Equestrian Books site

Here's a wonderful site if you love horses and love to read: http://equestrianink.blogspot.com/

Also, read about E-commerce sales increases at http://authorevents.blogspot.com/

A New Life for Bud

A New Life for Bud is a delightful tale based on a real horse in Chicago. Author, Lynda Vital, learned to ride on a retired Chicago Police Horse who was used in a handicapped riding program. She now volunteers at a therapeutic riding program called Horsefeathers. Visit their site at horsefeatherscenter.org

When Bud retires from the police horse program, he wonders what his new life will be like. He loves marching in parades and he loves children. So he's happy to learn that his new job includes both!

A boy in a wheelchair, named Danny, watches Bud in the St. Patrick's Day parade and wishes he could learn to ride a horse like Bud.

The ending may be predictable, but it is still heartwarming.

Lynda both wrote and illustrated this Beginner Reader book and it can be purchased by visiting the publisher's site, Xlibris.com.

Adventures of Princess the Pony

Margaret Merry is a talented artist and storyteller living in Spain. Her illustrations are captivating and perfect for the story.

Little Princess wants desperately to find a friend to play with and even escapes her farm when no one there is willing. She has quite an adventure and saves the day for a big (and highly respected) black horse. Her "badge" for her heroic attempt is very unique!

What a wonderful gift for a young horse lover! Find the book at the author's site http://margaretmerry.com or Amazon.com.

5th Anniversary of Beloved School Horses!

This month, I'm celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Beloved School Horses! Remembering Dennis who made an autistic boy smile, Sandy Mae who taught campers to canter, Sonny the vaulting horse and of course Farewell, the dressage pro! See http://www.sharonminer.com

To read a sample chapter, go to my publisher's site - http://www.bbotw.com - and search by title. Or go to Amazon.com and click on "Search Inside" for any of my books.

E-mail me for a signed copy with free shipping!

The fourth book of the series will feature horses in second careers. Contact me at sharonminer@yahoo.com if you would like your special horse to be included, and you'll receive a free copy upon its release. Interviews via e-mail will be conducted this winter.

Snow Melts in Spring

How refreshing to read a Christian Romance novel with an accurate horse setting! Deborah Vogts has written a memorable story about a female veterinarian and a rancher's son in Snow Melts in Spring.

Mattie Evans loves the Flint Hills of Kansas and attempts to build a practice there. A local rancher, John McCray, asks her to save a severely injured horse that is owned by his son and was hit by a car. Gil is estranged from his father and plays on a national football team. But he plans to retire and start a horse ranch in California. His goals change when he arrives home and meets Mattie.

They both have to overcome personal obstacles, both physical and emotional, before they can accept their strong feelings for each other.

Visit the author's site at http://deborahvogts.com and look for her books at your local book store or online at Amazon.com.

HOOFBEATS - Lara & the Moon Colored Filly Book 2

Another book NOT to read unless you have read Book 1 of the series. Although this one is written well and has great descriptions of the filly's reactions to her new life, I found it very hard to understand the setting. Hopefully, Book 1 explains.

A young girl, Lara, and her aunt are captured. Lara has with her a newborn filly who thinks she is her "mom" since her dam died shortly after giving birth. A milk cow allows the filly to nurse. Lara becomes very attached emotionally to the filly and even though she could escape if she wanted to, she won't because she can't leave the filly. If she leads the filly and cow with her, her captors would catch her very easily.

At first, I thought it took place during the pioneer days like the last HOOFBEATS I read, and the girls were captured by Indians. Actually, I thought this until more than halfway through the book! Then, I thought this must take place in Ireland or somewhere in Europe back in the Middle Ages? Hard to tell; unknown words are used that a child would be even more lost than I while reading. (OK, Amazon.com review of first book confirms Medieval Ireland.)

Odd ending too; but maybe one must read all four about Lara before enjoying the story. It's a shame that an intro isn't written to explain what happened previously.

HOOFBEATS: Lara and the Moon-Colored Filly and the other Lara books are written by Kathleen Duey.

HOOFBEATS - Katie and the Mustang Book Two

What a delightful story about a young orphan girl traveling west with a wagon train! Again, a child is paired with a stallion but it actually works in this story. (She doesn't ride it)

Katie Rose lost her immediate family (in Book One I guess) and wants to travel to Oregon to find her relatives. She will walk the 1,000 miles on foot, leading her Mustang - how she happened to have this horse must also be in Book One.

She has quite an adventure as she begins her journey and this Book Two only covers the start of the trip through crossing the Missouri River.

The HOOFBEATS series has other authors, but the four books by Kathleen Duey are all about Katie and the Mustang. The descriptions of the obstacles - rain, mud, stone-throwing boys and even fire - are unforgettable. I especially liked how well Duey explains the horse's reactions, both from the viewpoint of Katie and the Mustang.

This is a "must read" for horse lovers of all ages, but I suggest you start with Book One! I plan to find the other three books about Katie and the Mustang!

The author's site is http://www.kathleenduey.com/ and there is a page about Katie and the Mustang Books on the Hoofbeats Page.

A Walk in the Woods

I know, I know. This isn't a horse book. But if you trail ride, you will enjoy this humorous adventure on the Appalachian Trail.

A Walk in the Woods, by travel author, Bill Bryson, had me laughing till I cried! He and a friend spent six weeks on the AT starting in Georgia. His description of their escapades - the people they meet and the places they visit - are too funny!

My husband picked up the book at a Borders while there for another purchase. Our son, who lives in Philly, has walked several sections of the AT, mostly in the Pennsylvania area. Over the past few years, he has hiked anywhere from a long weekend to a couple of weeks. We received a few photos and a short journal from the first trip, but not much else. We're always glad to hear from him when he's back in civilization.

