COMMUNITY Local author tells stories of drugs, money Staff Reports
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o c a l r e s id e nt a nd writer Gaye Brown de Alvarez has taken her 20 years of interviewing people as a journalist, combined her knowledge as an editor and thrown in her imagination to publish three novels. Available in the K indle format on Amazon.com, two
of the books, “Chihuahua For Sale” and “Chihuahua Cage,” a re t he stor y of a you ng woman who gets a little too involved with the drug trade in Northern Mexico. The third book is “Mona Lisa Navajo,” which is a murder mystery set in Gallup. A ll three pieces of f iction a re ba sed on stor ies told to Brown de Alvarez by COMMUNITY
different people. “When my husband, who wa s i n t he i mpor t /ex por t business told me stories of things that happened to him in Mexico, I couldn’t believe it,” she has told many people. She said she actually had to tone down some of his stories about the Mexican border, because they were a l most u nbel ievable. T he result? A fictionalized comi n g- of- a ge s t or y a bout a yo u n g wo m a n w h o ge t s caught up in the violence of drug smuggling and money laundering. Her story is told in two books. “Mona Lisa Nava jo,” is based on a story she heard about a young Nava jo girl who wa s a twin, a nd wa s raised in California, while her twin sister was raised on the reservation. The fictionalized story involves the Native American art scene in Santa Fe. A l l t h r e e K i nd le nov-
els are for sale for 99 cents each on Amazon. Money was never the object for Brown de Alvarez, who said it takes her about one year to write a book and another year to clean it up. Recently retired, she finds she has more time to devote to her fiction. “I’m a writer,” she said. “It’s not what I do, it’s who I am.
Local author Gaye Brown de Alvarez. Photo Credit: Courtesy
Rotary Seniors of the Month Each month, Gallup Rotary Club selects outstanding high school students in order to honor their academic achievements. Front Row: Kylynn Brown, Navajo Pine; Mary-Trynee Canete, Miyamura; Pashen Beyale, Wingate. Middle Row: Glen Ratmeyer, Rehoboth; Ricardo Rico, Gallup; Adrieanna Stewart, Gallup; Brianna M ortensen, Gallup Middle College. Back Row: Wayde Morgan, Crownpoint; Stephen Buddy Joe, St. Michaels; Ty Metteba, Window Rock; Kobe Natachu, Zuni; Jeremiah Salez, Miyamura; Philbert Joe, Tohatchi; Israel Gonzales, Thoreau; Maria Ladon, Ramah. Photo Credit: NativeStars
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AM Gallup Sun • Friday April 29,4/14/16 201611:1211