Rose Marie Kern

 

Genre:

      • Aviation Book and Articles
      • Sustainable Living and Gardening Articles
      • Non-Fiction Books
      • Short Stories
      • Plays & Film Scripts

Website:

RoseMarieKern.com
RMKpublications.com

Contact:

author@rosemariekern.com


Bio

Rose Marie has a degree in Arts Administration from Butler University.  In the 1970’s she wrote a one-act children’s play for the Girl Scouts, and began directing plays for various theaters, schools and community groups in Indianapolis.  Hired by the Federal Aviation Administration in 1983, She worked in Air Traffic Control in the Center, Tower and Flight Service Specialties.  An advocate for renewable energy, in 1990 she has been writing articles related to solar energy, sustainable living, solar cooking, aviation and organic gardening for various magazines (listed below).

The FAA asked her to write and direct training films about Air Traffic Services for the pilot community beginning in 2000.  In 2009 she developed a training program for Lockheed Martin when they took over administering the Flight Service division.

At one time she had monthly columns in 9 publications, and 2 online websites and has been a featured author for others. She has been a member of the Southwest Writer’s Association since January of 2006, and became a board member in 2008. Additionally she has won several awards for photography and short stories. In 2022, Rose Marie was given SouthWest Writers highest honor, The Parris Award.

After retirement from aviation Rose turned to working with the USDA’s Master Gardener program – teaching and  assisting gardeners with the challenges of growing in a high desert environment.  More information can be found at www.rosemariekern.com


Books

Title:  The Competently Quirky Parables of an Eccentric Master Gardener
Publisher:  RMK Publications, LLC   (July, 2024)

Some people plant a few flowers. Some grow veggies in summer. Maybe they have a little spider plant or bamboo in the office.

I am not exactly one of those people. My philodendron extends from one pot on a shelf across three walls in my dining room. The Maple sapling in my front yard cries when temperatures top 100 degrees. Starbucks baristas across the city save coffee grounds for me. Plant catalogs choke my mailbox and, yes, this 67 year old Master Gardener owns a tractor.

I can get somewhat obsessive about it all. My husband has grown accustomed to my insistence that vacations must be planned around key times for vegetable garden harvesting. I write two page long watering instructions for house sitters in the fervent desire that leaving for a week won’t destroy the charm and beauty of my home environment.

I’ve been told my unusual methods of approaching the challenges of the garden are effective, and I’ve given lectures for gardening clubs on various aspects of gardening from creating microclimates in high desert areas to vacuuming squash bugs. My friends smile and call me eccentric, fellow gardeners acknowledge me as competent and my kids just think I’m kinda quirky.

Available on Amazon.


Title: Woven Pathways: The 2023 SouthWest Writers Winners Anthology
Publisher: Independently published (September 6, 2023)

SouthWest Writers has released a new collection of award winning prose and poetry highlighting the talents of both experienced and novice wordsmiths. This delightful anthology weaves together diverse genres and viewpoints to bring you an eclectic mix of humor, pathos, and intrigue. These pieces were all winners in the 2023 SWW annual writing contest. This year’s contest includes writing categories in both prose and poetry, fiction and nonfiction, spanning the gamut from opening pages of novels to flash fiction to memoirs. The Annual Writing Contest allows both new and seasoned writers to sharpen their skills by taking them out of their comfort zone. We the members of SouthWest Writers hope you enjoy this year’s anthology of contest finalists — after all, you the reader are the reason we write!

Available for Sale

Amazon


Creating Microclimates for High Desert Gardening

Gardening in the High Desert presents challenges not faced by those who live in moister climates that are closer to sea level. These areas combine a dry climate with the effects of high altitude on plants and animals. In any given high desert area you can have wildly varying climates within a 30 mile radius. Mountains deflect winds and affect weather systems. Solar radiation scalds leaves in higher terrain. A microclimate is an area of weather conditions differing from the prevailing conditions due to terrain, water features, plant life, or man-made structures.

Once you realize how these things can modify weather in your yard you can use them to your best advantage. This book goes into detail on global climatic norms and how a high desert environment differs from standard. It discusses how to observe the climates and microclimates of your living environment and offers advice on creating conditions more beneficial to whatever kind of plant life you would like to foster in your vegetable or flower gardens.

Rose Kern is a New Mexico Master Gardener, beekeeper and a Solar Chef. She currently lives in a passive solar adobe home in the Rio Grande Valley south of Albuquerque. Her 34-year career in aviation focused on weather system interpretation for pilot briefings. By applying the basics of meteorology to surface environments, she has been able to help suburban homesteaders create beautiful and bountiful garden spaces. Rose lectures on Microclimatology for gardening groups across the southwest. She also gives demonstrations of solar cooking, canning, and solar food dehydration.

For more information go to her sustainable living website:  www.solarranch.com

Available for Sale  on Amazon


Title: STRESS is Relative: Memoir of an Air Traffic Controller

Ever since Rose became an air traffic controller in 1983 people meeting her immediately comment about how stressful her job is. But is it the job? Is it being a woman in a mostly male profession?

Rose’s memoir STRESS is Relative follows her career in ATC from the time she first heard about this challenging and lucrative job to the day she retired. Along the way readers get insights into the mysterious world of Air Traffic Control, and how attitudes towards women evolved over time.

