Mary B. Kurtz

Mary and her husband, Pete, raise cattle and quarter horses on their ranch in the Elk River Valley in northwestern Colorado. She and her husband have two adult children.

Mary has contributed to Farm and Ranch Living, The Trail and Rider Magazine, Country Woman and Cats and Kittens. She co-authored Friends for Life: The Legacy of a 1950s Neighborhood with Meg Spencer. As co-editor of the locally bestselling cookbook, Steamboat Entertains, Mary has experience with editing, publishing, and marketing a book for a non-profit organization.

Mary’s first collection of essays, At Home in the Elk River Valley: Reflections on Family, Place, and the West was released in April 2011. Readers who love the West will find her essays an insightful journey into the history, natural world, and community of a special mountain valley near Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

In addition to Mary’s work as a writer, she has taught special education, practiced psychotherapy, and coached and volunteered with a number of youth organizations, including her county 4-H program. She is a member of the Routt County Cattlewomen, serving as past president and vice-president and editor of the organization’s quarterly newsletter; and also a member of the Steamboat Writers Group, She Writes  Steamboat, the Steamboat Arts Council, the Yampa River Botanic Park, and the Routt County Humane Society.

Readers are invited to join Mary both on her blog, where she writes regularly about her life in the Elk River Valley at www.marybkurtz.blogspot.com; and on her book website at www.marybkurtz.com where she also features her ranch photography with photographic notecards and prints available for purchase.