Books
Non-Fiction: Emigrant Tales of the Platte River Raids
December, 2023.
Accounts from survivors of the 1864 attacks on the Oregon and Overland Trails through Wyoming by Northern Plains Indians. Descendant-approved biographies and interpretations of events, presented in context and in sequence, as never before seen.
Features the families of Wyatt Earp, Johnny Ringo, John Brown, Daniel Boone, Fanny Kelly, Sarah Larimer, Julius Merrill, & Col. Wm O. Collins.
Forward by former National Park Service Ranger & Trails Interpretive Guide, Kylie McCormick. (KLM Wyoming Historian)
Non-Fiction: The 1864 Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau
Summer, 2023
The official, unabridged diary of Sarah Jane Rousseau and the Pella Company’s 1864 journey from Iowa to California from the private collection of direct descendants. Foreword by Janelle Molony, 3rd great-granddaughter. The book features bonus material from the fictionalized retelling of events by award-winning author and historian, Janelle Molony.
Women Writing the West’s WILLA Award Finalist!
Available in E-book, Paperback, and Large Print editions.
Official Book Trailer
Non–Fiction: Evidence for the 1864 John Brown Family Camp Corral Sketch
Non–Fiction: Poems from the Asylum
Watch Official Book Trailer #1
Watch Official Book Trailer #2
Martha Nasch captures the human condition from behind thickened walls and jingling keys during her stay at the St. Peter Hospital for the Insane in Minnesota, USA, 1928-1930s. Fully researched and annotated poetry anthology with commentary from direct descendants.
- 2022 BookFest Winner (2nd Place in History, 3rd Place in Biographies)
- As seen on TV and mentioned in Time Magazine!
Available on Amazon!
Non-Fiction: Un-Adoptable? Faith Beyond Foster Care
The adoption agency made a mistake. A mother welcomed in a child who brought fear and destruction into the home. She wrestles with God, doctors, and social workers over what to do next.
Buy now from Amazon or Barnes & Noble: Paperback / E-Book & Audiobook!
For Wholesale orders, check out IngramContent.
Short Stories/Anthologies/Collections (Contributing Author)
The Stars In Your Family (2021). “Sarah Jane Daglish: A Case of Mistaken Identity.” Short story anthology curated by the Southern California Genealogical Society, featuring Martha Nasch (see Seven Years Insane) and Sarah J. Rousseau. (see From Where I Sat). *Read
Preserving Your Family Tales (2022). “Joseph Jacob Doerrler: Duped to Death.” Short story anthology curated by the Southern California Genealogical Society, featuring Louis Nasch (see Seven Years Insane). *Read
Turning the Corner (Eber & Wein, 2022). “On Mother’s Advice.” Collection of finalist entries in the 2022 Poetry Nation contest, curated by Poetry Nation. *Read.
Coming Soon:
Fiction: From Where I Sat (in progress)
Civil War Era adventure through the American Plains with Sarah J. Rousseau and wagon-master, Nicholas P. Earp. Based on a first-hand diary account.
Non-Fiction: Cross Family Wives’ Tales (in early development)
Oral histories highlighting the lives and history of the Cross Tobacco Plantation in North Keys, Maryland. Features first-person accounts of the farming experience from 1902 to 2023.
Fiction: Seven Years Insane (in early development)
Depression Era thriller about Martha Nasch, a woman locked up for mysterious reasons. Based on a first-hand diary account. Special thanks to contributing author, Jodi Nasch Decker!
Janelle Molony, Live:
Western Association of Women Historians – Wall of Experts (see the official list here)
Wyoming Historical Society Speaker – Overland Adventures and Odd Coincidences Along the Way (see the official Speakers List here)
International Speaker – Pranic World Festival 2024, Italy: Martha Nasch and Other “Breatharians,” Before the Word Existed (Aug. 2023)
Local Speaker – Wyoming Pioneer Association: “Surviving the Platte River Raids” (August 2024)
Local Speaker – Sedona Public Library & Woods Memorial Library, Arizona: “A Journey Back in Time on the Old Oregon Trail” (2024)
Panelist – Chandler Public Library, Arizona: Local Author Fair (April 2024)
Virtual Presenter – Iowa History 101, State Historical Society of Iowa: Pella, Iowan, Sarah Rousseau (March 2024)
International Speaker – Pranic World Festival 2023, Italy: Martha Nasch and Early Perspectives on Eating Less (Aug. 2023)
Local Speaker – Sedona Public Library, Arizona: on Poems from the Asylum (June 2023)
Local Speaker – Tempe Public Library, Arizona: Women’s History Month, on Poems from the Asylum (March 2023)
International Speaker – Pranic World Festival 2022, Italy: Martha Nasch’s Path to Healing (Aug. 2022)
Virtual Presenter – Tempe Library Writers: Writing On The Family Troublemakers (June 2022)
Virtual Presenter – Glore Psychiatric Museum: Psychology Social Hour, Virtual Speaker Series (March 2022)
Virtual Presenter – Minnesota Genealogical Society: Writing About Family – Writing Group Special (Jan. 2022)
Virtual Presenter – AdoptionDiscovery: Featured Presenter – Virtual Summit (video) (May 2020)
Janelle Molony in Print:
Association Journal – Wild West History Association: “Earps V. Indians, 1864” (Fall 2025)
Association Journal – Western Writers of America, Roundup: “WWA members discover illustrations of John Brown’s family in trail diary.” (Dec. 2024)
Scholarly Journal – History Nebraska! Magazine: “Jesse Shoemaker: Merrick County Entrepreneur.” (Summer/Fall 2024)
Scholarly Journal – The Michigan Historical Review: “How a Victorian Immigrant Almost Became the First Lady.” (Spring 2022) *Also, see excerpt here.
