Bücher veröffentlicht von Sunstone Press

Growing up in a Spanish American culture in the American West at the turn of the twentieth century invites assimilation, a process made all the more conflicted through the evolving stages of individuation and the tensions of political correctness and hyphenated identities: Anglo-American, Spanish-American, Mexican-American, Native American, and the subcultures of Stompers, Pachucos, Chicanos, Cholos, Indios, and Squares. This book contains a dozen interconnected stories set against these laminated ethnicities. Whether read as love songs or laments these soul stories all serenade the American Southwest and its allure as a landscape of adventure and romance during the transition from Old to New West. It is said that a land determines a people and is determined by them, a belief told lyrically and poignantly in these story serenades. Includes Readers Guide.

A boy's tutor retells his search for the boy for seven years after he is kidnapped by the Comanches in this historical novel set in the late 1700s.

During a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio at the Vienna State Opera there is an explosion in the foyer just off the auditorium. Auguste Rodin's famous 1909 bronze bust of composer/conductor Gustav Mahler has been blown up and a hate-filled note has been left at the scene demanding that there be "no more Jews defiling our culture." Retired art historian/musicologist Megan Crespi, in Vienna to lecture, is at the performance with her former student, the renowned cellist Egga Streicher, and is asked by her friend, Chief of Police Erich Decker, to help in tracking down the culprit. Soon copy-cat vandalism of Jewish monuments around the city breaks out. Things come to a horrendous climax during a performance of Mahler's great Second Symphony, the "Resurrection" symphony, but is it the only surprise awaiting Megan Crespi's dangerous investigation? Includes Readers Guide.

In this second book in the series based on the four seasons, Corn Flower, an eleven-year-old Native American girl and a member of the Kansa tribe living along the Cottonwood River in the 1820s, is proud that her father White Plume has been selected as a tribal chief. With the guidance of two older tribal women, she also takes great pride in learning the skill of wild crafting to find herbs, roots, and leaves to use as medicines. After the harvest celebration of the corn crop, the members of the tribe head out to hunt for the great, shaggy bison. With the success of the hunt, much meat is prepared by all members of the tribe for the cold, winter months. One day while tending her herd of goats, Corn Flower and her best friend Night Sparrow find a stray horse wearing a saddle alone on the prairie. To discover the owner, Corn Flower and Night Sparrow travel to the trading post with their fathers White Plume and Red Branch. After leaving the trading post, Corn Flower nearly drowns while trying to return the lost horse at the nearby soldier fort. Saved by her father, she listens to White Plume’s story of how he came to know Kicking Swan and married her. The whole tribe rejoices with a naming celebration for a little girl of the tribe and for the marriage of Corn Flower’s brother Wanji to the maiden Running Dove. The story ends with the first heavy snowfall and a fun time in the winter whiteness with her brothers Red Cloud and Two Bears. Includes Readers Guide.

Are you totally, happily, lovingly and completely satisfied with the way your life is going? If you're not, or if you want to know more about life and love, you have picked the right book to read. In order to live a joyful, peaceful, and loving life with one's self and with others we must first learn to let go of old, negative attitudes and habits that are inhibiting our ability to love and learn and practice positive and loving attitudes and habits that will bring joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness and self-control into our lives. This book is based on precepts given to us by none other than The Great Author of Life Himself, Almighty God through His Son, Jesus Christ, who taught me how to truly love. This is not another manual on love, marriage or inter-personal relationships but rather a guide to loving oneself which in turn leads us to love, first God, than others as we love ourselves, for it is impossible to love others unless we love ourselves first. And it is impossible to love ourselves as God loves us unless we love God with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our souls for God is Love.

Throughout her life the poet found that many people shy away from poetry. They say they don’t like it; they don’t understand it; they are afraid of it. Poetry is as popular as a rattlesnake. The poet studied poetry in high school and college and has written poetry for fifty years. Naturally, one’s mind and heart grow and change over time. All of us evolve. The poet certainly has, and still does. In reading the oldest poems written, there is a young girl’s innocence in some, yet a remarkable maturity and wisdom in others. Poems are not differentiated as to age when written. Surely the reader may be able to do that, but maybe not. Poetry is what one wants it to be. This poetry is not written in any accepted or expected style. Rather, it was written purely for the poet herself. She wrote as a method of sharing thoughts, experiences, dreams, images, senses, feelings, memories. Some recollections were her own, and some belong to those who shared theirs with her. Some poems are mental exercises woven onto paper, while others are dreams caught before the poet truly woke. Her writing may not be poetry, but it is honest, and it is authentic. Poetry is what you want it to be. If you feel it, it is real. Just read aloud from line to line just as you would a book. It’s not fancy, it’s Potpourri.

