Winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction. “An admirable, steely-eyed collection of stories and vignettes featuring a family of ranchers.”—Publishers Weekly On Hell’s Bottom Ranch, a section of land below the Front Range, there are women like Renny who prefer a “little Hell swirled with their Heaven” and men like Ben, her husband, who’s “gotten used to smoothing over Renny’s excesses.” There is a daughter who maybe plays it too safe and a daughter plagued by only “half-wanting” what life has to offer. The ranch has been the site of births and deaths of both cattle and children, as well as moments of amazing harmony and clear vision. “Set in the unpredictable West, these stories remind us that we cannot escape the messiness and obsessions of ordinary life.”—Patricia Henley, author of Hummingbird House “Displays the talent of a brilliant, new writer.”—The Rocky Mountain News “With the rugged beauty of the Rocky Mountains as backdrop, Pritchett’s spare yet richly evocative stories portray the stark reality of life on a Colorado cattle ranch, where three generations of one family tend the land and animals, devoting and losing themselves to an existence few would understand or choose to follow . . . Regardless of whether the songs she hears are sung by a meadowlark or a jailbird, Pritchett excels at juxtaposing the sensuous with the severe, the rapturous with the repugnant.”—Booklist “The stories jump back and forth in time, but their message is clear: this family’s ties are as quixotic, fierce, and enduring as the land that binds them together.”—School Library Journal

A supermarket clerk in a small dusty town, 22-year-old Libby is full of dreams but lacks the means to pursue them. When her younger sister Tess becomes pregnant, Libby convinces her not to have an abortion by promising to raise the child herself. But then Tess takes off after the baby is born and Libby finds that her new role puts her dreams that much further away. Her already haphazard life becomes ever more chaotic. The baby's father, a Christian rodeo rider, suddenly demands custody. Libby loses her job, her boyfriend abandons her, and her own mother harps on how stupid she was to make that promise to Tess. More than a story of a single mother overcoming obstacles, Sky Bridge is a painfully honest, complex novel that leaves readers with a fresh understanding of what it means to inhabit a world in which dreams die, and are sometimes reborn.

Laura Pritchett is an award–winning author who has quickly become one of the west's defining literary voices. We first met hardscrabble ranchers Renny and Ben Cross in Laura's debut collection, and now in Stars Go Blue, they are estranged, elderly spouses living on opposite ends of their sprawling ranch, faced with the particular decline of a fading farm and Ben's struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He is just on the cusp of dementia, able to recognize he is sick but unable to do anything about it —the notes he leaves in his pockets and around the house to remind him of himself, his family, and his responsibilities are no longer as helpful as they used to be. Watching his estranged wife forced into care–taking and brought to her breaking point, Ben decides to leave his life with whatever dignity and grace remains. As Ben makes his decision, a new horrible truth comes to light: Ray, the abusive husband of their late daughter is being released from prison early. This opens old wounds in Ben, his wife, his surviving daughter, and four grandchildren. Branded with a need for justice, Ben must act before his mind leaves him, and sets off during a brutal snowstorm to confront the man who murdered his daughter. Renny, realizing he is missing, sets off to either stop or witness her husband's act of vengeance. Stars Go Blue is a triumphant novel of the American family, buffered by the workings of a ranch and the music offered by the landscape and animal life upon it.

Insight Guides: Inspiring your next adventure Inside Insight Guide Colorado: Soaring mountains, world-class skiing, dude ranches and vibrant cities lure travellers to Colorado, America's alpine heartland. Whether you're interested in outdoor sports or heritage tourism, the new edition of Insight Guide Colorado provides both practical advice and a wealth of inspiration to help you plan the perfect trip. - This comprehensive, full-colour guide is full of inspiring travel ideas, with fascinating coverage of both the state's culture - including cowboys, heritage tourism and ghost towns - and places to visit, such as forward-looking Boulder, chic Aspen, the stunning landscapes of Rocky Mountain National Park and the pueblos of Mesa Verde. - The Best of Colorado section gives you our pick of the state's top attractions, while vivid photography brings the dramatic landscapes to life. - All major sights are cross-referenced with full-colour maps, and the travel tips section provides essential information on how to organise your trip, plus our selection of the best hotels and restaurants. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

