The Las Puertas Tales: Los Cuentos de Las Puertas

Las Puertas, New Mexico is a gritty, rough edged town in Northeast New Mexico, a land unique for its seclusion and its centuries old Native American, Latino and Chicano cultural heritage. Joe Lujan, the Sheriff of San Miquel County, copes with the usual petty offenses and the occasional major crimes that can shake the community. He is a native son and knows his people well. To maintain law and order, he must respect their strong traditions, customs, and idiosyncrasies. With his Deputy Roberto Castillo and his office right-hand Gabriella Rendon, he manages to keep his territory as safe and peaceful as possible. The Las Puertas Tales is a collection of four novellas. Gordo tells the story of a violent young man whose short life of crime finds its end in the canyons of the Sangre de Cristos; The Boxing Game follows a boy's desire to become an Olympic boxer and his father's zealous support that exposes the existence of major criminal organizations and creates a treacherous situation for his family and the town of Las Puertas; The Strangers shows how conflict can result between the locals and the New Age intruders who try to impose their beliefs on the people of Atzlan; and Land of Enchantment finds a young artist's search for inspiration from the beautiful, rugged landscape of the Southwest leads to a dangerous involvement with the Hermanos Penitentes and unexpected consequences.