The Monster Masher started as a family story, told on car rides, around campfires and at bedtime. Its creator, Glenn Osborne, kept the tales on yellow legal pads as his kids grew older and his grandkids were born, collecting over the course of 30 years. Now, “The Monster Masher” series is expecting its third book in February. 

Osborne has been in Montana since 1975. He started work at a power plant in Colstrip at 19 years old, then went on to Seeley Lake where he was the caretaker at Double Arrow Lodge. From there, he moved on to work for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company, and was part of a large layoff in 2000. Osborne found work at Plum Creek Timber as a millwright, and retired in 2016. 

“I decided when I retired, I wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. I always wanted to stay busy,” Osborne said. Among many other ventures, including knife building and overlanding, that meant finally turning the Monster Masher into a book. 

When his kids were young, Osborne and his first wife divorced and the kids moved with her to North Carolina, returning to Montana for the summer months. 

“I always worried about me not being there all the time for them. So, I started telling stories that would open up discussions about stranger danger, emergencies and stuff like that,” Osborne said. 

The first book in the series features three siblings — Malula, Alula and Alexo — that look, act and speak a lot like Osborne’s kids, Melissa, Alana and Alex. They may not be the only recognizable part of the book to locals, the books also feature a little town in Montana surrounded by beautiful lakes and mountains, with references to landmarks that may seem familiar to people in the valley. 

The Monster Masher is a mythical creature of Osborne’s own creation, though. An embodiment of a father’s protective energy, the massive horned creature always shows up when the kids are in trouble, be it an ill-intentioned stranger, a hungry wolf or an oncoming train, moments which are featured in large, colorful illustrations.

The second book in the series, “Return of the Monster Masher: Five Cousins,” carries on the tales with Osborne’s grandchildren as the main characters. Their names have all been changed as well, except for Logan’s. 

“Logan was like, ‘I want to keep it my name!’ He even got to sign some books too… He’s eight, so he was really trying to write his name real fancy, then he says, ‘I’m famous!’” Osborne laughed. 

Osborne plans to keep on writing, and has encapsulated some of his own northwest Montana adventures into a novel called “Trapper Creek: The Last Hunt.” The book has previously reached the top 100 on Amazon, and has a 4.3 star rating from reviewers, many of whom mentioned their love for the story that captured the beauty of the Cabinet Mountains and surrounding areas. 

Up next, he plans to publish another novel that takes place in Alaska and the third Monster Masher book, which will come out in February. All told, Osborne has about five Monster Masher books planned.

The books can be purchased on Amazon, Walmart and Barnes and Noble online and at several bookstore throughout the state, including The Bookshelf in Kalispell. Osborne has donated a couple books to the ImagineIF Library in Columbia Falls, too. In March, Osborne is setting up a book signing at the Philipsburg Public Library. 

“You end up making very little on the books, but I didn’t start out to make lots of money. I started out to give my kids a book,” Osborne said.