Insight Guides Colorado Travel made easy. Ask local experts. Comprehensive travel guide packed with inspirational photography and fascinating cultural insights. From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, this guide to Colorado is all you need to plan your perfect trip, with insider information on must-see, top attractions like Denver Art Museum, Pikes Peak and the Old Fort National Historic Site, and cultural gems like the serrated alpine peaks of the Rocky Mountains, winery tours through Grand Junction and steep drives along the San Juan Skyway with its million-dollar views Features of this travel guide to Colorado: - Inspirational colour photography: discover the best destinations, sights and excursions, and be inspired by stunning imagery - Historical and cultural insights: immerse yourself in Colorado's rich history and culture, and learn all about its people, art and traditions - Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy - Editor's Choice: uncover the best of Colorado with our pick of the region's top destinations - Key tips and essential information: packed full of important travel information, from transport and tipping to etiquette and hours of operation - Covers: The Northwest Corner, Steamboat Springs, Rocky Mountain National Park, Boulder and Environs, Denver, The Eastern Plains, I-70 & the High Rockies, Colorado Springs and Environs, San Luis Valley, San Juan Mountains, Aspen and the Central Rockies, Mesa Verde and the Southwest Corner. Looking for a specific guide to the USA? Check out Insight Guides Alaska for a detailed and entertaining look at all the area has to offer. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

A young woman who offers to raise her teenage sister’s baby gets more than she bargained for in “a moving story about love, duty, and family” (Publishers Weekly). A supermarket clerk in a small dusty Colorado town, twenty-two-year-old Libby is full of dreams but lacks the means to pursue them. When her younger sister Tess becomes pregnant, Libby convinces her not to have an abortion by promising to raise the child herself. But then Tess takes off after the baby is born and Libby finds that her new role puts her dreams that much further away. Her already haphazard life becomes ever more chaotic. The baby’s father, a Christian rodeo rider, suddenly demands custody. Libby loses her job, her boyfriend abandons her, and her own mother harps on how stupid she was to make that promise to Tess. Worse, her sister’s reckless new life could put Libby herself in danger. Not just a story of a single mother overcoming obstacles, Sky Bridge is a complex novel from a PEN Award winner that leaves readers with a fresh understanding of what it means to inhabit a world in which dreams die, and are sometimes reborn. “In this spare yet haunting portrait of the American West, Pritchett’s powerful, poetic voice speaks with clarity, wisdom, and passion about country, family, and one young woman’s majestic spirit.” —Booklist “A superb writer.” —Library Journal

"An immersive story of a changing landscape, innovatively told." —KIRKUS When a wildfire bears down on a mountain community, residents are forced to gather for safety—resulting in a tangle of love and lust that pulls people from their isolation, friendships that form across political divides, and a new hope for rethinking the ways humans inhabit the burning planet. Playing with Wildfire is a literary landscape that is an experiment in form: an astrology report; a grant application-turned-love-story; a phone call from Mother Earth; an obituary for a wildfire; a burned mountain’s conversation with a lone woman and an injured bear. Every story captures how fire affects the human psyche and life, and how destruction can lead to renewal.

Delves into the spirit of the wolf dilemma through a collection of essays and poems from some of the Rocky Mountain region's most prolific writers. Authors such as Susan J. Tweit, Craig Childs, Pam Houston, John Nichols, Kent Nelson, Rick Bass, Stephen Trimble, and Laura Pritchett have contributed works specifically written for this compilation, which creates a forum for writers to voice their opinions, hopes, and concerns for the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado. Forward by Mark Udall, U.S. Representative, Colorado's 2nd Congressional District.

Never mind the Ph.D. and middle-class trappings—Laura Pritchett is a Dumpster diver and proud of it. Ever since she was old enough to navigate the contents of a metal bin, she has reveled in the treasures found in other people’s cast-offs. For Going Green, Pritchett has gathered the work of more than twenty writers to tell their personal stories of Dumpster diving, eating road kill, salvaging plastic from the beach, and forgoing another trip to the mall for the thrill of bargain hunting at yard sales and flea markets. These stories look not just at the many ways people glean but also at the larger, thornier issues dealing with what re-using—or not—says about our culture and priorities. The essayists speak to the joys of going beyond the norm to save old houses, old dishwater, old cultures, old Popsicle sticks, and old friendships—and turning them into something new. Some write about gleaning as a means of survival, while others see the practice as a rejection of consumerism or as a way of treading lightly on the earth. Brimming with practical and creative new ways to think about recycling, this collection invites you to dive in and find your own way of going green.

Children often have trouble telling their father how much they love him. Fortunately, this book expresses those emotions for them. This endearing collection of stories about the everyday heroics of the contributorsÆ fathers, and father figures, will show Dad how much he means to his children. From the story of a fly fishing trip that bonded father and daughter to the one that saw a friendÆs imposing father turn into the contributorÆs own loving father-figure, this wonderful book brings together tales of heroic dads from all walks of life, and is a great way for his kids to show him how much they care. And it lets dads everywhere know that they donÆt need to be daring to be heroicùthat it can be the little things that mean the most to his kids.