John Mark Gumert has worked in roughly 70 countries, spent decades in the international oil industry, and written two books. But the 1979 New Mexico State University graduate has never lost his connection to Las Cruces.
His latest novel, “The Girls From Zazza,” draws on the places and experiences he has collected along the way, weaving familiar Southwestern settings into a science-fiction adventure about two aliens stranded on Earth.
Gumert began writing the book in late 2017 while spending time at his beach house in Brazil. An oil project in Suriname had ended earlier than expected, leaving him with time on his hands and no particular plans to write a novel…