The history of the American West is in Loretta Miles Tollefson's blood. Her grandfather Roscoe Miles was born in Oklahoma Territory and spent his childhood steadily following his parents moving west. They ended up in the mountains outside Port Angeles, Washington, just about as far as you could go before reaching the ocean. When he died, Loretta inherited a collection of first-hand accounts of the 19th century Pacific Northwest. When she moved to New Mexico as an adult, the books and her love of history went with her. That interest expanded to include every small town and land grant she encountered during a 20+ career as a public servant. Wherever she went in the State, she was exposed to its unique tri-cultural (Native, Hispanic, and Anglo) experience in the 1800's and the on-going impact of those events.When she retired, Loretta began to explore New Mexico's history more deeply, using the research skills she'd developed while obtaining two Master's of Arts (Communications and English Literature). The result is her Old New Mexico fiction-deeply researched, firmly set in the past, and brimming with historical characters.