Kristy McCaffrey's Blog: Author Kristy McCaffrey, page 19

The Year I Lived On The Navajo Indian Reservation

When I was nine years old, my parents moved my sister and myself to the Navajo Indian Reservation. Needless to say, I very much did not want to go. My dad, who has long had a deep and abiding respect for Native Americans, saw this as a chance to give back with his life. He took a job as an accountant with an arts and crafts store in Window Rock, Arizona. We obtained a house just across the border in New Mexico, in a small town aptly called “Navajo.”



I should preface my experience by saying that I’ve never been great at making friends. I’ve always been a little too quiet and withdrawn. Add to that my displeasure over being wrenched from my life in Phoenix, and I was none too happy. My sister, nearly four years younger and in kindergarten, embraced the journey with much more enthusiasm. She quickly came home speaking Navajo. I, however, was in fourth-grade and only one of two white girls in the classroom. I was teased constantly, for no other reason than being different, and it left me less than congenial toward most of the other kids.

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Living In The Moment

It’s a new year, and with that comes resolutions and declarations. And while, in the past, I’ve resolved to not eat sugar on Thursdays, or to try at least one new recipe a week, I decided this year for something more intangible, yet, I believe, just as important.

Living in the moment.



We’ve all heard this before, and it’s undoubtedly one of the most-used clichés around, but hear me out.

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“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
~ Joseph Campbell, The Power Of Myth

A Brand New Historical Western Romance!!

I'm happy to share my new release, now available in print and digital. Into The Land Of Shadows is a historical western romance with a brooding hero and a spunky heroine.



Ethan Barstow has come to Arizona Territory to search for his younger brother, Charley. It’s been five years since a woman came between them and it’s high time they buried the hatchet. He soon learns that his brother has broken more than one heart in town, has mysteriously and abruptly disappeared, and that an indignant fiancée is hot on his trail.

Kate Kinsella pursues Charley Barstow when he skips out of town without a second thought. Not only has he left Agnes McPherson alone and pregnant, but everyone still believes that he and Kate are engaged, a sham from the beginning. An ill-timed encounter with a group of ruffians has her suddenly in the company of Ethan Barstow, Charley’s brother and a man of questionable repute. As they move deeper into the shadows of the Arizona desert, family tensions and past tragedies threaten to destroy a relationship neither of them expects.

Check out my contest for a $25 Amazon gift card at Kristy's Website

Read an excerpt at Pathways, Kristy's Blog

My First Half-Marathon (or Hanging Out With Wild Woman)

I finally realized my dream of running a half-marathon and I couldn't have done it without Wild Woman. Read all about it at
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An Italian Holiday

Buongiorno! Read about my recent trip to Italy with my mom and my sister. Warning: Don't view it on an empty stomach.

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The Odd, The Strange And The Macabre

In honor of Halloween…

There are 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than human cells, according to Carolyn Bohach, a microbiologist at the University of Idaho. Despite vast numbers, bacteria don't take up much space because they are far smaller than human cells.



Drinking too much water can kill you.
Hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water, can lead to water intoxication, an illness whose symptoms include headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, mental disorientation, and in some cases, death.

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Adventures With Scorpions

I live in the Arizona desert north of Phoenix and we have an abundance of scorpions. I liken them to roaches—they’re everywhere, impervious to environment changes, and plain creepy to witness.

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Facts About Arizona

Arizona is the 6th largest state in the U.S.

Arizona has more mountainous country than Switzerland.

Arizona has more sunshine than Florida.

Arizona’s No. 1 tourist attraction is the Grand Canyon.

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Why Starbucks Is So Successful

This statement is, of course, redundant—people love coffee and Starbucks does it right. I’m certain I can’t give any insight that many of you don’t already know. But a recent conversation with my husband made me realize the deep, abiding relationship my family has with this establishment.

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College-Bound Children and Hiking

I recently dropped my oldest at college. Samuel is 19 years old and beyond ready to begin his life. That readiness took some of the sting from watching him exit ours. I’d held him back before he started kindergarten, something I realized a few years later was unnecessary. First child, many mistakes. However, I had one extra year of him chomping at the bit to gain his independence. We parents will take whatever we can get.

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