Category: Announcements

An Unhappy Country Has Arrived

An Unhappy Country Has Arrived

Aaaaaand. Drumrolls please! It’s here! My novel An Unhappy Country is now available wherever books are sold. And I’m celebrating with a sale!

It’s August 1846. The U.S. army has taken Santa Fe without firing a shot. The Mexican American War is over in New Mexico. Or is it?

Two days after the Army arrives, seventeen-year-old Jessie Milbank and her friends stumble on a man with a knife in his back in the Santa Fe plaza. Then someone close to Jessie’s friend Juanita is murdered. When an insurrection is suppressed in December, Jessie begins to wonder if the three events are linked. 

Were the murdered men part of a conspiracy to throw out the invaders? And were they the only ones hoping for a fight? After revolt does finally break out and the Americans suppress it at the battle of Taos Pueblo, yet another man is murdered. Will the reasons for his death provide clues to the earlier ones?

Early readers are raving about Jessie, the book’s insight into these little-known events, and the beautiful writing in this novel.

As I said, I’m celebrating with a sale.

The ebook is $.99 through the end of April. This is over 80% off its $5.99 list price. You can purchase it from your favorite e-reader outlet, including BarnesandNoble and Amazon.

The paperback is currently priced at $13.99. This is 26% off its $18.99 list price. You can order it through your local bookstore or from Bookshop.org, BarnesandNoble, and Amazon.

© Loretta Miles Tollefson

An Unhappy Country – The Countdown Begins!

An Unhappy Country – The Countdown Begins!

The thirty-day countdown to publication of my novel An Unhappy Country has begun!

It’s August 1846. The U.S. army has taken Santa Fe without firing a shot. The Mexican American War is over in New Mexico. Or is it?

Two days after the Army arrives, seventeen-year-old Jessie Milbank and her friends stumble on a man with a knife in his back in the Santa Fe plaza. Then someone close to Jessie’s friend Juanita is murdered. When an insurrection is suppressed in December, Jessie begins to wonder if the three events are linked. 

Were the murdered men part of a conspiracy to throw out the invaders? And were they the only ones hoping for a fight? After revolt does finally break out and the Americans suppress it at the battle of Taos Pueblo, yet another man is murdered. Will the reasons for his death provide clues to the earlier ones?

Early readers are raving about Jessie, the book’s insight into these little-known events, and the beautiful writing in this novel.

You can pre-order the e-book now for only $.99. It’s available at all e-reader outlets , including Amazon and BarnesandNoble. The paperback is available for pre-order at BarnesandNoble, as well.

Book Announcement: An Unhappy Country

Book Announcement: An Unhappy Country

I’m pleased to announce that my Old New Mexico novel An Unhappy Country will be published in April 2025. A murder mystery, this novel is set during the Mexican American war and focuses on events in New Mexico, which was invaded by the U.S. Army in August 1846. It features Jessie Milbank, an American merchant’s daughter who can’t leave well enough alone. Here’s the book description:

August 1846. The U.S. army has taken Santa Fe without firing a shot. The Mexican American War is over in New Mexico. Or is it?

Two days after the Army arrives, seventeen-year-old Jessie Milbank and her friends stumble on a man with a knife in his back in the Santa Fe plaza. Then someone close to Jessie’s friend Juanita is murdered. When an insurrection is suppressed in December, Jessie begins to wonder if the three events are linked. 

Were the murdered men part of a conspiracy to throw out the invaders? Were they the only ones hoping for a fight? After revolt does finally break out and the Americans suppress it at the battle of Taos Pueblo, yet another man is murdered. Will the reasons for his death provide clues to the earlier ones?

You can preorder the e-book from Amazon.com and other retailers at the special introductory price of $.99.

Sale!!!

I have two books on sale this month, since they have strong links to August events. I thought you all might want to know about them before the sale ends on the 31st….

Pivotal plot twists occur in Fall 1837 in No Secret Too Small, as the move Alma’s mother has made to Santa Fe places the children in a position to experience revolt at first hand. The ebook is available through Saturday, August 31 for $.99 (full price $5.99), while the paperback is half off its usual price.

There Will Be Consequences provides more details about the August 1837 rebellion, with the historical participants taking center stage. This ebook is also available for $.99, and the paperback is 50 percent off. These prices will return to $5.99 and $17.99, respectively, on Sept. 1. So, if you haven’t read them, now’s your chance!

That Free Chapter….

That Free Chapter….

