Saving Cottonwood

“This is one of those rare first novels that hits the trifecta: well-written, wildly entertaining, and sneakily enlightening.”

A house with a history. A forest under threat. A woman searching for her place in the world.

When Iris flees to a small town after her divorce, she hopes for a quiet life in her newly purchased historic home in Cottonwood, New Mexico. But the house, and the land it stands on, have a past that won’t stay buried. The original owner, a mysterious woman named Ella, created a vast forest preserve along the river, and now, ruthless developers want to destroy it.

As Iris is reluctantly drawn into the fight to save the land, she finds unlikely allies: two fiercely determined middle school cousins, a stray cat with special powers, and Ezra, a locksmith, environmentalist, magick practitioner who challenges everything she thinks she knows about fate and connection.

Strange synchronicities and unseen forces push her forward, unraveling secrets that link her to the past and to a destiny she never expected. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous the battle becomes. Someone doesn’t want the forest saved, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep their secrets hidden. With the spirit of the land whispering through the trees and time itself bending around her, Iris must decide: will she embrace the path she was meant to walk, or turn away from her power again?

Perfect for fans of magical realism, Southwest eco-mysteries, and paranormal women’s fiction. Saving Cottonwood is a positive, captivating tale of courage, fate, and the unseen forces that shape our lives.