I am a novelest, poet and screenwriter. Have published two books, Time of Triumph, a collection of my short stories and poems which was a finalest in the 2008 New Mexico Book awards and my first novel Winds of Wildfire. Both can be previewed and purchased on amazon books. Below is a review on Winds of Wildfire.
Latest review of my novel by Guitar Heaven on amazon.
Mini-novel set in the beautiful backdrop of Taos, New Mexico, "Winds of Wildfire” is as much a novel as it is a tribute to the Spanish/Indian perspective of life and death which can pose interesting predicaments and contrasts to the traditional Anglo American lifestyle. Ronald Chávez writes with the pace and feel of a Michael Crichton thriller and the frankness of Walt Whitman.
Life in the Southwest was once a wide open frontier untouched by western influences and kept in harmony by a thousand year old native culture. Now in modern times, the mix of cultures in Chávez's book have found a tentative melting pot balance which is often teetering upon unforeseen circumstances lurking around the next corner. Life's riches are explored though the vastness of the other's culture. The central character, Amee, is an easterner who must confront the hurdles of being a single woman in a Hispanic/Indian governed society without her normal support structures she's accustomed to relying upon.
The imagery of Chávez’s New Mexico is breathtakingly distinctive. The voyage is swift and exhilarating. "Winds of Wildfire" is a celebration of southwestern life from a refreshing and enlightened perspective. It's a "can't put down book" which will reel you into another realm of understanding of the "Land of Enchantment".
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log line:
Amee Brooks drifts west from Boston after a failed romantic fling and lands in Taos, New Mexico, an ancient land living the last vestiges of the old West. After buying a cabin on an acre of land where she plants a garden at a time of a severe drought her neighbor, Araña, cuts off her water at the mother irrigation ditch. She angrily confronts him which results in a brutal encounter flamed with bigotry. In despair, she hikes at Wild Rivers on the Rio Grande Gorge. There she meets Donato, a poet of Spanish ancestry. She finds Donato intriguing but strangely frightening.
Donato is seeking closure from the tragic loss of his wife in a road accident. He isolates himself from the world as a volunteer caretaker at Wild Rivers. Donato invites Amee to shoot pool at the VFW in the remote village of Cerro after she reveals her problem with Araña. He introduces her to Vidal, an elder in the village who knows the lay of the land and local politics.
There, Amee is ushered into a confusing Spanish culture. Vidal offers to help Amee. She meets Polly the bartender, a Viet Nam Vet who struggles with his war demons. Finally, Amee begins to feel she belongs.
Meanwhile, Billy, an Indian lad from Taos Pueblo makes a life altering decision after a life of booze and drugs when he absorbs a beating over a girl. He elects to live in the mountains above Taos. To his astonishment, he discovers an ancient horde of gold and is beset with a mind blowing dilemma.
Fate intervenes. Polly is wrongly accused of a crime. Thus a series of events involving conflicting forces is set in motion. Intrigue, unrequited love, courtroom drama, sexual tensions and soul searching unfold in sensuous, complex relationships.
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