Valerie is a rancher's wife, teacher, writer, crew cook, quilter and reader. She and her husband, cowboy poet Floyd Beard, live in a remote area in Southeast Colorado and run Corriente cattle with their daughter and son-in-law. They keep a few Border Collies around to stay humble. She has appeared at many Gatherings across the West including the Arizona Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the Cimarron Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering, and the Western Slope Gathering. In 2015 she won the Novice Division of the Western Wordsmith Poetry Contest with her first poem, "No Better Life". Valerie was a top five finalist for IWMA Female Poet of the Year in 2019 and 2021.