Lynn Michelsohn

Travel, history, and folklore often come together in Lynn Michelsohn's books. Ghost stories associated with particular historical locations especially interest her, as do fascinating characters and quirky facts about places she loves--the South Carolina Lowcountry, the American Southwest, and the Galapagos Islands.

A Message from the Author:

I write because it's fun and it keeps my brain alive and functioning as I learn new things.

Several years ago, I closed my long-time New Mexico practice in clinical and forensic psychology to devote more time to writing--and beachcombing. My husband, a former attorney, and I now divide our time between Santa Fe and Hutchinson Island, Florida, where our two adult sons and their families visit us regularly (but not often enough).

Wow! This writing (and beachcombing) is really great! I recommend it to all of you who have ever thought about starting that memoir or article or novel. Kindle makes publishing incredibly easy, and who knows, you might even sell a few hundred thousand copies (I haven't yet)!

After years of living in Roswell with its sometimes offbeat attractions and history--the Roswell Incident, for example--writing "Roswell, Your Travel Guide to the UFO Capital of the World!" gave me the chance to share these interests with visitors to the Land of Enchantment.

Next I wrote a book about a distinctly different region, one I have loved since my childhood spent knee-deep in the marshes and saltwater creeks of the South Carolina coast. "Tales from Brookgreen: Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry" recounts stories from Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina's popular tourist attraction near Myrtle Beach. I am happy to see that the three shorter collections of tales from this longer work are quite popular on Kindle: "Lowcountry Ghosts," "Gullah Ghosts," and "Crab Boy's Ghost." Recently I released two new short collections, "Lowcountry Hurricanes" and "Lowcountry Confederates," in a new series called "More Tales from Brookgreen." I hope to add more lowcountry ghost stories and folktales to the series soon.

Did you know that Herman Melville, of "Moby-Dick" fame, wrote a series of articles describing the Galapagos Islands? Neither did I until recently. I've had fun putting Melville's articles together with wonderful photographs taken by my son Moses in the Galapagos Islands, and writing introductory material to create a book for the modern visitor to the place Melville referred to as "The Encantadas." We call the book "In the Galapagos Islands with Herman Melville" and hope this glimpse into the "Enchanted Isles," written over 150 years ago, will enrich the visits of today's travelers. I've also put two shorter ebooks from it on Kindle that feature even more of Moses' great photos: "Galapagos Islands Birds" and "Galapagos Islands Landscapes."

Recently I've gotten interested in researching the famous New Mexico outlaw Billy the Kid, especially the time he spent in Santa Fe. Did you know that more movies have been made about him over the years than about ANY OTHER individual? It's hard to avoid detouring into researching more about Santa Fe itself as I often lose myself in reading local newspapers from that era. So many fascinating details!

I have already completed one short book, "Billy the Kid's Jail," and two longer books, "Billy the Kid in Santa Fe, Book One: Young Billy, Old Santa Fe" (Billy's youth in Santa Fe), and "Book Two: A Confining Winter" (his stay in the Santa Fe jail during the winter of 1880-1881).

These longer books are the first two in a non-fiction trilogy exploring Santa Fe of the 1870s and 1880s in the context of Billy's stays there. I am currently working on "Book Three: Chasing Quicksilver," tracking down facts and sorting them from myths and legends that have grown up around the famous outlaw.

My love of Santa Fe has also led me to write a short, lighthearted guide to its quirks, oddities, and special places. "Santa Fe Secrets, A Different View of The City Different" is now available in both paperback and ebook formats, as are all my books.

I hope you enjoy them. Happy Reading!