Cowboy Logic — Mountain girl meets cowboy country

Fear doesn’t always arrive loud and obvious. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it just settles in and waits. In this episode of  Cowboy Logic , I share a lesson about fear that’s stayed with me my entire life — one that didn’t come from a book or a classroom, but from a cowboy who grew up in the mountains of West Virginia. My Uncle Ed wasn’t the kind of man who talked much, but when he did, his word...

In this episode of Cowboy Logic with Ann Dunbar, I share a story I don't talk about much—the day I almost quit writing altogether. I talk about sitting at my desk staring at a blank page until every doubt I'd ever had stared back at me, feeling too tired and too overwhelmed to keep going. But in the darkness, I heard my mama's voice and my daddy's voice reminding me who I've al...

In this episode of Cowboy Logic with Ann Dunbar, I share a Christmas story that has lived in my heart for as long as I can remember—a memory my daddy passed down about a soldier on a battlefield who began to sing “Silent Night” in the middle of chaos. I talk about what that moment of unexpected peace has taught me about courage, hope, and choosing softness when the world feels hard, and how it sha...

On this episode of Cowboy Logic , I’m sharing a quiet Christmas Eve memory from my childhood—one that shaped the way I understand love, storytelling, and what it really means to make a moment magical. Growing up, we didn’t have much, but every Christmas Eve my daddy gave us something better than presents. With a worn book and a steady voice, he turned an ordinary bedroom into a place of wonder. Lo...

A handmade blue mug. A crooked handle. A thin crack that should have been the end of it — but wasn’t. In this episode of Cowboy Logic, I reflect on a small, imperfect object I’ve kept for decades and the quiet wisdom it carries. Through memory, family, and storytelling, I explore what it means to survive, to carry cracks without shame, and to understand that imperfection does not diminish worth. T...

In this episode of Cowboy Logic , I’m sharing the story of a quilt that’s been passed down through three generations of women in my family. It isn’t pretty in the traditional sense — the colors clash, the patches are uneven, and time has worn it thin. But every single piece came from clothing one of my grandmother’s ten children once wore. This quilt holds their lives, their memories, and their mo...

In this week’s episode of Cowboy Logic, I’m sharing the one piece of Appalachian mountain wisdom my mama gave me that changed the way I see beauty, grief, and the stories I write. It started with a jar of fireflies… and ended with a lesson I didn’t understand until I was grown. If you’ve ever kept your light small because you were scared, this episode is for you. You can’t contain beauty — and som...

In this week’s episode of Cowboy Logic , I open up about one of the hardest lessons I’m still learning: the difference between never giving up… and knowing when to rest. From my dad’s unstoppable determination through heart attacks and broken bones, to my own journey through chronic illness, grief, and survival, I share the wisdom I wish I’d understood sooner. Rest isn’t quitting. Rest is what let...

Yes, you should fix problems before they become disasters. But what happens when the cattle get out anyway? When life knocks you sideways and all your careful plans fall apart? In this episode, I talk about the impossible balance of managing chronic illness, working full time, and trying to keep writing on the front burner when life keeps pushing it to the back. I share how perfectionism and the n...

Episode 2: "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" Out on the ranch, your word only means something if you back it up. In this episode, romance author Ann Dunbar explores how this classic cowboy wisdom applies to love, loss, and the craft of writing romance that readers can feel in their bones. From the soft touches and unprompted hugs she misses most about her late family to the way her cowboys Gabriel...

One poem, one promise, and a father’s faith that sparked a writer’s courage. In this first episode of Cowboy Logic , author Ann Dunbar shares the deeply personal story of how her father kept a poem she wrote for 27 years—and how his belief in her changed everything. After his passing, that poem became the spark that led Ann to write her very first novel. This episode explores facing fear, finding...