Press / Media
One Hundred Sixty Acres Of Dirt
Marsha Arzberger
Author
WINNER OF 4 LITERARY AWARDS! – 2nd Place Arizona Authors Assn! — Winner 3 categories N.Mexico/AZ Book Coop
A History of the Pioneers of Kansas Settlement, Arizona Territory, 1909 and Stories, including The Schoolmarm’s Pearl-Handled Pistol
Fred rode up as rustlers were stealing his calves and chased one up the windmill tower. The rustler had a gun. What happened?
Anne’s husband was killed in a shoot-out at the crossroads. What did Anne do the day the killer was acquitted?
When the horse fell, the young cowboy’s boot was caught in the stirrup. He was just fourteen. Could he survive?
One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt tells the tales of remarkable people—farmers, cowboys, pioneer women and schoolmarms. They dealt with rustlers, droughts, Apaches, and straying husbands. These are the stories of how they persevered and survived—filled with the emotions and passions of the people that lived them.
About the author
Marsha Arzberger flies her private plane when she travels. Her home base is a ranch in a high valley of southeastern Arizona. She served four terms as an Arizona state senator and minority leader. She is an instrument-rated pilot who flies search-and-rescue, a cowgirl, a rancher and an author. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, and was Dean of a junior college.
She published a historical romance novel and self-published two family history books. She wrote articles for the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Range News, and Arizona Highways. When she was a Senator, she appeared on CNN.
Marsha loves delving into history and discovering how people lived one hundred/two hundred years ago. As a pilot, she loves flying and adventure . . . and she also loves dancing and gardening. She lives near family (they honor their Scot roots and call themselves a “clan”) with her little dog, a big gray ranch cat, and a rescued calico kitten. She insists they “talk” to her.
December 15, 2020– Herald/Review, Sierra Vista, Arizona. Feature article “Marsha Arzberger: A cowgirl of all trades” by Jon Rice.
https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/willcox/marsha-arzberger-a-cowgirl-of-all-trades/article_547317f2-3f39-11eb-a951-87eb103da60c.html
Contact Information
Marsha Arzberger
Member of Organizations
Western Writers of America WWA
The Author’s Guild
Romance Writers of America RWA
Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators SCBWI
Speaking Events / Book Signings
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY ACRES OF DIRT is scheduled for release March 9, 2021. No pre-release events are scheduled due to the Covid crisis.
Interviews
Marsha answers questions
I am a listener. When I first came to this Arizona valley, older folks would tell me their stories. I have a life-long habit of either writing down stories I hear or retaining them in memory. So I remembered the stories. My husband was older than I, and a child of one of the pioneer families. He and his sisters had many stories to tell. Some of my friends in the area were descendants of the original pioneers.
I discovered (with some research) that the history of this southeastern Arizona valley had not been recorded. So I set out to tell the stories factually, with the assistance of the pioneer descendants who provided their Great-Grandmother’s scrapbook or their family’s treasured photographs and records.
These were exciting, fun people. Their stories were different and the activities of their daily lives were so different from today. They had tragedies that make you weep, and then they would pick up and keep going. I laughed when I heard the tale of a friend’s grandmother when the post office delivered letters and a package from her husband. There were love letters and silk stockings, but they were addressed to another woman in the valley.
I wrote this book as a gift . . . to the descendants and a remembrance of the pioneers . . . but it is good for the rest of us to learn about our past also. The strength and determination of the homesteaders are lessons for us today.