Thorns of the Mesquite - out November 15, 2025!
I was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and though I moved to New England with my family many years ago, the spirit of the Lone Star State—as they say—has never left me. My early childhood was marked by visits to my grandparents’ ranch in West Texas, and the powerful images from that landscape and life have infused my writing for decades.
It was while I was leading a writing retreat in Ireland that the seed for Thorns of the Mesquite was planted. An image of my great-aunt Dona, whom I’d met only briefly at age five (but I remember to this day how she called the chickens), appeared to me, walking a dirt road on that very ranch. I was compelled to follow. What resulted, years later, is a novel born of deep personal roots.