We thought the book would give us insight to the trail that our son enjoys so much. There are thousands that walk it like our son, and there are the So-Bo and No-Bo hikers (South Bound and North Bound) who take months to do the whole AT. My son also met the HoBos - the ones who live on the trail!

When we finished Bryson's book, we both wanted to read more by him and bought three others. I was not impressed with The Lost Continent, a description of the author driving through America. Too negative; he puts down southerners, RVers, religious people etc. I liked it better when he made fun of himself and his reactions to the situations he had on the AT, rather than his dour (and mean spirited) outlook on this country in general.

Maybe it's because he was born in the Midwest, lived in Great Britain for decades, returned to America and now lives in Britain again. I didn't bother finishing that book, but began one he wrote about his travels in Australia. It's better, but not as funny as A Walk in the Woods.

Find Bryson's books in a bookstore or Amazon.com.

The Saddle Club - Horse Shy

Bonnie Bryant writes another wonderful story about girls and their bonds with horses in Horse Shy, #2 in the series. The three members of the Saddle Club - Carole, Lisa & Stevie - enjoy a fun overnight camping trip.

But when they return and a horse owned by another girl is injured and has to be put down, Carole is devastated. She often rode the horse, Cobalt, and is now "horse shy" in her grief - avoiding all horses.

Carole's friends try to encourage her to return to the stable and eventually Carole faces her fears.

The only negative comment I have is that Cobalt is described as a stallion. Not only would a minor rider not be riding a high-strung stallion at a stable, but also Cobalt would not have been turned out in a pasture with mares and geldings.

I just don't understand why writers feel that the featured horse has to be a stallion when a gelding or mare would be more suitable and not take away any emotion in the story.

Find The Saddle Club series at bookstores, libraries and at Amazon.com.

Summer Book Sale!

Need a beach read? A book for your summer reading list? An escape for that long plane/train/car trip? A great gift?

I'm offering a book sale! Buy two of any of my books, including ones in the Beloved Horses series, and receive Woogie's Travels FREE!

All books will be personally autographed. Just e-mail your request, who to sign them to and your mailing address. I will reply with the total amount due and where to mail the check.

Visit my web site at http://www.sharonminer.com/ to read about my books and the prices. Shipping is only $3 for all three books for this special offer.

You may want to visit Amazon.com to view the Search Inside feature as well.

Have a safe and fun summer!

Secrets & Ghost Horses

Author Holly McClure has a wonderful mystery book out titled Secrets & Ghost Horses. The setting is the Low Country in South Carolina and the protagonists are twin sisters, Hannah and Aislinn.

The thirteen-year-old sisters spend a summer with their parents at an old family residence, one where there father had been born in. The girls pout about having a boring place to spend their vacation, that is until they meet a handsome young man and his horses. The excitement really begins when they realize their new friends are ghosts and the boy asks for their help in finding his murderer.

This Young Adult mystery novel will appeal to adults as well. There's mystery, suspense, humor and history of the wild horses from the Carolinas.

Besides an author, Holly McClure is also a literary agent for her company, Sullivan Maxx (http://www.sullivanmaxx.com/ ).

The Gift Horse by Jami Davenport

If you like hot, steamy romance novels with a realistic equine setting, then read Jami Davenport's THE GIFT HORSE.

Sam MacIntyre returns from Germany to a stable she once worked at but left after a barn fire who many thought she started with her careless habits. Sam wants to prove her worth as a rider/trainer/instructor but Murphy's Law follows her around, and the owner's son is a major distraction.

Carson Reynolds makes a deal with his father to make the stable profitable and despite his brain telling him to shape up Sam in a business-like way, his heart tells him otherwise.

Just released this year, this is the third book in the Evergreen Dynasty series.

Visit jamidavenport.com for more information.

The Saddle Club - Endurance Ride

The Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant is popular among young women. With more than 100 horse books to her credit, the author wrote this one, #69, about the sport of endurance riding.

This was a fun book to read. Especially since I tried a competitive trail ride many years ago in a park outside of Philadelphia, and know that without training a horse and rider can feel overwhelmed! I had fun on my little Morgan stallion, Windfield Farewell, but realized halfway through that we were out of our element (his forte, I discovered later, was dressage). But at least we finished the course.

It was quite the learning experience for the Saddle Club girls too, but with help from an experience endurance rider who joins their group for the day, they overcome the many obstacles. They also learn that some riders DO know more about certain discipline more than the Saddle Club! I liked that the girls learned about social etiquette as well as the skills and equipment needed for this sport.

The exciting scene when their instructor and his horse fall off a steep ridge is a page turner - the reader wonders how the girls can help. The end is very satisfying and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series!

WILD HORSES by Dick Francis

Dick Francis has always been one of my favorite authors because he mixes horses in with mysteries. His description of the horse world in England is fascinating and his plots are exciting. And I love the modern covers! Wild Horses is a great read.

Francis writes his novels in first person, but his main characters change in personality and their line of work. Most are riders, but in this 1994 novel, the protagonist is a movie director with a racing background.

When Thomas Lyons begins filming a movie based on a book based on a real life family involved with race horses, he finds himself needing to discover the reason for a young woman's suicide. Or was it murder, and why? And who doesn't want the movie to be finished? What secrets will be exposed as he delves into the past?

From his old friend's dying confession to a death threat on himself, Lyons is determined to overcome all obstacles to not only finish the film but also solve the real life crime.

Amazon.com has new and used copies available at: http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1233620159/ref=sr_st?keywords=dick+francis+wild+horses&rs=1000&page=1&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Adick+francis+wild+horses&sort=daterank