Our Heritage

Rosie began writing children’s books in 2015 and now has eleven in publication. The first series is called Down on the Farm and is a compilation of stories that she told the grandchildren.

The Curly series began with a fictional calf who survived the Starbuck Fire in western Kansas in 2017. Rosie hadn’t intended to make the little heifer calf part of a series. However, after many questions from children about what happened to the calf when it grew up, she added Curly the Hero Cow plus Curly and the Terrible Tornado. Those books followed Curly to motherhood.

What Does Old Santa Do? is a rhyming book that discusses what Santa does between Christmases. This delightful book puts smiles on the faces of all who read it.

The Notional Mule gives the back-story of one of the most popular characters in the Home on the Range novels. Mule has quickly become a favorite among all readers as he “takes care of business!”

Patty, the Pink Flamingo is a story of a naughty little flamingo who just wants to be pink. This book follows her journey from a tiny, white chicklet to a young flamingo with many adventures along the way.

The eleventh book is Buford, the Little Lost Lamb. This book was requested by a priest friend whose family farms in Illinois. It is set in Bethlehem at the time of Christ. Could it be the lamb in the manger? Maybe! The story follows Jesus’ life as a child although much fiction is included to incorporate the ram.

In May of 2019, Rosie decided to take her writing to a new level and published her first historical western novel. North to Cheyenne, The Long Road Home became the first book in her Home on the Range series. It was followed by West by Rail, a Brother’s Wish and South of Laramie, Where the Trail Leads. All three books begin or end around Cheyenne, Wyoming and follow each other closely.

Her fourth novel in that series, Down the Long Valley, the Old Man’s Wish is set in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley of Montana. The priest in the book, Father Anthony Ravalli, was the first surgeon and pharmacist in what would become Montana. This book required several visits to Montana to collect information as well as to follow mountain passes Rosie wanted to incorporate in her book.

The next book, Up the Western Trail, Point the Tongue North, covers a trail drive from north Texas up the Western Trail to Dodge City, Kansas. Old cowboy logs were used to make the geography as accurate as possible. Stampedes, outlaws, and dangerous river crossings made the journey harder. Following closely is the sixth novel, Beneath the Western Sky, The Cowboy’s Dream, which picks up the trail drive in Ogallala, Nebraska.

The title of the seventh book, The Road to Montana, Up the Bloody Bozeman incorporates two names originally given to the Bozeman Trail. This book trails black cattle north and focuses on the external difficulties of long and deadly drive. The Contract, A Cowboy’s Promise and a Mother’s Love takes readers back to the Bitterroot Valley and is a sequel to the book before.

To Pay a Debt, the Teacher’s Crooked Trail and Duty and Honor, Because of a Woman, bring young women from the East to the West. They also incorporate a little of Kansas into the storyline. Rosie likes to pull places and events out of history, and both of these books incorporate places she finds interesting.

The final book in the Home on the Range series will be released in September 2024. The Cowboy’s Bandana, Eight Long Years follows the lives of some of the children you have met throughout the series from young men to adulthood.

While it is not necessary to read the books in order, Rosie recommends doing so. When taken out of order, some books will have spoilers.

History and real-life characters are intertwined with the fiction in Rosie’s novels. She enjoys pulling tidbits from the past and making that information part of each book along with action, humor, and just a touch of romance. Each novel also includes a prologue which details the history. Much research is done to make the novels both historically and geographically accurate.

When reading to children, Rosie incorporates agriculture and shares trivial information about the ranching way of life. She is also a firm believer in the quote by C.S. Lewis, “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally–and often far more–worth reading at the age of fifty.”

Rosie is available to do book readings and signings. She also enjoys giving presentations to schools, libraries, reading clubs, and other groups. Thank you for choosing her books!