In this anecdotal memoir an unknown narrator combines philosophical musings with dark humor to alleviate his reoccurring existential crises and mundane day-to-day missteps. To retain his sanity the narrator reflects on parables and absurd punch lines. Our narrator is consumed by doomed relationships, painful nostalgia, a vicious cycle of poverty, incompetent superiors, and ridiculous decrees from a Dictator-President with a violent police force. These situations are so hopeless they can turn humorous, and therefore, undermine the power that crippling depression, anxiety, and obsession can wreak on an individual living in "modernity." In the end, the reader is left with more questions than answers: "Are these intellectually rigorous musings the signs of mental illness, or an elaborate trick at our expense?" and "Who has a skewed perception of reality: the narrator, his society, or our own selves?"

Two altar boys are found dead in the Santa Fe River, apparently murdered, thirty years apart. The first case was never solved, while the second unfolds in present time. The priest from Mora who worked closely with the boys is the obvious person of interest. But a woman from an old New Mexico Hispanic family with a Catholic background who is the homicide detective for the Santa Fe Police Department, and a second-generation New Mexico Anglo woman with a Baptist background who sees ghosts and is a member of a state task force formed to solve difficult cases, work closely together, as they have successfully on previous cases, to find the true killer. They realize quickly that it is possible the priest is the killer, but not probable. An old, retired, extremely well-educated and psychic priest in Jemez Springs haunted by visits from La Llorona his entire life becomes a major asset to the women as they move toward solving the case that seems to bring them nothing but dead ends-until the night it doesn't. Includes Glossary and Readers Guide.

This history of La Luz, a planned development on Albuquerque, New Mexico's near west side, that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018, presents it as a model for architectural and planned community design. Included on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties, La Luz exemplifies the spirit of ecosophy-ecological harmony-contributing to the spiritual and physical health of its residents. Featured are interviews with Ray A. Graham, III, its developer, renowned architect Antoine Predock, and others initially involved in this project. Included are descriptions of the community governance and the spirit of its residents with a look ahead to the challenges of sustaining this community in a changing environment.

Reinstated after leaving the U.S. Foreign Service to marry the wrong man, Diana Forrest is sent to counter Soviet propaganda in Cold War Tanzania where graft corrupts the socialist ideal and poachers slaughter elephants for ivory. Toggling between a diffident boss and a hard-to-please Ambassador in a media wasteland, Diana spends weekends in the bush courtesy of a Tanzanian subordinate with a safari business on the side. As that relationship trends from teamwork toward intimacy, Diana wrestles with her conscience and is also troubled by safari companions who aren’t above petty poaching—or worse: one of them may have colluded in the murder of a conservation-minded headman. It’s soon clear that Diana’s job performance will rate an excellent follow-on assignment, but she’s not sure she wants to leave.

The author says, "I grew up in nature surrounded by forests. I would spend whole days playing in the woods in the presence of bears, perched on the tallest trees with the hawk, on top of mountains peaks with the eagle, hiking with the mountain lion, running with the deer, soaking in the streams, singing with the hummingbird and dancing with the butterfly, ice skating on the frozen pond, skiing topless in the moonlight, watching the shooting stars with my dad's giant telescope, collecting everything wild, stones, flowers, resin, herbs, barks, asparagus, berries, fruit, mushrooms, the wind even...hunting, and gathering Mother Earth's magic. I instinctively knew the natural world was good for my well being. I talked to the plants and asked for their secrets. "My love for the Universe, nature, beauty, and the sacred kept growing so intensely that I started to express it in the form of poetry at age eight. My first poem, "The Black Tulip," won an adult poetry contest. Poetry has been a way for me to share my deep gratitude for all the gifts. I've apprenticed for many years as a "Vegetalista" traveling to Peru and all over the world learning plant medicines, sitting in ceremony, and now holding ceremony. "This book is an offering to Mother Earth, to Spirit. Gracias Señora. Gracias Señor. Life is the ceremony."

In the early 1850s, twelve-year-old Peter Blair’s mother has died and his father has gone to Santa Fe to seek his fortune. Left in St. Louis, a friend has agreed to care for Peter. Before long his father’s acquaintance “Uncle” Seth goes back to St. Louis to check on Peter. But Peter is lonely and persuades his new uncle to take him to Santa Fe to be with his father. On the way, Uncle Seth leads their wagon train through an Indian attack, desertion by greenhorns, a buffalo stampede, a violent storm, and many other hardships. When Peter finally reaches his destination, he finds that his father is no longer in Santa Fe. Now he must go on yet another journey—one that almost proves fatal.

After an accident in Connecticut kills their toddler, Jane and Joe Tash, as part of therapy, write the book You Can Save Us All. Santa Fe’s Surely You Jest Press contracts to publish it. The Tashes believe their book will convince readers to protest in a major way against nuclear armament and environmental degradation. But the reality of getting a book published in hardcover, softcover, and eBook formats—amid escalating personality clashes—threatens to halt their efforts, as well as bankrupt the press.Couples uncouple, a best-selling author traumatizes Jane by flashing, and a son shuns his children, wife, and mother. Then out of the blue, a guardian angel appears.

