Cornelia Allen

I am a New Mexican. No, I am neither new, nor from Mexico. In fact, I am quite old and my heritage is Scots and Spanish. But, I am from this great state of New Mexico, a wonderful place of sandy deserts and snowy mountains with just a few scattered cities. It lies west of Texas and East of Arizona. We speak English, Spanish and Navajo. Cattle out number people and, oh yes, there are lions and elk, big horn sheep and wolves. My land, and I love it! When I was little, we lived in a four room adobe casa near the base of the Sandia Mountains that rise nearly straight up from the Rio Grande valley floor. Straight up for a mile. I started school there, at St. Vincent's, and loved it, too. Then Dad was sent to prison for the crime of being a gay man, and times got very hard. So, I got to go live on a ranch in the Jemez Mountains to earn my keep. I was ten. I learned a lot there, spending days in the saddle or in the garden that supplied everything we needed except sugar and coffee. And I read lots of classics, but current stuff, too. Mostly, I learned how to work hard. Later, with small children to support, I harvested fruit and vegetables in three states, planted and harvested grapes for a winery, and laughed as we bottled the clear and drank the dregs. Slowly accumulating credits. then degrees, I did everything from working as a national park naturalist to teaching biology to systems analysis to practicing medicine, and eventually serving as Dean of Education at two different colleges. Now retired to a tiny village near Santa Fe, I am entertained by watching Hollywood come and go as TV and movies are filmed almost at my front door. And there are burro races, art exhibits, and the traditional music and dance. But mostly, I love writing about characters based on the many interesting people I have met in a long life, filled with adventures and fun.