Loretta Miles Tollefson

A STORY OF THE 1847 TAOS REVOLT AGAINST THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF NEW MEXICO On Thursday, January 19, 1847, long-simmering tensions erupted in bloodshed in Taos, New Mexico, brought to a head by the recent American takeover during the Mexican American War. Within 24 hours, almost all the Americans in Taos were dead, including Governor Charles Bent. The insurrection was eventually crushed by American forces in a final battle that destroyed the Taos Pueblo church. The trials that followed are renowned for their biased juries, foregone conclusions, and speed of execution. Nothing Lasts Forever explores the tensions that fed the 1847 rebellion from the point of view of the fictional Alma Locke, in Taos to bury her mother, and Governor Bent's five-year-old daughter, Teresina. A heartbreaking novel of love, loss, and conflicting loyalties, Nothing Lasts Forever explores the personal conflicts behind the rebellion and how two families coped with their losses and struggled to make sense of unimaginable tragedy. A stand-alone novel, Nothing Lasts Forever is Book 4 of the Locke Family Saga.

In Fall 1841, a band of roughly 300 Texans straggled out of the Staked Plains into New Mexico. They had intended to claim everything east of the Rio Grande for Texas. Instead, they were captured and sent south to El Paso del Norte, then on to Mexico City. The largest group of prisoners, which included journalist George Wilkins Kendall, was escorted to El Paso by Captain Damasio Salazar. Five prisoners died on that trek. Kendall would later write a book describing the experience, a book which accused Salazar of food deprivation, mutilation, and murder, and fed the glowing coals that would become the Mexican-American War. But what really happened on the way to El Paso? The Texian Prisoners tells the story through the eyes of Kendall's friend George Van Ness, a lawyer burdened with the ability to see his enemy's point of view, and asks us to consider the possibility that Kendall's report was not unbiased. A historically accurate retelling of Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk, this fictional memoir will make you question everything you thought you knew about Texas, New Mexico, and the boundary between them.

It's August 3, 1837, and rebellion has broken out in northern New Mexico. By the end of the week, Governor Albino P rez and key members of his administration will be dead, and a governor with indigenous ancestry will be installed in Santa Fe. Trouble's been brewing for over a year, fed by new laws restricting the right to vote, the threat of new taxes, and a governor who's quicker to borrow money than distribute it. On top of that, P rez has jailed the Santa Cruz de la Ca ada alcalde for making a decision he didn't like. The locals free the alcalde and go to war, campesinos and Pueblo warriors against the ricos of the south. But the rich aren't about to give up their privileges so easily. More people will die before the violence ends.A deeply-researched biographical novel with implications for today, There Will be Consequences explores the events before, during, and after early August 1837 through the eyes of the people who participated in them. Twelve linked stories propel the narrative forward from the perspective of individuals as diverse as Albino P rez, rebel governor Jos Angel Gonzales, Santa Fe gambler Gertrudes "Do a Tules" Barcel , Taos priest Antonio Jos Martinez, and that most flexible of New Mexico's politicians, Manuel Armijo.

New Mexico, 1837. As New Mexico teeters on the verge of revolution, eight-year-old Alma's family experiences an upheaval of its own. Her parents, Gerald and Suzanna, have been married almost ten years. In that time, he's never told her that his grandmother was a runaway slave. When Gerald's father shows up in the valley, the truth comes out.Stunned and furious, Suzanna leaves the family's mountain valley and takes Alma and her younger brother, Andrew, with her. Gerald allows the children to go because he believes they'll be safer with their mother than with him in the mountains. However, as Suzanna, Alma, and Andrew reach Santa Fe, revolt breaks out and the children are exposed to sights no child should ever have to experience.This trauma and the prejudice the children experience because of their heritage makes Alma long for home. But even if her mother can forgive past secrets, the way is now blocked by wintery weather and entrenched rebels. Will Alma's family ever be reunited?A heart-breaking yet ultimately triumphant story about secrets, prejudice, love, and the impact of adult conflict on our children.

Suzanna hates everything about her New Mexico mountain home. The isolation. The short growing season. The critters after her corn. The long snow-bound winters in a dimly-lit cabin. But she loves Gerald, who loves this valley. So Suzanna does her unhappy best to adjust, even when the babies come, both of them in the middle of winter. Her postpartum depression, the cold, and the lack of sunlight push her to the edge. But the Sangre de Cristo mountains contain a menace far more dangerous than Suzanna's internal struggles. The man Gerald killed in the mountains of the Gila two years ago isn't as dead as everyone thought. And his lust for Suzanna may be even stronger than his desire for Gerald's blood.

