I was born (Tamara Anne Dicus) in Twisp, Washington, a small ranching/logging community in the northern part of the state.

My dad was a logger, and our family lived on a twelve acre farm where we raised everything we ate.

Chores and hard work were a part of our everyday lives in order for us to exist in the beautiful Methow (pronounced Met-how) Valley where I enjoyed a wonderful childhood in wide-open cattle country. Milking cows, slopping hogs, feeding chickens, mucking out, hoeing a huge garden, canning and picking fruit in the fall, were just a few of the chores my siblings and I were assigned. But it was not all work and no play. Each day consisted of adventures with my two brothers, (Clyde and Steven), neighborhood kids, and animal friends; In spring and summer months―running barefoot, riding horses, playing in haylofts, swimming in frigid river waters, sitting on the fence while watching cowboys brand cattle or break wild horses, and sleeping under the stars on warm nights was the order of our lives. And in fall and winter―daydreaming while kicking through red, yellow and orange leaves that floated down from birch, quaking asp, oak, and maple trees, riding horses, catching snowflakes on our tongues, sucking ice sickles, sledding/ tobogganing, building snow castles, ice skating, and just plain good ol’ outdoor-fun in the cold, snowy countryside.

When I married my husband of thirty-two years, I brought three children from a previous marriage, (he brought two) into the union. Because of a failing economy at that time in our little community, we were forced to move the family to the more urban areas on the west side of the mountains of Washington state in order to procure a decent living. Though I was far from home, my heart remained in the beloved Methow Valley.

After a thirty-year career as a beautician and owner of several salons, I retired and pursued my passion―“WRITING.” Naturally, I was most comfortable in writing poems and prose from those warm memories of country and cowboy life. Thus, cowboy poetry and western novels came easily to me and I started a new career writing mostly in these two genres.

I often perform on western radio stations, and have been invited to do stage work as well at cowboy jamborees and gatherings all across this nation and Canada. I have two books published, “PURE COUNTRY” and “DUSTY TRAILS,” with more to come.

You will find many of my poems on this, www.cowboyfun.com, and other websites such as… www.cowboypoetry.com www.texasbobsworld.com (under PURE COWBOY FUN) and http://wacobelle.org

At the end of 2006, my husband, Steve, will be retiring and we plan to move permanently to our home in Arizona.

Tamara Hillman