During a recent subbing job, while assigning an article on environmentalism, I was reminded of one of several reasons I am writing books.

When our boys were little (if you know them, you'll find it hard to believe they were ever little!), my husband and I moved to northern Nevada--ranching country. I was fascinated with ranch and cowboy life, so different from my more urban background. I realized many kids have no idea where their food comes from or the importance agriculture plays in our lives. Food doesn't come from the store--it is produced by farmers and ranchers. Cowboys aren't just colorful characters in the Old West, movies, or rodeos, but play in important role in beef production.

Having been a bookworm all my life, I read piles of books to my little ones, hoping to instill in them the love of books. Many were engaging and well-written, but some made me wonder if I couldn't have written a better one myself! I began to toy with the thought of someday writing books for children.

Fast forward a few years. My boys are bringing home papers from school with a strong environmentalist slant, sometimes (as in the assignment I mentioned above) with a blatant anti-farming/ranching element. My pro-agriculture feelings were kindled even further.

By this time I was writing and selling stories and articles to magazines and felt ready to attempt a book. I had read that nonfiction was a good way for a new author to break into the publishing game. I fumbled around with a few fruitless endeavors before it occurred to me that I could probably appeal to more kids in a fiction format, weaving background information into my story.

Not only did this approach prove successful, but during author talks I can bring out the agriculture angle even more, as part of an entertaining slideshow. The curriculum unit, while primarily integrating elements of reading and writing, helps teachers use the agriculture focus as a science connection and the Nevada ranching focus as a social studies connection.

Unfortunately, there was no time the other day to take the time to talk with my class about environmentalism, its agenda, and how it is pushed in the classroom and elsewhere. But through my books, I am doing what I can to educate kids about agriculture and the unique ranching sub-culture of the West.

Yesterday we drove the two hours to the Elko County Fair to watch the finals of the cowhorse competition and the team branding competition. We have always loved the Elko area, and driving through that country reminded me of the actual incidents that became the seeds of Chapter 1. Maggie Creek Ranch, just outside Carlin, 20 miles west of Elko, was the location of the fence-crashing (which I believe I have on videotape), and is the ranch I saw in my mind as I started writing the story, although I'm sure I've changed it quite a bit.

The ground squirrel escapade is a combination of two events. One was very similar to the scene in the book. Another originated on a family outing to our favorite fishing and canoeing spot, Angel Lake, 12 miles south of Wells, a scenic little pocket at an elevation of 8500 in the Ruby Mountains. Chipmunks abound there and are bold enough to sneak right into your picnic lunch. Our boys would lay down and let the chipmunks scamper over their bodies, trying to not laugh from the tickling, as the chipmunks retrieved strategically placed potato chips.

One day a chipmunk darted right into the potato chip bag, and our son snatched up the bag, holding it tightly closed. My husband grabbed a piece of fishing line, tied a slipknot in the end, and held it over the mouth of the bag while our son slowly opened the bag. When the chipmunk emerged, he found himself caught in the noose, which quickly tightened around his neck and one front leg.

Hitting the ground, he leaped and somersaulted, squeaking indignantly--I could swear he jumped two or three feet in the air. Meanwhile my silly husband carried on like he had a wild horse on the end of a halter rope. "Whoa there, big boy! Easy, fella!" We all laughed so hard we were crying. What I wouldn't give to have THAT on videotape, but wouldn't you know it, that was the ONE day I'd left my camera in the pickup on the other side of the lake.

So you see how a writer can take various unrelated true-life incidents, combine or change them a little or a lot, and create a fictional incident. I'm sure some writers can create characters and incidents completely from their own imaginations, but I am not that imaginative. Most of my characters and incidents originated from real people and events, which helps me to write about them in a detailed and believable way.