Featured Author - May 2006    Pari Noskin Taichert

Little-Known Facts about the 47th State From Two-time Agatha Award Finalist Pari Noskin Taichert Ah, New Mexico a.k.a. “The Land of Enchantment.” I’m a bit of a chauvinist when it comes to my home state. You see, I’ve traveled enough to know that New Mexico is one of the most gorgeous places in the world. It’s also one of the most misunderstood. That’s why I created my protagonist Sasha Solomon, a reality-challenged, whipped-cream dependent public relations consultant, who specializes in helping small N.M. towns attract tourists. I figured she could help people get it right. With Sasha’s help, I compiled this small list for your edification.     1. New Mexico is the only state with “U.S.A” printed on its license plates. There’s even a regular feature in New Mexico Magazine called, “One of Our Fifty Is Missing,” in which tales of geographically-challenged individuals in corporations and businesses throughout our great nation – and other countries – delight readers. Some folks just can’t seem to understand that we’re part of the Union. 2. New Mexico is a great place to hide. In land mass, N.M. ranks #5, but that’s not the whole picture. According to the Census 2005, we still haven’t topped 2 million people in the entire state. Just think of all that open space . . . We’re home to communes and hidden religious orders, maniacs and monks. Movie stars like to hide here, too. 3. In New Mexico, good food can lock down a school. Dateline: Clovis, N.M. Location: Marshall Junior High School. Someone spotted a student enter the school with a large shiny object. Police were called. The bomb squad came. Students gathered in the school’s gymnasium and the principal began to brief them about the lockdown. “Oh, my gosh, they’re talking about my burrito,” thought 8th grader Michael Morrissey. He’d created the 30-inch masterpiece for extra credit in one of his classes. No word yet on whether anyone ate it. 4. New Mexicans spell chile with an “e.” Note to copyeditors: Don’t even think of changing the letter to “i” as in chili (oh, puhleez); you’ll cause a riot. 5. New Mexico’s state cookie is a bizcochito. This small, plump anise cookie – topped with cinnamon sugar – tastes like heaven. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, our state dinosaur is a Ceolophysus. Our state question is: “Red or green?” It refers to choices in chile. 6. New Mexico is a state of natural extremes. Wheeler Peak stands at 13,161 ft. high and Red Bluff reservoir south of Carlsbad comes in at 2,842 ft. The average temperature from up north near Cimarron, N.M. to south of Carlsbad is greater than the difference between Bar Harbor, Maine and Jacksonville, FL. When we’re not in severe drought, Cloudcroft, N.M. gets an average of 25.7 inches annually while Las Cruces is lucky to get 8 inches. 7. Saguaros are not indigenous to New Mexico. If any of you ever get a copy of my mass market paperback edition of THE CLOVIS INCIDENT, you’ll see that the publishers in Toronto went for glamour over accuracy. 8. New Mexico’s commercial wine business predates California’s by 140 years. The first known vineyard in the state was planted in 1629 by a monk. By 1633, it was producing enough to use for church services – and to sell. We now have 29 working wineries – some of which have garnered international acclaim. Our state also has thriving milk, pecan, pistachio, chile and salsa industries. The world’s largest cheddar cheese factory is being built just outside of Clovis, N.M. 9. New Mexico is home to a rare mental multiculturalism. Anyone who knows about N.M. understands that there are three dominant cultures that have lived side-by-side for centuries: Native American, Hispanic and Anglo. But if you look deeper, you’ll find a mental tolerance as well. Curanderas, brujos, medicine men, shamans, psychics and new-age healers coexist with scientists, military strategists and university professors. We have large numbers of both – especially when you consider our miniscule population. In mere hours you can travel from the ancient ruins at Chaco Canyon to the cutting-edge technology at Los Alamos Labs. You can visit the Tres Rios rock paintings (some of my favorites) to the site of the world’s only commercial spaceport. What’s not to love about New Mexico? I hope you’ll stop by and visit us some day. In the meantime, you can travel to my state’s small towns with Sasha. I promise she’ll always take you for one heck of a ride. Pari Noskin Taichert received Agatha Award nominations for both of her books from the University of New Mexico Press: THE CLOVIS INCIDENT (Best First, ’04) and THE BELEN HITCH (Best Novel,’05). She’s busy working on THE SOCORRO BLAST. Learn more about Pari and her books at www.parinoskintaichert.com, as well as at www.badgirlspress.com and www.murderati.com     Mugshot Archives February 2005     March 2005     April 2005     May 2005     June 2005     July 2005     August 2005     September 2005     October 2005     November 2005     December 2005 January 2006     February 2006     March 2006     April 2006 |Home Page|    |News|   Featured Author| |Members' Bibliographies|   |Personal Appearances| |Authors' Personal Web Sites|   |Members' Favorite Web Sites| |Membership Information|   |Ellen Nehr Award| |New Books|   Authors' last names begin with A-D |New Books|  Authors' last names begin with E-H |New Books|  Authors' last names begin with I-L |New Books|   Authors' last names begin with M-P |New Books|  Authors' last names begin with Q-T |New Books|  Authors' last names begin with U-Z