Cover Reveal

by Linda Benson

Very excited to show you the awesome new cover for the re-release of my most popular novel - now available!

This post-apocalyptic horse novel was inspired by an actual college research project I did, as well as the state of the horse industry today. Can you imagine a time in the future when the bond between horses and humans has been largely forgotten? Except for one girl, named Sahara, who still dreams of horses.

Here's the link on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Remembered-Horses-ebook/dp/B00PHVIR0C and it's available as an ebook for only $2.99.

Hope you like it! And feel free to share. Thanks!

Good Horse Books for Xmas!

                                    by Laura Crum

            This blog was begun by a group of authors who wrote horse-themed fiction. Pretty much all sorts of horse-themed fiction—the original writers had published romance and mysteries, primarily. Over the years we were joined by authors who wrote children’s books and YA fiction, as well. And not too surprisingly, all of these authors were/are horsewomen themselves.

            The common bond linking all the EI authors is not just love of horse-themed fiction, but love of actual horses, and much of the time we blog about subjects to do with our real lives and our real horses. It is the fact that we all own (or have owned) horses and spent many years in the saddle that make our horse-themed novels believable and worth reading by others who also are horse people.

            So often, as Aarene pointed out in a facebook post not too long ago, horse themed novels are very disappointing to horse people, because the authors quickly reveal their ignorance about horses. As in the “highly praised” novel I read not so long ago (or rather, started to read and then skimmed and then tossed in the trash) that featured an abused, dangerous rescue horse that is re-trained successfully in three rides by a teenager who has never ridden and is afraid of horses. Yeah, right.

            One of the best things about all the books written by authors here on the EI blog is the fact that the horse background is accurate and effortless, coming from horsewomen who really know whereof they speak. Perhaps some books will be more to a given reader’s liking than others, depending on the sort of genre and style that is preferred, but the horse background arises from the author’s lifelong history owning and riding horses, and is accurate when it comes to detail.

            My 13 year old son has really enjoyed reading some of the YA fiction written by our EI authors, and today I am posting his review of Linda Benson’s “The Girl Who Remembered Horses.” My kid read Linda’s “The Horse Jar” quite a few years ago and liked it very much and was eager to read this new book, which is geared to slightly older readers.

            I read “The Girl Who Remembered Horses” first, to get a sense for how it would work for my son, and thought it was just about spot on perfect for a 13 year old. I really, really wish someone had given me this book for Xmas when I was thirteen. Sahara, the young heroine, is a wonderful portrait of a young girl learning to believe in herself when faced with rejection and lack of support by the people around her. And part of what gives Sahara strength is her bond with horses.

            This is a message that would have been so helpful for me to hear in my awkward early teens, when I was both horse-obsessed and a social misfit in the intolerant world of junior high. “The Girl Who Remembered Horses” would have been a real comfort to me, and would certainly have been a book that I treasured and read over and over again.

            And now, let us hear what a 13 year old boy thought of the book:

Star rating: 4 stars

            A week or so ago I finished Linda Benson’s book, “The Girl Who Remembered Horses,” in which civilization has been wiped out and the surviving humans are back to living primitively. The people (most of them) do not remember the use of horses, they think of them as something they can kill. But one girl in the “Traders Clan” has vague memories of “animals with long necks, manes, and thundering hooves!” Her memories become more complex and are proved true when she visits Gardeners Camp and reads a book on horses. Now she must convince her clan of the true meaning of horses (but can she?).

            This book was a good one and really fed my imagination on what the land might be like in the future. And the book had some twists and turns, which I liked as well (though I did predict the ending).

            I think any horse lover over 10-12 would like this book.

            To find “The Girl Who Remembered Horses” on Amazon, click on the title.

            

Your Favorite Color (of horse, of course.)

Okay - we love our readers - so let's play a little reader participation game.

What's your favorite color of horse?
Bay, sorrel, palomino, paint, buckskin, chestnut, black, appaloosa, grey, or ?????

Of course, I'll be the first to admit that A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color. But deep down, we all have our favorites.

I adore paint horses, and always pick them out in a field driving past. In fact, the picture I still use as my author photo:

Linda Benson and Pete

is of me and a paint horse that I have since sold. But he was a pretty guy, wasn't he? With one blue and one brown eye, I adored his coloring (although he does look a little chubby here.)

