Fremont F. Ellis, a famous landscape painter, was born in Virginia City, Montana in 1897. His father was a nomadic dentist and theater operator who traveled from the bustling gold towns of the American West to the metropolitan cities of the east. Ellis began painting at about twelve years of age although he had little art instruction or formal education of any kind. He had his first art showing in El Paso, Texas while still in his teens and was immediately praised for his work. However, his father thought he should have a profession along with his art work, so he studied optometry and had his own practice. But he wasn't happy with the life of a businessman, and after visiting friends in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he decided to make his home there and pursue his art work seriously. In 1921, Ellis joined with four other young painters in Santa Fe-Josef Bakos, Walter Mruk, Will Shuster, and Willard Nash-and together they founded an art society called "Los Cinco Pintores." They called themselves modern artists who encouraged freedom of expression and they made a definite impression on the art movement in Santa Fe. The group disbanded in 1926, but Ellis continued painting until his death in 1985. He showed his work actively in Santa Fe and Los Angeles, his unique impressionistic style earning him a large and dedicated following. His work is in many museum collections including the Museum of New Mexico, the El Paso Museum, the Art Institute in Lubbock, Texas, and the Stark Museum in Orange, Texas. Barbara Spencer Foster is a third generation native New Mexican. She grew up in the shadows of the Manzano Mountains where her ancestors had settled in the 1800s. She is the author of "Girl of the Manzanos," "Pecos Queen," "Fire in the Bosque," and "Santa Fe Woman," all from Sunstone Press.

In this sequel to "Girl of the Manzanos," Mardee Spencer has grown up and is married to a lawyer, who is serving his country on the battle fields of France in World War I. Mardee helps keep his law office going while he is away and is earning her own law degree even though the legal profession is reserved for only men in that era.

Beautiful Lorena Rogers has it all: a successful husband, a lovely home, and professional security. Outwardly it appears that she has accomplished all her goals. But she realizes that what she thought would make her happy is now shallow and unsatisfying. To escape her empty existence, she returns to the ranch on the Rio Grande River where she was born and reared. As she cares for her terminally ill mother, she hopes to be able to resolve the frustrations in her life. She soon learns to enjoy some of the simple pleasures of ranch living as she resumes her horseback riding and dusts off her guitar and starts singing again. Unexpectedly, she renews the friendship of her first love in high school who has progressed from being a star basketball player to running the affairs of her home town as its mayor. Then it happens, the ultimate dread for those who live along the river--the fire in the Bosque. Amid the destruction, could there be resolution and a new beginning for Rena? Barbara Spencer Foster says, "I always knew I wanted to write. However, my writing career could come only after my profession and my family. Finally I was free to begin in 1998. I enjoy preserving the enchanted stories of my beloved native state, New Mexico." The author is at home in Santa Fe and Townsend, Montana.

Grace Shockey, a spoiled Texas girl, finds herself a reluctant inhabitant of a mining town in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her father has taken a job at the mine and moved the family there hoping his ailing wife's health will improve in the pure air of the Pecos Valle. Grace feels lonely and depressed in her new surroundings and her life changes abruptly when her mother dies. Before long, however, she feels the compassionate enfolding warmth of her new friends and a handsome young miner, Jimmy Kirkwood, unexpectedly brings exciting color to her drab world. But he also causes her trouble because her father doesn't approve of his daughter's involvement with someone he considers a common laborer. When the miners go on strike, the situation worsens and Grace finds herself pulled between her father, who doesn't join the striking miners, and Jimmy, who has sympathy for the workers. To further complicate her life, an outsider tries to lure the pretty Texas girl away from the Pecos Valley. In the shadows of the magnificent ponderosa pines that line the banks of the Pecos River, Grace finally finds herself in the midst of intrigue, passion, and adventure. BARBARA SPENCER FOSTER is a third generation native of New Mexico, weaving many of her own experiences in the state into her plots. "I married a Montanan," she states, "and I love my adopted state, but the Land of Enchantment inspires me to write some of its untold stories." The author is a mother, teacher, singer, as well as a writer. She spends part of the year in Townsend, Montana, and part of the year in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her novel, GIRL OF THE MANZANOS, was also published by Sunstone Press.

A restless girl from a frontier town leaves her family and Mexican boyfriend to work for a handsome new governor in New Mexico in 1912.