BETSY JAMES: Worldbuilding and Wilderness

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Notes to Myself: Roadsouls

Nonfiction:

For four years in the 1990s, writer, artist, and backcountry hiker Betsy James shared an old adobe in the village of Placitas at the northern foot of the Sandias. Breathing Stone: Living Small in a Southwest Village is a cache of warm, minute observations of nature and neighbors—the dogs and birds, cats and children, weather and weeds of rural New Mexico. It is both a small haven and a quiet suggestion that we observe our own lives, nudging us to catch the small things that are so easy to forget. It is illustrated with field sketches from James’ own journal.

“Breathing Stone: Living Small in a Southwest Village immerses you in the magic of the New Mexico desert. Mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and plants spring to life through the sharp, observant eye of Betsy James. This book is an unexpected gem sparkling in sunlight."—Judith Schiess Avila, author of Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII

“Transcendentalist poet and iconoclast Henry David Thoreau wrote in the 1850s that ‘The question is not what you look at, but what you see.’ … [James has] bested Thoreau, in my opinion, with a keener eye and a broader sensitivity to her environment. ... This book is a genuine addition to New Mexico literature.” —Don Bullis, historian, New Mexico Centennial Author

Breathing Stone: Living Small in a Southwest Village is available from your favorite local bookstore or:

https://casaurracapress.com/bookstore/p/breathing-stone

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Roadsouls: Finalist, World Fantasy Award

Roadsouls...is a stellar performance, very touching in its intimate otherworldliness. Deeply concieved and fleshed out, exhibiting a primal simplicity of emotion and drama and language, yet not naïve nor unsophisticated. ... The twists and turns of her plot are organically unpredictable...there are some killer dramatic moments... But she never lectures, instead embodying all her observations and lessons in beautiful, vivid moments experienced by unique characters. Roadsouls conjures up a landscape as fantastic as any Tolkienesque sage, yet more naturally linked to the everyday passions and fears of its readers. ---Paul Di Filippo, Asimov's, Jan/Feb 2017

Novels by Betsy James:

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On Writing, Art, and Walking in the Desert

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On Writing, Art, and Walking in the Desert