Sue Houser

Sue Houser turned to writing after her retirement as a social worker/therapist. She writes stories about New Mexico, her native state.

AMELIA AND THE MAGIC PONIES was inspired by the story of Tio Vivo, an antique flying horse carousel that still operates in Taos, New Mexico. When the carousel is found abandoned in an old barn, Amelia is heartbroken. Can it be brought back to life?

WILMETTIE is the story of a 12-year-old girl's covered wagon journey in the early 1900s. The story was inspired by the real-life experiences of her grandmother, Willie Mettie Wright, when her family left the cotton fields of Texas to homestead in New Mexico Territory.

THE CORN WHISPERER came about after Sue learned that the old saying “It is so quiet, you can hear the corn grow” is actually true. While visiting Acoma, one of New Mexico’s 19 pueblos, Sue observed a nearby cornfield. This tranquil setting seemed the perfect place to hear corn grow, and kernels of The Corn Whisperer began to germinate.

LA CONQUISTADORA: THE STORY OF THE OLDEST STATUE OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN THE U.S. tells the history of a humble wooden statue that traveled by oxcart to the Kingdom of Nuevo México in 1625. The book captures the deep affection given this beloved statue, now enthroned in her own chapel at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM.

Hot Foot Teddy: The True Story of Smokey Bear was selected in 2008, and again in 2012, by the NM State Library Association for the Battle of the Books competition in elementary schools. After attending Smokey Bear’s birthday party in Capitan―along with 4,000 other people―Sue said, “Someone should write a book about New Mexico’s famous bear.” And so she did.