Scholarly Journal – Minnesota Genealogist: “Asylum Poems Prove Genealogical Value.” (Spring 2022)
Scholarly Journal – Annals of Wyoming: “1864: More than Massacres.” (Fall 2021)
Lit. Journal – Harbinger Asylum: “Deeply Committed.” (Fall 2021)
Newspaper – Tombstone Epitaph: “Dutch Bros. Pummel Earps” (Jan. 2025)
Newspaper – Tombstone Epitaph: “Wyatt & Johnny, Before They Were Men” (June 2024)
Newspaper – Decorah News: “Journals Link Abolitionist John Brown to
Decorah” (May 2024)
Magazine – Root River Current: “German Genius: Duped to Death” (2023)
Magazine – Women’s History: “Wyoming Promotes Women” (February 2023)
Magazine – Anxiety Zine, Coin-Operated Press: “Martha Refused to Fold” (February 2023)
Magazine – Fine Gardening: “Janelle’s Great-Grandmother’s Garden.” (Spring, 2022)
Magazine – Asylum: “The Devil Who Haunts Me.” (Spring, 2022)
Magazine – Foster Focus: “We Didn’t Force an Identity on Our Adopted Child… Against The Therapist’s Recommendation” (June 2019) *Readership: 9K
Magazine – Screamin’ Mamas: “Sacred Mommy Time” (June 2019)
Magazine – Foster Focus: “Who Can I Talk To Now That The Adoption Is Final?” (Aug. 2019) *Readership: 9K
Magazine – Autism Parenting: “A Sensory Friendly Holiday Reminder: A Letter To My Thanksgiving Guests” (Nov. 2019) *Readership: 72K
Magazine – Fostering Families Today: “De-Stress Unto Others: The Golden Rule for Receiving School-Aged Foster Placements” (Nov./Dec. 2019) *Readership: 10K
Newsletter – Pioneer Tales: “Pioneer Graves, Freshened Up By Family” (San Bernardino Historical & Pioneer Society Newsletter, Spring 2024)
Newsletter – SCHS Newsletter: “From Small Town to Big News” (Sibley County, Minn. Historical Society, Pending 2022)
Newsletter – Rural Roots: “Jacob Doerrler … Duped to Death in Fillmore, Minn.” (Fillmore County Historical Society, Fall 2022) *Read
Newsletter – DGS eNews: “Martha Didn’t Eat Her Dinner … Or Anything Else” (Dallas Genealogical Society, April 2022)
Newsletter – The Crossing: “Friendships From St. Peter Research” (Nicollet County Historical Society, Fall 2021)
Newsletter – MCHS Publication: “The Rousseau Family” (Marion County Genealogical Society, October 2020)
Newsletter – Windmill Weekly: “Westward Ho!” (Pella, Iowa Historical Society, Featured Contributor 5/20 to 12/20)
Newsletter – The Crossing: “Friendships From St. Peter Research” (Nicollet County Historical Society, Fall 2021)
Janelle’s are the “Most Read Stories of 2022!” – Editor of GenTales Magazine
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “A Twenty-Thousand-Dollar Kiss” (May. 2024)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Who Tried to Kill John Brown’s Family on the Overland-California Trail?” (May. 2024)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Dr. James Rousseau: San Bernardino’s Most Notable Pioneer Physician” (Feb. 2024)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Beloved Iowa Physician Almost Drowns Crossing the Frozen “Miss” (Jan. 2024)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “1864 Mule Train “Captain” Rescues Stranded Victims” (Aug. 2023)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Maryland Centenarian Remembers 1926 La Plata Tornado” (Aug. 2023)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Jennie Slack, The Sister Who Never Got Out (Of the Asylum)” (Jan. 2023)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Wyoming Sisters Spend 40+ Years In 1900s Mental Health Institutions” (Jan. 2023)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “The Kelly-Larimer Train: One of Many Murders on the Oregon Trail” (Nov. 2022)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “1880’s Cure-All Kills a Gullible Immigrant” (Sept. 2022)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “German-American Family Shows Off WWI Victory Garden” (June 2022)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Minnesota Poet Shocks Nation” (March 2022)
Online News/Blog – GenTales: “Victorian Sweetheart Wins Over the Wrong Michigan Suitor“ (March 2022)
Press – Cowboy State Daily: “Famed John Brown Family Camped Here.” (C. Moulton, August 2024)
