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Author dives into Grand Canyon's wild wonders in newest book

Parks author Nancy Rivest Green recently released her second book, "Stalking the Wild Dragonfly: Stories of Experiences in Nature.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Green

Parks author Nancy Rivest Green recently released her second book, "Stalking the Wild Dragonfly: Stories of Experiences in Nature.

PARKS, Ariz. — After her foray into pre-historic times, Parks author Nancy Green has focused her thoughts and her pen on something a bit closer to home: her experiences with wildlife at the Grand Canyon.

"Stalking the Wild Dragonfly: Stories of Experiences in Nature" is an in-depth look at Green’s experiences with the wildlife of the Canyon she fell in love with. Mountain lions, elk, birds and bobcats, even scorpions and snakes all have their place in the ecosystem and in Green’s personal journey. Even animals like grizzly bears, who no longer inhabit the area, are linked to the author’s memories growing up in northern Arizona.

These aren’t just personal stories and anecdotes, however. Green wanted readers to gain a deeper understanding of the wildlife that calls the Canyon home.

“I did a lot of painstaking research,” she said. “Even for the scorpions, which I hate!”

Williams artist ValJesse O’Feeney provided the pen and ink illustrations for the book, as well as the colorful dragonfly cover art.

Green draws on many experiences with nature far and wide — she and her husband are avid travelers, even to the farthest reaches of the globe in both the arctic and Antarctic.

“We’re bi-polar,” jokes Green.

Although she was born in Massachusetts, Green has spent the majority of her life in Arizona. She graduated from the University of Arizona-Tucson and embarked on a 28-year-long career as a teacher and librarian at Grand Canyon School, where she retired in 2008.

A writer from the age of nine, Green said her lifelong passion for writing hit home for her in fourth grade.

“The teacher took my writing and hung it up at the front of the class, and she left it there for the entire year,” Green remembers.

The rest, as they say, is history. Or pre-history, as Green’s first full-length novel, “On the Brink of Shards,” takes readers back to ancient times in the American Southwest and provides a case study in a civilization at risk of implosion. The book was awarded second place by the Arizona Author’s Association.

Green is currently conducting a book-signing tour around the state. More information about purchasing a signed copy or attending an event can be found at www.nancyrivestgreen.com.


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