I tend to like horses with color. I love palominos, like Laura Crum's Sunny. I adore a good buckskin horse, and I like chrome on a horse: flashy white stocking, bald faces, something special to make them pop. And I love bays - anything from a plain bay horse to a bay with a wide blaze and high white stockings is very cool, in my book.

Years ago, my dad used to do a little "horsetrading" on the side, and I often went with him on his buying trips. Besides riding and helping him find gentle family horses to resell, we always looked for pretty ones, too, because the truth of a the matter is that "pretty sells."

But color is definitely a preference. Some people adore sorrels, some chestnuts, some brown-bay or black. Some like plain horses, and some people like flashy ones.

So you tell us! In the comment section below - let us know your favorite color (or colors) of horse!

Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered to win a copy of my book, The Girl Who Remembered Horses.

 

 I'll draw the winner's name from a hat on July 1, 2013. U.S. entrants can choose a paper or ebook copy, and international entrants can win an ebook. Fair enough?

Okay, Go! What's YOUR favorite color of horse???

The Horses of Proud Spirit

Many of you who read this blog are quite aware of the dire fate of some horses in this country. Unfortunately, as much as we love and adore our horses, there are still many standing in people's dark stalls and backyards - ill fed, un-cared for, starving or worse. Many of these will eventually end up on a slaughter truck bound for Canada or Mexico - a sad end for an animal who may have served humans well during its life.

We've talked about this a little on this blog before, and some of you, including our own Laura Crum, are kind enough to keep and care for their horses throughout their lives. Recently, I've been introduced to Melanie and Jim Bowles, who run Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary in Lincolnton, GA. For over twenty years, they've been devoted to taking in these equine cast-offs, and providing them not only shelter and food and a great life, but room to run and be a horse in a herd - to live out their lives as naturally as possible.

I'm running a promotion during the month of February 2013 to help feed these horses. (Melanie and Jim are currently caring for 52 horses, as well as an assortment of dogs and other critters that need help.) Purchase a copy of THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES anytime during February and my publisher will hold back my royalties to be donated to Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary.

In a world that has forgotten the ancient bond between horses and humans, can one girl's dreams make people remember?

Part of the inspiration for this book was the fate of not only modern horses, but wondering what would happen to all equines in the event of a huge, apocalyptic event, caused by either nature or man. The Girl Who Remembered Horses is a fictional account of what might happen in the future.

But Melanie and Jim Bowles are two very real people who have devoted their lives, day in and day out, to helping horses in dire predicaments.

So if you've had a hankering to read The Girl Who Remembered Horses, now is a great time! Any February sales worldwide from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Musa Publishing, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, or any other legitimate outlet will count, and my royalties will go to feeding the horses of Proud Spirit.

Winners of The Girl Who Remembered Horses

Hi Everyone! I'm here to announce the winners of my drawing for three digital copies of my book The Girl Who Remembered Horses.

And they are  *drum roll, please*
Alexa
Teresa
and Greenie in WI.

Please contact me: linda (at) lindabenson.net to arrange for delivery of your choice of formats.

Also, some of you might enjoy this review by Jane Badger, who specializes in horse and pony books in the UK. http://booksandmud.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-linda-benson.html

Jane brings up the concept of genetic memory, which opens up the door for a great discussion with fellow horse lovers about whether or not the "horse gene" is inherited. This is one of the plot lines in The Girl Who Remembered Horses, and it makes for a lively argument. What do you think?

Thanks to all of those that entered! The Girl Who Remembered Horses is still rated #1 Fantasy Book Featuring Horses on Goodreads, and is consistently one of the Best Reviewed Horse Fiction books on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Remembered-Horses-ebook/dp/B00635UBW8/ref=sr_1_12?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334681148&sr=1-12

Hope you'll give it a try!

Happy Reading and Riding!

Finding the Right Audience

Since most of you that follow this blog are not only horse people, but also readers - I'd like to talk a little more about my most recent book, The Girl Who Remembered Horses, which released November 2011.

