Editor's note: This is the third in a six-week Literacy for Life series aimed at bringing attention to the importance of literacy in the community.
Calling herself "a cowgirl at heart," Verdi author Terri Farley brings her fantasy childhood to life in her books about wild horses.
Her 24-volume "Phantom Stallion" series is set in modern-day Nevada. "Wild Horse Island" takes place on a fictional Hawaiian island, and "Seven Tears into the Sea" combines the north coast of contemporary California with ancient Celtic legends.
"She weaves these stories in with the whole aspect of, 'It's OK to dream,'" said Andrea Moore, programming coordinator for the Carson City Library. "And you can reach those dreams."
Farley will share her vision with Carson City youth during a special presentation Oct. 2 at the Silver Saddle Ranch, where she will bring along a wild horse as well.
The presentation is part of the Carson City Library and Nevada Appeal's Literacy for Life initiative to raise awareness and promote reading throughout the community.
The books, which are popular among youth ages 9-12, can serve a critical role, Moore said. By getting one child interested in reading at a young age, it will open the door to a lifetime of literacy.
"Their appetite has been whet," she said. "Once you've got a child hooked on reading, they're hooked."
In researching her work, Farley has ridden across the Nevada desert in a Pony Express re-enactment, spent 10 days in the saddle for a Nevada-California cattle drive and job-shadowed paniolos on Hawaii, according to her website.
She also has become an advocate for the wild horse.
A plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior, she's joined in asking a court to order the Bureau of Land Management to return 1,800 mustangs from the Calico Mountains, the setting for her "Phantom Stallion" series, to their native lands.
As part of the program, the Carson City Library also will host a showing of the documentary "Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies," at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in the auditorium.