Amy M. Bennett

Amy M. Bennett was born Amy Romero in El Paso, Texas in 1967. A 1985 graduate of Father Yermo High School, she attended UTEP for two years before marrying and moving to Alamogordo, New Mexico. Except for a six-month stint in Mt. Kisco, New York, she has lived in New Mexico for the last 25 years and worked in Ruidoso for the last eleven years as a cake decorator at the Walmart Supercenter in Ruidoso Downs and as a retail clerk at Noisy Water Winery in mid-town Ruidoso for the last two years. In 2003, she first heard about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) but did not get up the courage to participate until November of 2004. She enjoyed the challenge of having to write 50,000 words in 30 days, despite the fact that the upcoming holidays made it an extremely busy time for her find time to write (in addition to holding down a full-time job, she also homeschooled her son, a niece, and two nephews.) In 2009, she began the draft for what eventually became her first mystery novel, “End of the Road”, but was unable to get past the 30,000 word mark. Two years later, she finished and, on the advice of fellow New Mexico mystery author, J. Michael Orenduff (""The Pot Thief"" mysteries) she entered ""End of the Road"" in the 2012 Dark Oak Mystery Contest sponsored by Oak Tree Press and won. When not writing (that is, physically sitting down at the laptop), Amy spends her time working at Walmart, decorating cakes, and at Noisy Water Winery, slinging some of the best vino in New Mexico. When not on the clock, she enjoys her home in Bent, New Mexico with her husband of 25 years, Paul, and 19-year-old son, Paul Michael, surrounded by her husband's family and still makes monthly trips back to El Paso where her family still resides. She is currently finishing the second book in the Black Horse Campground series and starting the draft for the third.