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Sample Some of My Writing
CODE TALKER: The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII (as told to Judith Avila) - Now out from Penguin/Berkley! Chester Nez volunteers as a Marine during WWII even though his Navajo people are not allowed to vote. He becomes one of the 29 original code talkers, the men who developed the famous Navajo code and took it into battle against the Japanese. It is the only code in modern warfare that has never been broken.
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BALLAD IN THREE VOICES (novel) - Tragedy ricochets through a family with surprising results. Three adult siblings, freed from accustomed roles, launch themselves in directions that are sometimes creative, sometimes illegal, but always surprising.
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CHICA IN THE PROMISED LAND (novel) - America Davila, a young Latina woman, escapes the stranglehold of her traditional family only to be dragged back by a fearsome foe, her ninety-eight pound mama.
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LIFE RAFT BLUES (novel) - Success traps a young professional in a job she has grown to hate. Inadvertently she becomes involved in a computer scam that threatens lives, including her own.
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SECRETS OF THE DREAMCATCHERS (novel) - Even on a distant planet, teenagers yearn to buck the establishment. Orphaned, Alira Tenfoot joins forces with four friends. Living in a hidden tree house, they forge a secret society dedicated to survival in the face of a predatory government.
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Hola! from Tijeras, NM
After growing up in New York and New Hampshire, I made New Mexico, with its wonderful diversity of cultures, my home. I worked as a social worker, an artist, an air traffic controller, and a computer consultant before finally discovering writing!

As a storyteller, I hope that my characters become fast friends with my readers.

My non-fiction project, Code Talker, is the first and only memoir of a WWII Navajo Code Talker. Chester Nez's story, just out from Penguin/Berkley on Sept. 6, 2011, is already #1 on Amazon and flying off book shelves!!

My fictional characters live, like all of us, in an imperfect world. But they focus on what could be. This often requires grit, determination and the courage to step out of their own paradigms. 

Please sample my writing by clicking on the "read an excerpt" tags at left.