Pages Navigation Menu

ABOUT ME

The Latest News

Podcast LIVE on LATalk Radio in September! Fun Interview with Rendezvous with a Writer, hosted by Bobbi Jean and Jim Bell. Co–author Denise F. McAllister and I talked about our western romance series. Book One is titled MAVERICK HEART. Please follow and LIKE this podcast.

Direct link to the video on Facebook. Enjoy! Let us know if you’ve read MAVERICK HEART. We love hearing from readers.

KEEP ‘EM FULL AND KEEP ‘EM ROLLIN’ won a first place Gold medal in cookbooks from the Will Rogers Medallion Awards for excellence in Western literature.
Don and Shirley Creacy contributed so much to KEEP ‘EM FULL. I was thrilled that they joined me in Fort Worth for the awards banquet. Not only did they share recipes, but steered me in the research as well about the food and history of chuck wagons.

First Place Win!

My young adult book, WOLF’S WAR, won first place in the Oklahoma Writers Federation writing contest! It’s a coming-of-age story set in early Texas frontier about a young Comanche brave and a mule-skinner; enemies who become friends. I hope to have it available soon.

I am so excited to be a Learning Partner with Window on a Wider World!

Click Here WOWW Website

Window on a Wider World provides unique learning events for client schools. Teachers can choose from more than 160 programs to inspire and fascinate young minds throughout the Texas Panhandle, from on campus speakers to field trips. I’m offering writing workshops for grades K-12 with the main goal that kids find confidence in writing. WOWW is the educational legacy of the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts.

  Writer. Blogger. Speaker.

IMG_4973.2 crop denim shirt

After completing a BBA in business/marketing at West Texas State U., I worked as a Human Resources Director writing job related policies, ad copy and articles. I finally found my way back to fiction when my youngest son turned two when I took a college level creative writing course from Jodi Thomas. I have since attended as many writing conferences and online courses that I can to learn the craft. It’s an ongoing journey. 

My stories of adventure, history, romance, and true accounts sweep the American West, most particularly my home state of Texas. When I’m not writing or working at the day job for several family owned businesses, you can find me taking photographs of our ranch cows.

Check out the Home Page of this website for blog posts at PRAIRIE PURVIEW  about the friendly people, places, history, and the western lifestyle of the Texas Panhandle.

 Organizations  

Western Writers of America, Inc.

Women Writing the West

Texas High  Plains Writers

Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc

American Chuck Wagon Association

western writers
 
 
 
 
 
 
     women writing the west
 

Books, Stories & Articles

Check out my newest series, The Wild Cow Ranch, written with co-author Denise McAllister. The story follows Carli Jameson, a Georgia girl who inherits a Texas cattle ranch from grandparents she never knew. Published by CKN Christian Publishing, the books are FREE to Kindle Unlimited Subscribers. Print format is also available. Click here to learn more.
 
 
My novella, Maggie’s Betrayal, was selected for the anthology OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66. A short piece about my grandmother and her recipe for a cherry fluff salad that she made every holiday was selected for The Western Writers of America Cookbook: Favorite Recipes, Cooking Tips, and Writing Wisdom. My short story, A Cowboy’s Christmas Blessing, was selected for inclusion in a collection of short stories by West Texas authors, West Texas Christmas, published by ACU Press. My freelance work has appeared in numerous publications, including “A Cowboy’s Life” in Appleseeds Magazine, as well as Chicken Soup for the Mothers of Preschoolers Soul, Amarillo UpTown Magazine, Writing for DOLLARS! eZine, ByLine Magazine, Amarillo Globe, The West Texan, Stories for Children eZine, kidmagwriters.com,  drillers.com, and numerous other job related venues.
 

Meet our sweeties from the Amarillo SPCA. Please support your local animal shelter.

Story research at Fort Concho. Learning about black powder rifles.

Story research at Fort Concho. Learning about black powder rifles, which is more fun than writing sometimes.

 Instagram and Pinterest have fast become my fun obsessions.
 
 I’ve posted inspiration boards for a few of my Works In Progress (WIP) on Pinterest. You can take a peek here.
 
Working ranch horses and and endless sky are my inspiration. This is a Registered Quarter Horse, Dulley.

Working ranch horses and an endless Texas sky are my inspiration. This is one of our registered AQHA ranch horses, Dually.

Tips for Writers

  • Take a few pages of your WIP with you wherever you go; it’s amazing what you can get done while you’re waiting.
  • Write the story that burns a hole in your gut and if the traditional publishing route is a dead end for you, learn everything you can about becoming an Indie Author.
  • Write the story that you enjoy working on because before it’s ready to submit, you’ll read it over a zillion times. When it finds a home, you’ll have to work on edits and read it a zillion times more. It’s okay to write a lousy first draft.
  • Being a writer is like living multiple lives: you’ll disappear into your fiction world that you’ve created, the writerly world of story craft, and your non-writing every day life. You’re not going crazy; just go with it.
  • Turn off your self-editer and self-doubt, and just WRITE! The first draft will never be good, which is why the editing process is so important and time-consuming.
  • Beware of brain drain. I love Social Media, but sometimes I feel like it drains my creative energy. Write your work in progress words first, and then tweet and blog.
  • Find a trusted critique partner or group who can provide you with an honest, useful opinion. Return the favor in kind.
  • Invest time and money into your career as a writer: go to a writing conference even if its just once every year, every other year, whatever you can afford. Keep learning.
  • The more you write, the more your creativity and writer’s brain will take over. Don’t be afraid to take notes on the ideas that pop into your head. Start an IDEA journal now. Listen to your subconscious.
  • Read, read, read, and then write some more!
 

Spring, just off of Ranch Road “D” Texas Panhandle. The endless sky and wide prairie continues to be the biggest source of inspiration for me.

Research is as much fun as the writing, and I’ve been searching photo archives and reading first hand accounts about the great cattle driving era over the past year. My new book will include the history of the chuck wagon, authentic recipes as well as recipes from today’s working ranch kitchens, along with over 100 photographs. It’s the perfect place to show you some of my ranch photography and scrumptious food that I hope becomes family favorites. You don’t have to have a chuck wagon or a fire pit in your yard to enjoy the taste of the trail. Coming from Erin Turner, Editor and TwoDot Books (Globe Pequot Press). You can find it for pre-order now at your favorite online bookstore.

Need a speaker? I’ll be contacting public libraries and organizations with information on scheduling speaking events about chuck wagon history and cow camp cooking. If you need a program speaker, click on contact above and let me know.