But Still My Child is a set of poems from the heart of one grieving woman to another. Written over a period of thirty years, these poems express the immediate pain as well as the lingering ache that miscarriage can bring. They do not provide easy answers. Instead, they acknowledge the pain while seeking to provide the comfort and companionship that only someone who has also experienced the loss of an unborn child can share.

Just a man. Known for his character, not the color of his skin. That's all Gerald, son of a free black man and an Irish servant girl, wants to be. It's an impossible goal in slave-holding Missouri, but in the West, mountain men and villagers alike seem to accept him without question. New Mexico is all that Gerald hoped for, but shortly after he arrives in Taos, he realizes he wants more than he'd thought: A girl with her own complex ancestry and a high mountain valley with intriguing potential. To make either dream possible, Gerald needs to earn something more than a scratch living. The only way to do that is to trap beaver. It's a tough way to earn cash and the wilderness is an unforgiving place. Can Gerald survive the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the Mohave Indians, and the arid south rim of the Grand Canyon as well as the fellow trapper who hates him for the color of his skin? Can he prove to himself and the girl he loves that he is, after all, not just any man?

Forty-two micro-stories set in Old New Mexico, each less than 500 words long, and many based on actual people or events. Includes: Rattled -- On the Santa Fe Trail, two men dispute a rifle's origins. Trapper in Love -- A language barrier comes between a trapper and his woman. Edward and Augusta -- The future warden of New Mexico's first Territorial Prison takes a wife. Decision Point -- Word of the Elizabethtown gold strike reaches Denver. Thicker n' Snot -- Miners from around the globe adjust to the Sangre de Cristo mountain climate. The Lost Soul -- A young man defies his community's expectations. Darker Than a Wolf's Mouth -- A settler fails to heed his wife's warnings.

Short stories set in Old New Mexico, many based on actual people or events. Includes: That Damn Mule - A green-broke mule balks at the rain-slicked shale on a narrow mountain path. That'll Teach 'Em - A group of trappers encounters Apaches in the Gila wilderness. They Were My Friends - A tale of friendship and betrayal during the Taos uprising against American occupation. Decisions - A young woman must find a way to cross cultural barriers and marry the Pueblo man she loves. Obsessions - An Episcopal Methodist missionary interferes in Maxwell Land Grant Company politics and suffers the consequences.

He has no family. She wishes hers would leave her alone. Lawrence's mother has just died. With the little money he has left after paying her medical bills, he heads to Seattle to make a fresh start. Deborah has plenty of family support, but not for moving to the big city. Her parents think she should stay on the farm and marry a nice local boy. But both Lawrence and Deborah are determined to make their own way. And both dream of finding not just a job, but a career, a way of life. Each hopes that the risks they take will pay off in the end, but their family issues are an ongoing distraction. And then the recession hits. Deborah loses her job. Lawrence teeters towards homelessness. Will either of them survive the streets of Seattle?

Win the Lottery, live happily ever after Well, maybe. When Ruth and Joe Marsh win the New Mexico Lottery jackpot, they realize almost immediately that things are going to be a little complicated. But anything's possible for them now Nothing but good can come of having this much money Or so they think. Until Ruth's boss gives her an ultimatum: buy half his insurance agency and continue to run it, or leave. She's going to have to quit. But then what will she do with herself? And Joe gets cold feet about marketing his novels. Are they really good enough to spend this kind of money on them? What if he puts himself out there and the books flop? Then their youngest son disappears, his custom truck abandoned in a ditch. Where is he? Why haven't they heard anything? Now too much money is the least of their problems.

And Then Moses Was There celebrates events in the Old Testament by exploring them through the eyes of people who were there. In these quietly accessible poems, Loretta Miles Tollefson combines her award-winning poetic skills and knowledge of the Bible to look in a new way at the ancient stories and the people who lived them. Read these poems and experience a fresh approach to and appreciation of the Old Testament stories. Each poem focuses on a different event, from Noah's weariness and Pharoah's certainty of his divine rights to Jonathon's admiration for David and the prophet Jeremiah's anger with his people. And Then Moses Was There is the companion volume to Mary At The Cross: Voices From the New Testament.

Mary At The Cross celebrates events in the New Testament by exploring them through the eyes of people who were there. In these thirty quietly lyrical yet accessible poems, Loretta Miles Tollefson combines her award-winning poetic skills and knowledge of the Bible to look at the ancient stories and the people who lived them in a new way. Read these poems and experience a fresh approach to and appreciation of the New Testament stories. Each poem focuses on a different event. Reading them, you'll ponder the meaning of Christ's birth with the announcing angel, reflect on Matthew's emotions when he's called to be a disciple, stand with Mary at the cross, experience the empty tomb with Mary Magdalene, and watch with Peter's wife as he wrestles with his doubts and fears. Mary At The Cross is the companion volume to And Then Moses Was There.