Press – Ahwatukee News: “Ahwatukee historian-author makes prized
discovery.” (C. Dolores Miranda, April 2024)
Press – Oskaloosa Herald: “New book tells tale of Pella pioneers in the Platte River Raids.” (C. Rucks, January 2024)
Press – San Bernardino Sun: “Stories of survival from perilous 1864 wagon trek to San Bernardino.” (N. Cataldo, January 2024)
Press – Wyo4News: “New book puts forgotten emigrant stories on the
map.” (Staff, January 2024)
Press – Wyoming Tribune Eagle: “New book highlights ‘culture clash’ along the Oregon Trail.” (C. Haderlie, January 2024)
Press – Oskaloosa Herald: “New book chronicles first-hand account of Pella pioneers” (C. Rucks, June 2023)
Newspaper – Freelance Journalist for Times Media Group, Arizona. Due to the volume of article outputs, please see the MuckRack listing at MuckRack.com/JanelleMolony
Janelle Molony on Air:
Historical Programming – Wyoming State Historical Society: Women of Wyoming, Then & Now *Watch the episode on Mary Ringo here. (2024-2025)
Historical Programming – Oregon-California Trails Association: “Escape From the Mountain Meadows Massacre” (August 2024)
Historical Programming – Oregon-California Trails Association: “Tales from the Grave – Unearthing Pioneer Markers” (March 2024)
Historical Programming – Oregon-California Trails Association: “Tales from the Trail: Cajon Pass and the Old Spanish Trail” (Spring 2024)
Television – Minnesota Live (ABC 5): Poems from the Asylum (Jan. 2022)
Television – Sonoran Living (ABC 15): Author Talks About the Trials of Adoption (Feb. 2020)
Radio – Report to Wyoming (w/ Kolby Fedore): Wyoming History and the Platte River Raids (Jan. 2024)
Radio – Wake Up Wyoming (w/ Glenn Woods): Murders on the Oregon Trail (audio) (Nov. 2022)
Radio – The Form Show (w/ Marc Lucas): Faith Beyond Ourselves (audio) (Sep. 2020)
Podcast – Cochise County Travels (w/ Mike Mayberry): The Platte River Raids (Nov. 2024)
Podcast – Open Spaces / Wyoming NPR (w/ Caitlin Fan): The Platte River Raids (Jan. 2024)
Podcast – 1,001 Stories of the Old West (w/ Jon Hagadorn): The Platte River Raids (May 2024)
Podcast – Souvenirs (w/ Suzi Minor): Poems From the Asylum (May 2024)
Podcast – Cowboy Up (w/ Alan Day): The Platte River Raids (April 2024)
Podcast – Your Lot & Parcel (w/ Benjamin Diaz): The Story of Martha Nasch’s Strange Affliction (July 2023)
Podcast – Books & Brews Podcast (w/ Laura and Michael): Drink Pairings for Poems from the Asylum (Aug. 2022)
Podcast – Weird Candy Podcast (w/ Chris and Chuck): Poems from the Asylum (Feb. 2022)
Podcast – That’s Some Crazy Sh*t (w/ Kelly and James): Title Pending (Spring, 2022)
Podcast – BookTalk (w/ Anthony Muirluri): Author Interview (Feb. 14, 2022) *Following: 70K
Podcast – The Douglas Coleman Show: Author Interview (Feb.12, 2022)
Podcast – The Relatable Voice (w/ Lucia Matuonto): Session Title Pending (Spring 2022)
Podcast – I Know Autism (w/ Sean Sullivan): Overcoming Stigmas (audio) (Aug. 2020)
Podcast – AdoptionToLife: Interview With Author/Advocate Ashley Rhodes-Courter (video) (June 2020)
Podcast – Adoption.Adventures: Older Child Adoptions (audio) or (video) (May 2020)
Podcast – AdoptionToLife: Interview With Author/Advocate Lesia Knudsen (video) (May 2020)
Podcast – Autism In Action (w/ Tosha Rollins): Adopting a Child with Autism (April 2020)
Podcast – Adoption Advocacy Podcast (w/ Francie Salzano): Maintaining Biological Sibling Connections After Adoption (Feb. 2020)
Podcast – Anxious Toddler Parenting (w/ Natasha Daniels): An Adoptive Mom Talks About her Journey Raising a Child with Invisible Needs (Feb. 2020)
Podcast – The Momologues (w/ Wendy and Megan): The Autism Mom Episode (Feb. 2020)
Editing & Design
Video Production – Women of Wyoming, Then & Now (2024-2025)
Interior Design – Travel Adventures of Jimmy Jet by Carol Sampson (1992/2024)
Cover & Interior – Horse Wrangler Shenanigans by Carol Sampson (Fall, 2022)
Editor – Greater Presence: 21-Day Devotional by Bethel Chandler (Fall, 2022)
Editor – Daughter of a Genius by Megan Bell (Spring, 2023)
Editor – The Westward by Eugene House (publication pending)
Editor – Painted Faces by Rebecca Dockum (Little Branch Publishing, pending)