This is a novel set in an imagined future, in which the world has forgotten the ancient bond between horses and humans. One girl, however, dreams of horses, although she has never actually seen one. Here is a short blurb:


Several generations into the future, Sahara travels with her clan in a barren environment where recyclables are bartered for sustenance, and few remember horses or their connection to humans. But Sahara has recurring visions of riding astride on magnificent animals that run like the wind.

With the help of Evan, a young herder from the Gardener's Camp, Sahara discovers a crumbling book containing pictures of humans riding horses and learns her visions are real. Confronting a group of hunters led by hot-headed Dojo, Sahara rescues a wounded horse, but the animal escapes before it can be tamed.

Sahara is labeled a foolish dreamer and almost gives up her quest. Following horse tracks into a remote ravine, she finds wild dogs attacking a dying mare, and must drive them off in order to save the foal. Now she must attempt to raise the young animal, finally convince her clan of the ancient bond between horses and humans, and learn the secret of her true identity.


I talked about the inspiration for this novel in a post I wrote last November - how the story intertwined my research about women's passion for horses and the dire fate of some horses today. If you missed it, you can read that post right here.

I published The Girl Who Remembered Horses with a brand new publisher called Musa Publishing, which at the moment only produces eBooks. (Hopefully they will come out with books in print at some point.) At any rate, although the eBook market is taking off big time, it still limits the audience to those that have an eReader. (Although there is a PDF version available, too, which can be read on a computer.)

The Girl Who Remembered Horses is labeled Young Adult, but at the moment I believe only a handful of young adults have actually read this book. So far, based on the numerous 5-star reviews the books has been gathering on Amazon, it's mostly read by adult women - some of them horse gals and some of them not, although I do have one great review by an 11-year-old girl.

I would love for this book to be more widely read by an even younger group of readers: those ages 9-13, a middle grade or tween audience. But how many kids of this age have access to an eReader? I believe we are in the early stages of reaching that audience with eBooks. As more and more adults buy Kindles and Nooks and tablets, the older versions will eventually get passed down to the younger members of the family, who hopefully will be able to choose their own reading material. Some teachers are beginning to use eReaders in the classroom, and libraries are ordering more and more books their digital collection for readers to borrow. Musa's books, in fact, will soon be available on Overdrive, and available to many libraries across the country.

So in order to increase the readership of this book, I'm giving away three copies in a random drawing. I hope that if you win, you might do one of two things - either write a review somewhere (on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, or a blog, if you have one) or allow a younger reader to read this book, and let us know what they think.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below and tell us how you read eBooks. (On a Nook, a Kindle, a tablet, an iPhone, or even on your computer.)

Help me get this book out to a wider audience. Is it best enjoyed by adult women, young adults, or younger readers? I would love your thoughts - and I appreciate the help!

• Leave a comment below to enter.
• 3 Copies Available
• Contest open through midnight, PST, April 15th, 2012.

Thanks, everyone! Good Luck!

THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest to win an ebook of my brand new novel THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES.

As announced, there are two winners - and they are:

Once Upon an Equine and Coral Russell.


Please contact me linda (at) lindabenson (dot) net with your email address, so I can get the book to you.



And if you're not a winner, THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES is available on Amazon.com, where it's consistently been in the Top 100 New Releases for Children's Horse books, as well as the Top 10 Hot New Releases for the same. And it's perfect for horse lovers of all ages, not just kids! It's also available at Musa Publishing, Smashwords, Omnilit, Bookstrand, and Barnes & Noble.

Thanks again to all who entered, and may your holiday reading bring you joy!

A New Book - and a Giveaway!

I'm pleased to announce the release of my newest book, THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES, which just came out from Musa Publishing. It's available right now as an e-Book, and hopefully next year in print. I am giving away two copies - with details at the bottom of this post!

Of all the manuscripts I’ve written, THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES is probably dearest to my heart. I’ve always been passionate about horses, and this is a story about the bond between horses and humans. But it’s also a story about culture and society, and how easily we could lose important knowledge from the past. Could the world really forget the ancient bond between humans and horses? Could one girl’s dreams make people remember? Here’s a summary of the story:

Several generations into the future, Sahara travels with her clan in a barren environment where recyclables are bartered for sustenance, and few remember horses or their connection to humans. But Sahara has recurring visions of riding astride on magnificent animals that run like the wind.

