in reining, reined cow horse and cutting, and has been ranked nationally in the reined cow horse performance sport. She and her husband own a ranch in Smithville, Texas.

Another beautiful Santa Fe spring as four uneasy couples trample each other's lives in the search for love. Making Crazy, the second novel in Scofield's "e;Santa Fe"e; trilogy, explores the emptiness of love under false pretenses. As mishaps pile up, the increasingly frantic dance forces everyone to abandon compromise in hope of a fresh start. Yale University graduate MICHAEL SCOFIELD received his MFA in Writing from Vermont College in 2002. In 2006, Santa Fe's Sunstone Press published "e;Whirling Backward into the World,"e; his second book of poems, and "e;Acting Badly,"e; the first novel in his Santa Fe trilogy.