Thank you for visiting! I SO appreciate your interest in my Ozzy Ox series of children’s rhyming picture books. I have to say I am delighted to hear from parents and teachers who tell me the impact Ozzy has on their children. “There is no greater reward than to make a difference in the life of a child.” That is an adage that you’ve heard before, but it expresses succinctly my North Star.

When I began this journey, I channeled the Berenstain Bears books. I think I read every single edition of those colorful stories to my three children as they grew up, and I always appreciated the life lessons—the basic character education—delivered in each.

There are many children’s books online and in bookstores that go far beyond the foundational approach that I have taken with Ozzy Ox. Picking up his toys, managing his sweet tooth, waking up on the wrong side of the bed or refusing to wear clothes appropriate for the weather: we have all coped with our kids' everyday challenges at one time or another. Admitting mistakes when they make them, learning that life’s difficulties can best be overcome by honesty, and acceptance-—these are key takeaways that are the foundation of the Ozzy Ox series. It is my hope that the series will be a “go to” for families and teachers who strive to give their children moral grounding with bouncy rhymes and vivid imagery.

Before Ozzy, I graduated college with a degree in organizational leadership, with a minor in journalism. I spent a career in the energy industry. My role as a communicator and marketer gave me over two decades of writing almost every kind of article, publication or story. That background made me a solid writer and helped me to understand the art of graphic illustration. But it is Ozzy’s illustrator, Emily Erickson Hagen, whose work has brought color and expression to enliven Ozzy Ox. She has enlivened Ozzy and brought out his true colors; I appreciate in particular the emotion she painted into every scene.

Beyond writing, I spent years on a John Deere tractor on our farm and ranch. Our son and his family have taken The Bison Ranch over and we delight in watching another generation grow up and revere the virgin prairie that have given our bison a natural setting where they thrive. I am not sure why I decided that my main character would be an ox and not a bison--but I have learned that bison and oxen are actually first cousins!  

The young Ozzy Ox is definitely a rascal—but so many have come to love him, MomOx and all they encounter in the Land of Oxen.  I am so glad you could join us. Please reach out any time; we’d love to hear from you!