Rose Marie Kern has worked in all three divisions of Air Traffic Control. She has won three national awards for her work with pilots and aviation computer engineers. She writes monthly columns for seven aviation publications. A member of the FAA Safety team, Rose Marie is a popular speaker for aviation groups nationwide.

Available for Sale on Amazon


Title:        Air to Ground 2020, A Guide to the World of Air Traffic Control

 

The relationship between pilots and air traffic control personnel has never been cavalier. There is an invisible wall that exists – the disembodied voice that carries instructions phrased in officially sanctioned terminology is both reassuringly familiar and yet remote and impersonal. Air Traffic Controllers are distant authoritative voices who must be obeyed, heard but never seen, whose main purpose in life is to keep pilots from killing themselves and others by telling them where to go. Behind that confident decisive voice we hear on the radios are men and women who come through some intense training in order to get a job that pays well and commands respect.

An Air Traffic Control specialist for over 33 years, first with the Federal Government and later with Lockheed Martin/Leidos, Rose Marie Kern has written articles for 12 different aviation magazines and newsletters and is a popular speaker for pilot associations in the southwest. Her book, Air to Ground, gave pilots a glimpse into the cold corridors of Air Traffic,  greatly enhancing understanding of the National Airspace System, its procedures, and the people whose job it is to provide for the safe and efficient flow of Air Traffic. .

The revised book, Air to Ground 2020 reflected a major change in procedures when the FAA switched over from a ground based radar surveillance system to satellite surveillance.  It is an excellent resource for student and instructor pilots and has been endorsed by Fly Low Magazine and Plane and Pilot News.

Available for Sale on Amazon


Title: The Solar Chef—A Southwestern Recipe Book for Solar Cooking
Publisher: Solar Ranch-seventh edition 2020 
Genre: Nonfiction

There are hundreds of cookbooks in the world, which require grills, stoves, microwaves, or campfires. The Solar Ranch out of Arabela, New Mexico presents a cookbook full of recipes that use a different source of heat—the sun. The Solar Chef is a southwestern recipe book full of recipes and instructions for cooking delicious meals using only sunlight and a solar box cooker. The author, Rose Marie Kern, a longtime member of the New Mexico Solar Energy Association, has collected recipes from Texas to Arizona.

“Using a solar cooker brings a bright new element to food preparation—sunlight!,” says Ms. Kern. “Unlike conventional ovens, the cookers retain moisture so roasts and casseroles do not dry out. They can be used to bake, roast, or slow-cook.” Rose’s book is recommended and sold by the International Sun Oven corporation. It is in its 8th edition and has been read around the world.

Available for Sale on Amazon

 


Title: FUNdraising Events!: A Step by Step Guide for Small to Medium Non-Profit Organizations
Publisher: Outskirts Press (2009)
Genre: Nonfiction

One of the basic conditions of being human is the desire to make our world a better place. When we join other like-minded individuals and search for ways to change the current situation a non-profit organization is born. But there are costs for everything we do—so what kind of fundraising would be appropriate for your organization?

There are myriads of possibilities. Some, like New Mexico Solar Energy Association, are natural outshoots of what and who they are. Some fundraisers demand a quiet, elegant approach, where others are very down to earth. The best fund raising is also FUN-Raising. We are all volunteers, and we have something to give the world. Why not enjoy ourselves in the process? In my book FUNdraising Events! we discuss many types of fundraising events focusing on the needs of small to medium size groups. Let’s turn ideas into reality!

Available for Sale on Amazon


Magazine Articles and Online Publications

Title Publication/Issue URL
Air to Ground Column Fly Low Magazine http://www.fly-low.com/
Air to Ground Column Plane and Pilot News http://www.planeandpilotnews.com/
Microclimatology for Gardeners The ABQ Master Gardener Newsletter http://abqmastergardeners.org
The History of Aviation Embry Riddle University http://commons.erau.edu/aviation-history/9/

Award winning short stories and poetry are published in the following publications. 

Click on the story to read it on her website.

  • The Milkbone Dance    Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lesson’s Learned from my Dog  (2023)
  • Jeremy’s Journey          2020 SouthWest Writers Winners Anthology
  • Crik Walkin’                  El Paso Author’s League Writing Contest Anthology 2022
  • Fabulous Flavor of Sunlight     “Unplugged Voices” Anthology /Millicent Rogers Museum
  • Jet Lag                             SWW Storytellers Anthology
  • The Oldest Daughter     Professional Writers of Prescott Writing contest 2012
  • The Lamb Cake              Seeing the World in 20/20 – /2020 SWW Contest winners anthology
  • Until Next Time             NM Humanities Council Before I Die Festival winner
  • Working in ATC             Women in Aviation Magazine
  • Pageant in the Air         Published in Border Tapestry Anthology 2022
  • Flying with Friends        Published in Fly-Low magazine 2015
  • Just Plain Selfish ♦ 1st Place: Limericks   Published in Woven Pathways  2023
    Garden Gripes ♦ 2nd Place: Limericks    Published in Woven Pathways  2023
    The Art of Vengeance ♦ 2nd Place: Opening Pages of a Novel, Mystery/Crime Woven Pathways  2023
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