Troy M. Ainsworth, Ph.D.

A native Texan reared in the northeast corner of the state, I spent my collegiate years in Lubbock, earning three degrees while cultivating a healthy appreciation for the Llano Estacado and the Big Bend. At Texas Tech University, my studies centered on American literature, history, and architecture. In my professional career, I’ve combined those varied interests in a vocation of historic preservation in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and an avocation of writing about and researching the borderlands.

Depicted above is The Window, a unique feature in the Basin atop the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. As its name implies, the stories contained herein offer a view into the character and distinction of the Chihuahuan Desert. The enormity of the land conjures poetry and inner contemplation, and it has profoundly impacted me through all my travels across its far flung corners.