Land-use researcher Lyssa Smith pays a high price for confronting Tank Turnbull, a Phoenix land developer, about his destruction of the desert she loves. As her carefully constructed life comes under attack, Lyssa discovers an unlikely ally in Dane Callicott, another developer. Shackled by family expectations, battered by a series of betrayals, and blinded by impossible choices, Dane and Lyssa might very well bulldoze over their one chance at happiness—unless together they can blaze a new trail forward.

Homegrown Muse is a gentle and often humorous look at the meeting of generations, of alternative lifestyles, of unlikely lovers, and of deeply felt values and codes of ethics in our modern world. Set against the backdrop of property development in the Phoenix area, it interweaves environmentalism and corporate survival, giving a human face to the contested issue of land stewardship.

(published under the name Sally Bennett)

For generations, the People of Two Rivers thrived in their desert home. When the canals begin to fail, these peaceful farmers fall prey to the ambitions of a Rainsinger who promises everything . . . but demands a sacrifice greater than they could ever imagine. As old secrets are unburied and prophecies come to pass, can anyone stand against the Rainsinger’s thirst for power?

Volume 1 of the Tales of the Watermasters series of historical novels.

Dramatic action and memorable characters drive an epic story of an ancient civilization. In these captivating novels set in the prehistoric Southwest, the People of Two Rivers are shown at the height of their glory as they face a catastrophe that threatens to destroy them utterly.

Before written history began in what we now know as Arizona, a vibrant culture of builders, dreamers, and artists flourished there for a thousand years.

And then they vanished.

What happened to them? To find out, read SWALLOWING THE SUN and the rest of the Tales of the Watermasters series.

Sally Bennett Boyington’s vivid re-creation of the Paleolithic Southwest is sure to enchant readers unfamiliar with the great civilization of the Hohokam Indians. Take the first step on your own adventure . . . walk with the Watermasters today!

After a series of destructive floods, the People of Two Rivers send for the exiled Watermasters to restore the canals that have enabled them to farm the desert for a thousand years. But time has changed the Watermasters as well as the farmers who need them. Dark omens, corruption, and greed threaten to turn the broad desert basin into a wasteland. Those few who see the danger sweeping toward them must choose between saving the ones they love and preserving their ancient way of life.

Volume 2 in the Tales of the Watermasters series of historical novels.

DEEP ROOTS IN A DRY PLACE presents plants of the Sonoran Desert of Arizona through poetry and images created in a dynamic human-AI conversation.

Join poet Sally Bennett Boyington on an intriguing journey through the desert accompanied by ChatGPT and image-generating AIs. Each of the illustrated pages that resulted from this curiosity-driven adventure contains a poem written by either the author or ChatGPT, set opposite each other for comparison. Photographs accompany the author’s poems, while AI-generated images in various styles are juxtaposed with the ChatGPT poems.

The fusion of technology and human creativity in these pages showcases how far AI has come in recent years, as well as revealing the nuances that continue to distinguish human expression from machine learning. DEEP ROOTS IN A DRY PLACE offers readers a fascinating holistic experience where art, poetry, and science intertwine.