Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Made That Way by Susan Ketchen

GUEST REVIEW!

Made That Way by Susan Ketchen


Available from Amazon or local bookseller

Reviewed by Carol M. Upton – www.dreamsaloud.ca

First published in Horses All - www.horsesall.com


Usually it makes me feel better to wear my riding clothes. But today nothing helps, even when I buckle on my riding helmet and hop on my bike. Somehow I know I'm doomed. ~ Susan Ketchen

In this family fiction sequel to Born That Way, Susan Ketchen reunites readers with the intrepid young Sylvia, who is challenged by a genetic disorder, wild about horses, and determined to find solutions to the obstacles presented by her life in general. Sylvia wants to be a real horsewoman and she’s excited about getting her own horse, even if the horse is arriving at a less-than-perfect time. Brooklyn is, well, not quite a regular horse. He has big ears, makes strange sounds, and he’s already bitten the transport driver.

Ketchen captures, with humour and pathos, the developing personality and growing pains of a not quite fifteen-year-old girl who would just like to be normal. Sylvia also wants to be treated as an adult, but sometimes, no one seems to listen very closely, and she must puzzle things out on her own.

The strength of this book lies in Ketchen’s examination of some topics that parents and children may find difficult to discuss. What does it mean to be normal or disordered anyhow? Where does a young person turn when her parents don’t listen, when she is tormented at school, and is now faced, not with her dream horse, but one who appears to be complicating her life even further.

Ketchen’s writing is fast-paced, compelling and full of surprises. Made That Way can be read in one sitting, but Sylvia’s persistence and creativity in overcoming her life’s challenges will inspire the reader for a lifetime.

Susan Ketchen was born in Nanaimo, B.C. and had a successful Family counseling practice for many years. She now resides on a small Vancouver Island hobby farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens. Grows That Way, the third book in this series will be published in fall 2011. Visit Susan at: www.susanketchen.ca


Monday, May 9, 2011

Beloved Horses Now Available via Kindle & Apps!


Great news! You can download my Beloved Horses series to your electronic reader - and not just Kindle, but with free apps from Amazon.com for any e-reader! See article below. All my e-books will cost only $2.99. This is an inexpensive way to get a preview before ordering a hard copy for yourself or a friend. Or read the whole series of heartwarming true horse tales! The cover and all illustrations for each book are included.

Beloved School Horses, the first in the series, is already available; just visit Amazon.com and search by author or title. My other books, including my teen novels and dog book published with Infinity, will be ready soon.

To read excerpts and order a hard copy, you can order from Amazon, Infinity Publishing (www.BBOTW.com) or contact me for a signed copy (I now take Visa/Master Card) at 814-937-0704 or e-mail sharonminer@yahoo.com with your request.

New Kindle Apps

For over two years, Amazon has been building and introducing a wide selection of free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps to enable authors to sell their Kindle books on the most popular devices and platforms. Kindle for Android has been updated to bring new features and adds support for tablet computers running Android’s Honeycomb, including the Motorola Xoom. Like all Kindle apps, Kindle for Android includes Amazon’s Whispersync technology, which saves and synchronizes a customer’s books and bookmarks across their Kindle, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Android-based phones and tablets. Your KDP books are already available on all Kindle devices and apps. For more information about the free Kindle apps, go to www.amazon.com/kindleapps.