BUFFALO LIGHTS

This page describes BUFFALO LIGHTS: Maryland to New Mexico, the 184-page non-fiction book by John H. Farr (© 2005) about moving to New Mexico in 1999. Sections in the book include Maryland, My Maryland; New Mexico Project; San Cristobal; Hard Journeys; Taos; and Awakenings. Order links are at the bottom of the page, or just click on the cover image on the right.

Here to get you in the mood is a picture of the gate in San Cristobal. What a place that was.

SYNOPSIS: “If it’s snowing in the sunshine, the devil is beating his wife.” That’s what the locals say, and after six years of struggle and adventure in the terrible beauty of northern New Mexico, writer John H. Farr is ready to believe in anything except complacency.

At age 55 the author and his wife, a college professor, trade burn-out for glory on a pure leap of faith. After years of the life of an artist at their country home on the Eastern Shore, John finds work as an Internet columnist and editor to fill in the gap while she turns to her music. Seeking a life where Nature as teacher stands out above all, he focuses narrowly on making the break. What neither of them realizes, however, is how chaotic their once-settled life will become, for this is no “retirement” strategy, and the edge is a dangerous place. Homesickness and financial uncertainty strain their relationship. The wilderness experience demands full attention. Life in a high mountain village bears no resemblance to the world they left behind, and New Mexico is famous for plans not working like they would elsewhere.

In the 21st-century American Southwest, there’s a bull in the window and a rat under the bed. John and his wife dodge gunshots at Christmas, sink in mud to the axles, and find human bones in the dirt. Along the way he meets a shaman, sacred clowns, belly dancers, Buddhist monks, knife-toting tough guys, a guru mechanic, Jesus himself, and the devil’s own dogs…

Buy BUFFALO LIGHTS from Booklocker.com for fast service & best deal for author, $13.95 + $5.95 shipping. Ebook only $8.95, read or download free excerpt here » You can also read the free serial re-publication of most chapters at FarrFeed by visiting the BUFFALO LIGHTS category page.

Also available at Amazon & Barnes & Noble. (Bookstores can order from Ingram. ISBN: 1591137764)