With the help of Evan, a young herder from the Gardener’s Camp, Sahara discovers a crumbling book containing pictures of humans riding horses and learns her visions are real. Confronting a group of hunters led by hot-headed Dojo, Sahara rescues a wounded horse, but the animal escapes before it can be tamed.

Sahara is labeled a foolish dreamer and almost gives up her quest. Following horse tracks into a remote ravine, she finds wild dogs attacking a dying mare, and must drive them off in order to save the foal. Now she must attempt to raise the young animal, finally convince her clan of the ancient bond between horses and humans, and learn the secret of her true identity.

I searched through my journals recently, and found the exact spot where I got the seed of inspiration for this story. It was six years ago, right after Hurricane Katrina, when I believe all of us were realizing how easily nature, or some other catastrophic event, could wipe out almost everything about the world as we know it. At the same time, as a horseperson, I was aware of the dire fate of many horses in this country. As fewer people seem to have the knowledge or economic situation to own a horse, many are being shipped to slaughter, and reports of horses actually being turned lose to fend for themselves are common. Also, a few years prior, I had done a college research project on Women and their Passion for Horses – and more specifically, where this passion comes from. All of these factors triggered a story in my head – What if people actually lost all of their knowledge about horses? What then?

After living with this story for so many years, (and a very long journey towards publication involving some near misses and almost happens) I was thrilled when Musa Publication picked it up for one of their earliest releases from their brand new YA imprint called Euterpe. It’s a story perfectly suited not only to young adults, but horse lovers everywhere, as well as those who enjoy adventure stories set in an imagined future. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES is available now, ready to gallop into your e-readers!

It's available for $4.99 at the Musa website (in formats for all e-readers) on Amazon.com, Smashwords, OmniLit, BookStrand, and it should be available on Barnes and Noble soon.

And now for the contest - If you'd like to win a copy of THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES - and I'm giving away two copies - simply leave a comment below to enter. It's great for readers from ages 9 to 99, and available in many formats. I can send you a PDF version to read on your computer, or PRC, mobi, or ePub if you have an e-reader.

Contest is open internationally, and I'll pick the winners on December 1, 2011.

And please check out the facebook page for THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES, where I also post lots of cool horse links: https://www.facebook.com/Girl.Remembered.Horses.LindaBenson

 Good luck to all who enter! Hope you enjoy this great horse story set in the future!

The Girl Who Remembered Horses

by Linda Benson

Exciting News! My novel THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES has been accepted by Musa Publishing for their brand new YA imprint and will be out very soon. The tentative release date is November 11, 2011 for e-book, with paper book coming (hopefully) soon after.

Here is a short synopsis:

Several generations into the future, Sahara travels with her clan in a barren environment where recyclables are bartered for sustenance, and few remember horses or their connection to humans. But Sahara has recurring visions of riding astride on magnificent animals that run like the wind. With the help of Evan, a young herder from the Gardener’s Camp, Sahara discovers a crumbling book containing pictures of humans riding horses and learns her visions are real. Confronting a group of hunters led by hot-headed Dojo, Sahara rescues a wounded horse, but the animal escapes before it can be tamed.
Sahara is labeled a foolish dreamer and almost gives up her quest. Following horse tracks into a remote ravine, she finds wild dogs attacking a dying mare, and must drive them off in order to save the foal. Now she must not only attempt to raise it, but finally convince her clan of the ancient bond between horses and humans.

THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES is a speculative fiction novel, but is not a fantasy. I tried hard to make the horse details as real as possible. It was inspired by a college research project on women and their obsession with horses, as well as the changing status of horses today as we become a more urban society.

This book is a labor of love and very dear to my heart, and I am so excited! Just wanted to share the news. Also, The Girl Who Remembered Horses has a Facebook Page already https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Girl-Who-Remembered-Horses-by-Linda-Benson/246748438694685 
If you want to stop by and "like" it, you'll get all the newest details, including cover art, which I haven't even seen yet!

Question - How many of you have an e-reader? You'll get first peek at this book!