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Heidi M. Thomas is honored to have received the WILLA literary award in the YA category from Women Writing the West for the novel Goth-girl to Cowgirl. This award is named for Pulitzer prize-winning author Willa Cather.

Hey everyone, I've been looking for new ways to unwind after hectic days. What are your go-to methods for relaxation? Whether it's a hobby, a specific activity, or a routine, I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Hello out there ... my adventure novel is a standalone sequel to my first novel, Wild Call to Boulder Field. Let Him Go Wild (working title/synopsis)  In a remote camp deep in Arizona’s White Mountains, an old squatter’s cabin sprawls. The site has rows of crude pens and kennels holding wild animals. In one cage, a small pack of coyotes digs frantically at the ground to try to free themselves. They dig away enough ground for their smallest pup to get free. A fluffy beige youth, he still has the stub nose and big ears of a litter pup. Nearby, along the Coronado Trail, park ranger Wade Conrad spots a small coyote moving south. Wade’s interest in the coyote, a collared one, is interrupted when he gets a text message from young Jesse Hayduke, who’s working at a golf course farther south along the Coronado. Jesse’s later teen years were mostly spent on the streets and as a creative eco-protestor in support of wildlife. Wade has more or less mentored Jesse ever since they ran into each other hiking the Arizona Trail. In fact, Wade bailed him out of jail after Jesse was arrested for chaining himself to a US Department Agriculture gate to protest the killing of coyotes at the behest of ranchers and farmers. Jesse is befriended by the young coyote who appears at the golf course along with a bigger buddy coyote. Jesse knows it’s reckless to feed and care for a wild coyote, but this persistent pup seems to have taken a liking to him. Jesse is also pals with Ruby, the beverage cart girl on the golf course. She lives with her ailing mother on the Apache reservation, and she’s studying to become a naturalist. Ruby senses Jesse’s heart is in the right place, but she knows his head sure isn’t. She cautions him not to interact with the wild pup—collar or no collar. When the trapper who's caging the pup’s pack and other wild animals shows up at the golf course, events move fast and get out of hand. If interested to beta read, please send me an email. rtronning@outlook.com I have a Web site with more about me and my first novel. www.RobertRonningAuthor.com rtronning@outlook.com Author of Wild Call to Boulder Field Fiction Finalist: Dog Writers of America 2023 Contest www.RobertRonningAuthor.com