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.
Author PhotoHarrison lives near Old Town Albuquerque with her husband, Phil, and 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. Soon she became enamored with the Land of Enchantment. For several years she taught English and Art in rural New Mexico where classes regularly were 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 it’s something many people struggle with today but useful in developing characters for her mystery/crime novels.
When Holly isn’t writing, she is riding her Swedish Warmblood, Soleil, in the Bosque near the Rio Grande.