If you wondered what I was up to when I posted the first chapter of my novel Not Just Any Man last Sunday, I apologize. I scheduled the post intending to write an explanation before it went live, and then got waylaid by a recalcitrant spine. I had no idea a herniated lumbar disk could be so energy-sapping.

But now the meds are kicking in and I’m able to actually sit long enough to create this post and explain what I’m doing.

The reason I posted the first chapter of Not Just Any Man is that I intend to keep on posting additional chapters until the entire novel is available FREE at LorettaMilesTollefson.com/Not-Just-Any-Man-index. This is because I’ve decided to turn my focus to readership rather than sales.

If you want to buy the book, I’m not going to complain, of course. But I will be delighted if you decide to help spread the word that Not Just Any Man is available free at LorettaMilesTollefson.com.

My plan right now is to post a chapter a week. There are forty chapters, plus the Author’s Note and the list and short bios of historical characters. As my back pain subsides and I can spend more time at the computer, I hope to post twice a week. We’ll see. At the moment, my spine is telling me I need to go lie down.

P.S. Before I do that, I’m currently scheduling these to go live on Sunday mornings. Is this a good day of the week to do this? Is there a better one? When I go to twice a week, which days would be optimum? I welcome any input!

New Year, New Book!

New Year, New Book!

I’m pleased to announce that my novel The Texian Prisoners will be published in March next year and that the ebook is now available for pre-order!

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.

Available for pre-order from Amazon.com and other ebook retailers.

I’M BACK!!

I’M BACK!!

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted anything here since last May. This was the result of a couple of things. I was deep into the research for my forthcoming, which was pretty all-consuming. Also, my husband and I decided it was time to get our end-of-life instructions (wills, etc) set up. We’re not getting any younger. This led to a major effort to scan family photos and create a kind of history to accompany them that turned into a document that’s pretty close to a full length novel in its own right.

With all that going on, my blog post schedule slipped and then became nonexistent.

But now I’m back! I don’t expect to continue posting quite at the level I was posting when I began the historical fiction part of this journey in 2015, but I do plan to produce content more consistently.

The project I was so involved in last Spring is now getting closer to its conclusion. Tentatively titled The Texian Prisoners, it’s a biographical novel about the 1841 Texan invasion of New Mexico told from the point of view of a Texan who understands that every story has more than one side. I hope to release it this Fall. In the coming months, I’ll be sharing more about that book and the research behind it, as well as other material about New Mexico’s history that I think you’ll find interesting. I also expect to do some book reviews, both of nonfiction sources I’ve mined for The Texian Prisoners as well as historical fiction by fellow New Mexico authors.

I look forward to talking with you again!

Consequences at Bookshop.Org

Consequences at Bookshop.Org

There Will Be Consequences is now available at Bookshop.org, so you can buy it from an independent bookstore without leaving the comfort of your home! Personally, my favorite store to order from is Collected Works here in Santa Fe. If you don’t already have a favorite Bookshop.org store, please give them a try or order from them directly

Consequences Has Arrived!

Consequences Has Arrived!

My latest Old New Mexico novel, There Will Be Consequences, is now available for purchase! You can find it at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Books2Read. You can also order copies from your local bookseller. The paperback should be available at Bookshop.org in the next week. I’ll let you know….

The prices for both the paperback and ebook are introductory specials for the next week. So get them now!

In case you’re wondering what this novel is about, here’s the book description:

It’s August 3, 1837, and rebellion has broken out in northern New Mexico. By the end of the week, Governor Albino Pérez 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, Pérez has jailed the Santa Cruz de la Cañada 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 Pérez, rebel governor José Angel Gonzales, Santa Fe gambler Gertrudes “Doña Tules” Barceló, Taos priest Antonio José Martinez, and that most flexible of New Mexico’s politicians, Manuel Armijo.

One Week to Consequences!

One Week to Consequences!

The countdown has begun! This time next week, my new novel There Will Be Consequences will be live and available for purchase at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and other retailers! For the first week, both ebooks and paperbacks will be available at special discount prices, so pre-order or mark your calendar now to get this book!

It’s August 3, 1837, and rebellion has broken out in northern New Mexico. By the end of the week, Governor Albino Pérez 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, Pérez has jailed the Santa Cruz de la Cañada 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 Pérez, rebel governor José Angel Gonzales, Santa Fe gambler Gertrudes “Doña Tules” Barceló, Taos priest Antonio José Martinez, and that most flexible of New Mexico’s politicians, Manuel Armijo.