Rancher wrangles words alongside cattle

Whenever something happens on Dawn Nelson's ranch, friends ask if it will be in her next book. The answer is "probably," Nelson says. Nelson's fifth book, "The Rancher," was recently published. It is the third in a series of ranching stories with a trace of romance, including "Cowgirl's Justice" and "The Colt." She is also the author of two short-story memoir collections, "A Cowgirl Remembers When" and "A Cowgirl Never Forgets." "My books are a combination of things that actually happened out here on the ranch," Nelson said. Nelson's next book will take on the issue of wolves, a hot-button issue for ranchers across the West. Nelson said she and her family have dealt with predators in the past and that regulatory agencies have been "useless." "I try to deal with problems," she said of her writing. "I can't go to the White House and tell them, 'You idiots,' so I do it with my books." She also recently saw the publication of a rancher's cookbook and her first cowboy poetry CD. A third-generation rancher, Nelson resides with husband, Kris, and their 6-year-old daughter, Laren, on a 100-head ranch in Creston, Wash., about an hour's drive north of Spokane...more