Nevada was born in the small western town of
Yerington, Nevada and raised on a mountain airport in the Sierras. Both her
parents were pilots and mechanics and her sister, Molly, continued the tradition
by becoming a pilot for USAir.
Pushed out of the nest, Nevada fell into the
theatre, receiving her BA in speech and drama and her MFA in Acting before
making the pilgrimage to New York City, then Minneapolis, MN. For eighteen years
she worked on stage, in commercials, industrial training films and did voice-overs
for radio. During this time she became interested in the environmental movement
and began working in the National Parks during the summers -- Isle Royale in
Michigan, Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, Mesa Verde in Colorado, and then on the Natchez Trace
Parkway in Mississippi.
Woven throughout these seemingly disparate careers was the written word.
Nevada wrote and presented campfire stories, taught storytelling and was a
travel writer and restaurant critic. Her first novel, Bittersweet
was published in 1983. The Anna Pigeon series, featuring a female park ranger as
the protagonist, started when she married her love of writing with her love of
the wilderness, the summer she worked in west Texas. The first book, Track
of the Cat, was brought to light in 1993 and won both the Agatha and
Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series was well received and A
Superior Death, loosely based on Nevada's experiences as a boat patrol
ranger on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was published in 1994. In 1995 Ill
Wind came out. It was set in Mesa Verde, Colorado where Nevada worked as
a law enforcement ranger for two seasons.
The rest is, shall we say, HISTORY! Nevada's books and accomplishments
have become numerous and the presses continue to roll, so in the interest of NOT
having to update this page, books, awards, status on the New York Times Best
Seller List -- and more -- will be enumerated with the relevant books else where
on this website.
|
actor |
ranger |
writer |
|
One of the great loves of my
life. I actually made a living at it for 8 years. And, Lord, did I love
the costumes. |
My first Park Ranger job was boat patrol
on Isle Royale National Park. After that summer I was hooked. |
Ah, yes, this is life. |
