Holly Harrison came to New Mexico to attend graduate school but soon became enamored with the Land of Enchantment. Her debut mystery novel, Rites & Wrongs, was a New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards finalist. Her second novel, Death in the Land of Enchantment, was a 2025 New Mexico Book Award finalist and shortlisted for the 2026 Chanticleer International Clue Award. She is currently pitching her third book, The Jumping Waters, to agents and publishers. Harrison lives near Old Town Albuquerque with her husband, Phil, and their Scottish Terrier, Angus (who loves to play basketball).
Harrison grew up in the Washington, DC suburbs during the fifties and sixties. All the houses in the neighborhood were identical, reminiscent of Pete Seeger’s song, ‘Little Boxes’. Kids ran wild like the dogs, unconstrained by fences or supervision. On weekends, parents traveled from house to house, teetering with cocktails in hand.
After twenty-seven years on the East Coast, Holly left her librarian job, packed up her VW Bus, and headed for New Mexico to attend graduate school. For several years, she taught English and Art in rural New Mexico, where classes were regularly canceled for county fairs, religious holidays, and pueblo feasts. On weekends, she traveled the state, exploring the back roads to better appreciate the landscape of her adopted home.
Later, as a university research scientist, she studied self-regulation, the ability to control emotions and behavior, and act in socially appropriate ways. Holly finds that it’s something many people struggle with today, and it’s also useful for developing characters in her mystery/crime novels.
When Holly isn’t writing, she is riding her Swedish Warmblood, Soleil, in the Bosque near the Rio Grande.