Introducing: Valerie Ormond

Valerie and Chance

This week's featured author is Valerie Ormond, and if you couldn't guess by her beautiful picture, Valerie loves horses. Her passion for these beautiful animals goes beyond the occasion ride. Read on to find out more about Valerie and her work with horses. 

"Valerie Ormond spent the majority of her adult life as a Naval Intelligence Officer. The daughter of two English majors, and an English major herself, she always had a great interest in books and writing. She now combines her life experiences, love of horses, and interest in writing in her second career. Her first novel, Believing In Horses (March 2011, J.B. Max Publishing), tells the story of a young girl saving unwanted horses. Believing In Horses was a selection for the National Education Association’s Read Across America program, the nation’s largest annual reading event; earned the Parent Tested Parent Approved Official Winners Seal of Approval; and won the Gold Medal in the Stars and Flags Book Awards program.

Valerie writes freelance for a variety of publications and organizations and contributed to the recently-published best seller, 5 Must-Know Secrets for Today’s College Girl (Lauren Salamone, June 2011, Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc). Ormond holds memberships in American Horse Publications, the Military Writers Society of America, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She believes in the healing power of horses and participates in numerous equine-related organizations including the Maryland Horse Council, Certified Horsemanship Association, National Capital Adult Equestrian League, and the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association. She serves on the Board of Directors for Desire Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to adopting rescued and unwanted horses for use as partners with in educating, mentoring, and counseling individuals, children, and families through various equine assisted activities.

Her education includes a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Penn.; a Master of Strategic Intelligence, Defense Intelligence College, Washington, DC, and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Mass Communication from Towson University, Towson, Md. She is a lifetime member of the Naval Intelligence Professionals and Disabled American Veterans and a strong supporter of the military and veterans.

She lives with her husband Jaime Navarro, also a Navy veteran and horseman, in, Maryland, where they enjoy the company of their wonderful families, friends, horses, and dogs." 

You can connect with Valerie by email at Valerie@BelievingInHorses.com, through her Website, Facebook, Blog, or Twitter. 

Believing in Horses is available now through Valerie's website as well as Amazon. 

You can also enter to win a paperback copy of Believing in Horses by leaving a comment this week or following Valerie Ormond on Facebook or Twitter. Don't forget to click on the Rafflecopter button to make sure your entry is counted. 


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