Cowgirl

Cowgirl Dreams

by Heidi M.Thomas

Defying family and social pressure, Nettie Brady bucks 1920s convention with her dream of becoming a rodeo star. That means competing with men, and cowgirls who ride the rodeo circuit are considered “loose women.” Addicted to the thrill of pitting her strength and wits against a half-ton steer in a rodeo, Nettie exchanges skirts for pants, rides with her brothers on their Montana ranch, and competes in neighborhood rodeos.

Broken bones, killer influenza, flash floods, and family hardship team up to keep Nettie from her dreams. Then she meets a young neighbor cowboy who rides broncs and raises rodeo stock. Will this be Nettie’s ticket to freedom and happiness? Will her rodeo dreams come true?

Based on the life of the author’s grandmother, a real Montana cowgirl.

Suitable for both adult and young adult readers.

I was born with ink running through my veins. Or so I like to say. Even before I could read and write, I wove many tall tales, and when I learned to print my letters, I’m sure I drove my parents to distraction asking, “How do you spell …?” Later, I remember a teacher reading one of my short stories, commenting, “You sure have a wild imagination.”

I've been a voracious reader since my youth. My first visit to the small-town public library 35 miles from our Montana ranch was awe-inspiring. I sat on the floor to read, surrounded by wonderful, fascinating books, and secretly hoped my folks would go home and leave me there overnight. In elementary school, the Bookmobile would come to our school once a month, and I’d come home with at least 30 books—one for each day until it came back again. When my mom needed my help for chores, she knew she’d find me in my room, hunched over a book. I finished my schoolwork quickly so I could read the latest Zane Gray or Nancy Drew, I read in the car on the 150-mile shopping trips to Billings, I read by the yard light shining through the window at night. (No wonder I wear glasses!)