J. Dale Dillard

She wasn't meant to survive...

I'm a native New Mexican, born in Roswell and raised in Las Cruces. I hold a B.A. in Journalism and a master's degree in Information Technology, both from New Mexico State University. My professional experience in emergency dispatch — with the City of Las Cruces and the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office at the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority 9-1-1 center, and with the New Mexico State University Police Department — informs the novel's procedural and cyber elements. I've always enjoyed writing, and in 2015 I took a class: How to Write Your First Novel. Since then, I've been working on what is now my debut crime thriller, No Safe Harbor — shortlisted for the 2026 Novel 90 Writing Challenge.