KITE And Other Short Stories of New Mexico

This book contains a broad variety of short stories. Some take place on the Plains, others in the mountains and valleys. All take place in New Mexico and span much of the twentieth century, from post World War I to the age of cell phones. The stories contain sorrow, humor and the realization that circumstances or people may not be what we thought them to be. Amid the struggles and routine of daily life and letting go of who we once were can be found love, family, community, laughter and a touch of the mystical.

What happens to kites when the children that played with them no longer care? What happens when the spirit that resides in an animal encounters the kindred spirit that lives in some people? And what happens when a difficult decision has to be made? What is it about chokecherry wine, a simple birdfeeder or a red petunia and the old woman who can no longer care for it that they are gathered together in this volume? How does a bully fare when he encounters a mild mannered school teacher? Everyday people walk these pages. Sometimes we meet them through extreme circumstances. At other times it is something as simple as a day's work. Still others bring us to the realization that things just might not be what they seemed. The author has drawn on a rich life in New Mexico and the people he knows so well to set the stage. These stories can be enjoyed by anyone from Junior High to ninety who is interested in New Mexico and recognizes that some things just can't be or don't need to be explained.

David Kyea has lived in Northern New Mexico for nearly fifty years. He and his wife have lived in the mountain valleys and the eastern Plains. He has worked as a farmhand, ranch hand, ranch cook, woodcutter, ski lift operator, shepherd, stockman and adobe brick layer. He cleared trails in the Pecos Wilderness and planted trees at altitudes of ten thousand feet. In short, he did whatever was necessary to make a living. He eventually became a Taos County Deputy Sheriff, went on to be an investigator with the District Attorney's Office, Deputy Medical Investigator and Magistrate Judge. His writings have been published in the online e-zine "Lunarosity" and in two anthologies published by the New Mexico Book Coop, "Voices of New Mexico" (2011) and "More Voices of New Mexico" (2015).