After a pandemic ravages earth only a few isolated survivors exist. Chato Williams, a young boy who is living deep in the Alaskan wilderness has a prophetic revelation, telepathically induced by the serpent Quetzalcoatl, in which he sees a beautiful young girl in a faraway place called Serpiente who seems to beckon him to find her. Unfortunately, Chato's family of survivors are slowly dying due to famine and the cruel environment they live in. Despite fears of leaving, not knowing if the pandemic is over, Chato constructs a sea kayak in order to search for the source of his revelation, other humans, and hope for his family. Chato befriends Charlie who assists him as they fight off warriors under the control of evil serpents who wish to kill them for their life energy. Will he find the girl of his prophetic revelations? Can they solve the ultimatum that the serpent ambassador Chimalma demands or will humans be forever farmed for their life energy to satisfy the lusty taste of the evil serpents?

The year was 1864. The freezing winds off Lake Michigan swept across the snow laden grounds and through the cracks of a building that held Southern prisoners in Camp Douglas, Illinois. Huddled with the other prisoners, John mulled over the reasons he had enlisted, even after his father had forbidden it. He knew the only real reason was to protect his best friend Frankie, who had enlisted first but never even bothered to show up at the station when the recruits left for war. Shivering, he wondered if he would ever see his family again or especially the girl he had loved since childhood. John realized that nothing but an act of God could deliver him from this hell on earth. Includes Readers Guide.

A mysterious murder faces border patrol agent Tracker Dodds as he assumes control of the first Prisoner of War camp in the United States under a mandate from the Department of Justice. It's a hot summer day in 1942 when he enters Fort Stanton and he is shocked to discover a brutally scalped German inmate floating in its Olympic-sized swimming pool.A river separates the camp from a state-of-the-art tuberculosis hospital in this alpine back country of southern New Mexico which adjoins the massive Mescalero Apache reservation. Could the scalping have been done by someone from the reservation? Or was the murderer another distressed German seaman? The camp is packed with German sailors. Did a bystander see the chance to silence his blackmailer?Though the camp is remote and cut off from civilization, every soul involved feels the crushing destruction of a world at war. And the mysterious murder facing Tracker Dodds is just an example.

Corn Flower, an eleven-year-old Native American girl, is a member of the Kansa tribe living along the Cottonwood River in the 1820s. She is a loyal daughter to her parents White Plume and Kicking Swan. Corn Flower and her best friend Night Sparrow are in charge of each family's herd of goats. Together they sing the "Song of the Kansa," find excitement in their simple life, and delight in the folk tales spoken by an elderly tribal storyteller. Corn Flower enjoys the thrill of adventure as she travels with her father to a nearby trading post. Once she returns home, her happiness is short-lived as a tornado sweeps toward their village with a great wind. Corn Flower saves a baby goat and barely escapes the storm. The late summer brings horrible heat and a swarm of grasshoppers. Relief finally comes when a huge thunderstorm sweeps the grasshoppers away, yet the lightening from the storm sparks a fire on the prairie. Fortunately, their village is spared, and Corn Flower returns to her hillside in the remaining days of summer to tend her goats and again sing the "Song of the Kansa" with her special friend Night Sparrow. Much like children in modern culture, Corn Flower cherishes the closeness of her family, fun with her best friend, and the endless quest for adventure. Includes Readers Guide.

Nando is a young boy with a Hispanic mother and a Native American father. His new day begins with a yawn. He passes it to his mother who in turn passes it on to others. Unknown to Nando, he creates the day''s first yawn. So begins the adventure of the yawn. Starting in the red rocks of Arizona, it travels around the world and back to Nando as he is going to bed that evening. Nando could never have imagined that his yawn would travel so far and return to him so quickly. Enjoy the journey as the yawn experiences a variety of creatures and countries and visits so many people of different cultures during its travels.

The American Civil War claimed and destroyed lives, stealing fathers and sons from those they loved. The horror caused many returning to cry out for death. They carried the festering scars of battle and were unable to overcome the torment of their souls. This is the story of Thomas Wilson, a soldier who returns home haunted by the destruction and devastation he both witnessed and caused. Although his regiment respects and reveres him as a sharpshooter, each man he has killed condemns him to a life of terrifying dreams and troubled days where forgiveness can never be obtained. Neither the love of his family nor the affection of a woman with sparkling dark eyes and soft black hair can chase his war demons away, for he is beyond mercy. Includes Readers Guide.

In a small university in the American Southwest, a young college religion professor is eager to escape an abortive career in the ministry and a hair-raising affair with a parishioner. Hired into a department that he discovers is about to be shut down, he’s thrust into the role of academic dean by a president who promptly disappears. As Connor Ransom sorts through the complex affairs of an Hispanic/Anglo college, he discovers that a nationwide education reform movement seems bent on assessing it to death. Connor is aided by a jive-talking history professor and a svelte, Latina journalism professor with an inscrutable past and an insatiable spirit. But when his own past turns up in the national movement, along with an old love, he finds that he must put his job on the line, and then his life, to stand up for his school. Connor must unmask the forces at work in Ocotillo U if he is to save it. Includes Readers Guide.