During research for my new novel Resting Places, I came across the term descansos, Spanish for “resting places.” In former times, particularly in the Southwest, a descanso marked the spot along a funerary route where the loved ones of someone who died stopped, laid down the coffin, and rested briefly before continuing to the cemetery. While the growing phenomena of…
Recently during an interview about Resting Places, I was asked about the phenomena of roadside memorials—those crosses that have been endemic along our roads and highways, marking the spot where a loved one died violently. In my novel the main character Elizabeth goes on a cross-country journey where she stops at many of these memorials. The question the interviewer asked,…
With this year’s presidential race, much is being said and argued and bantered about concerning another race: that is, race as cultural and ethnic distinction. As a writer who has written extensively about race (in my novel Soul Catcher), I often cringe at our candidates’ discussion (or lack thereof) of the subject of race in America. I was recently reminded…