Today I celebrate the 5th anniversary of the release of my picture book THE SEAGOING COWBOY! And I share with you here a new video of me reading the book.
Congratulations, Judith L. Roth!
I celebrate the book release this week of my dear sister writing friend Judith L. Roth. Click here for a great description of VENETIAN LULLABY, of Judy’s origin story about the book, info on the illustrator (pictured in the link)–and if you are so inclined an opportunity to win a free copy.
Recording of Virtual Seagoing Cowboy library program now available
If you missed the virtual library program I did on December 8 and wanted to see it, here’s a copy of the 55-minute recording that will remain on this website until the end of January. Thanks to Nicole Husbands of the Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA, for making this video available!
A Seagoing Cowboy presentation you don’t have to travel to!
I’ll be doing my first ever Zoom presentation on seagoing cowboys for the Indian Valley Public Library in Telford, PA, next week. If anyone would like to tune in, you can register here: https://ivpl.assabetinteractive.com/cal…/seagoing-cowboys/
It’s next Tuesday, December 8 at 7:00. Will run about an hour. Would love to see some of you there!
Interview with Sammy the Toucan
A short interview with me by “Sammy the Toucan” for the Indiana Center for the Book about my picture book THE SEAGOING COWBOY premiered last week on the Indiana State Library Facebook page. It is now available on YouTube and you can listen to it here. It was great fun talking with Sammy! Enjoy!
New Book by Mary Ann Steinke-Moore
The debut young adult novel of my fellow TaleBlazer and dear friend Mary Ann Steinke-Moore is now available. MANDY’S SONG, published by Pelican Book Group, will speak to young people who struggle with self worth. It’s a wonderful, heart-warming read about young hopes, dreams, and love. Congratulations Mary Ann on this long-awaited milestone!
Happy book birthday to THE SEAGOING COWBOY!
Four years ago March 31, THE SEAGOING COWBOY set sail!
Happy birthday to THE SEAGOING COWBOY!
Thanks, Claire Ewart, for your beautiful illustrations that brought the story to life!
And thanks, Brethren Press, for a great ride!
Book Signings coming up!

The little guys to whom THE SEAGOING COWBOY is dedicated.
You can find me at two book signings next week autographing copies of The Seagoing Cowboy. Sunday, November 24, I’ll be at the “Meet the Author” event at the Springboro Historical Museum, 110 S. Main Street, in Springboro, Ohio, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. And Saturday, November 30, I’ll be at the New & Olde Pages Book Shoppe, 856 Union Blvd, in Englewood, Ohio, at their Holiday Open House from 1:00-5:00 p.m. The Seagoing Cowboy makes a wonderful Christmas gift for that pre-school or elementary school student on your list! Stop in and say hello if you’re in the area. If you’re further away, the book can be ordered through Brethren Press.
Congratulations to Dayton Christian Elementary School!
My congratulations to Dayton Christian Elementary School on raising $3,416.00 for Heifer International!
Your classes selected 5 hives of bees, 2 sheep, 6 chickens, 4 goats, 3 rabbits, 2 flocks of ducks, 1 flock of geese, 2 llamas, 4 pigs, 5 water buffalo, with $6.00 left over to be used where most needed. Best of all, your gifts were given during a matching gift promotion and your contribution was doubled!
You are an inspiration!

Students proudly display pictures they made of the animal their class decided to purchase. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.
Inspiring morning at Dayton Christian School
I give a big shout out to Dayton Christian School Librarian Jodi Brown! Jodi coordinated a school visit for me to share my book The Seagoing Cowboy with the Dayton Christian Elementary School students in chapel this morning. But she did much more than that. Since last spring, she has been sharing her enthusiasm with school staff and students for the work of Heifer International to which my book relates. The students inspired me by energetically raising funds to buy several animals for Heifer, exemplifying the school’s mission of “Building Foundations, Changing Lives,” and being “the Salt and Light of the World.” Read more in DCS Communications Director Melissa Geiss’s report on the DCS website.

Students proudly display pictures they made of the animal their class decided to purchase. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.

Me with Dayton Christian School Librarian Jodi Brown. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.

Joyful students from Dayton Christian Elementary School. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.