Author, publisher, coach

Wrangling creative writing.

Charli Mills comes from a vaquero culture, winning California rodeo trophies before first-grade. She wrangles words from Michigan’s U.P. where she lives with her former Army Ranger husband, also a fellow westerner. Charli recovers forgotten voices, writing about veteran spouses and historical frontier women.

In 2014, she founded Carrot Ranch, an online community where she mentors international literary artists. As lead buckaroo, she hosts a weekly 99-word challenge and publishes stories from around the world. She encourages writers to grow in their craft, voice, and life as a literary artist.

Charli’s mission is to make literary art accessible among women, veterans, and underserved groups.

She’s series editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology and her stories have featured in magazines, The U.P. Reader, and on stage. In 2022, she founded Gitty Up Press to serve the Carrot Ranch community.