Linda A. Hermes

I've moved around all of my life, from a farm in Nebraska, to the mountains of Colorado, the island of Oahu, and now I'm in dusty West Texas. I love animals and and country life and I've always been interested in the history of the Old West. I was a member of a ladies living history group for many years and portrayed an 1880's Army laundress at Fort Concho National Historic Landmark. A friend suggested that I write a children's book about Fort Concho and I decided to write it from the viewpoint of two Army mules, Hoot and Holler. They're harness mates, they talk to each other, and Holler does his best to keep Hoot out of trouble, but if Hoot can find an unlatched gate he's off to explore and get into a little mischief. My one and only book turned into six books and they tell what everyday life was like on a frontier Army post. By writing about mules I didn't have to worry about military nor social protocol. My books are historically and chronologically correct, and at the end of the last five books I added bits of trivia about things mentioned in the stories. (The first book was supposed to be the only book, it's more like a bedtime story.)

I also wrote a book about the Brady, Texas area for young readers. "Digger Visits Brady, Texas" is about a scruffy, stinky dog that tags along when his human goes to town. Digger sees all sorts of things, and finds a way to exit whenever he hears the word "bath" mentioned.