False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Teens

synopsis

Synopsis

Cory Iverson's junior year is off to a lousy start. Publicly humiliated by the school's hottest guy and terrorized by a bullying band director, Cory flees sports try-outs and just about everything else she begins, earning a reputation as a loser as well as a quitter. But when her wandering dog leads her to the barn of a former Grand Prix rider, she finds a welcome refuge in the familiar world of horses. It's not too long before she starts dreaming of showing in one of the country's most prestigious shows--a totally unrealistic hope--until she rescues a mysterious horse with some unusual talents. But her road to success is littered with roadblocks as events spin out of control: prescription painkillers appear in her mother's purse; her ballerina sister wastes away before her eyes; her boyfriend is keeping secrets; and her normally opinionated trainer becomes strangely evasive. Worst of all, the horse show world is not what she imagined. It isn't long before Cory's winning spree attracts the attention of a brutal trainer with a string of unexplained horse deaths in her wake. When Cory lands in the crosshairs, she has to decide if she'll once again back down and flee or stand up for herself, her horse, and her dreams.

bio

Author Biography

Inspired by everyday miracles, L.R. Trovillion weaves magical stories of hurting people who find hope through horses in her Maryland Equestrian Novel series. Although she earned a degree in Russian and spent a career in government service, her real love has been caring for and working with horses. That love shines through in her series, focusing on the healing power of horses in the lives of teens facing complex and sometimes dangerous family situations. Believing there is more to this world than meets the eye, she adds a dash of the supernatural to each story. L. R. Trovillion lives on a small horse farm in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and several animals that really run the place. Her other works have appeared in Baltimore magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and various poetry anthologies.

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Author Insight

Do People Really Talk Like That?

We have a lot of fun sometimes in our writing critique group. You must have a sense of humor in order to offer your story up for pot-shots, criticism, and yes, laughter. But it is all in the right spirit--to help each other. Sometimes we burst into laughter when reading a single line of dialog or an exchange between characters. Somehow when writing it, the words rang true, but when you read it out loud...ugh! We have all called each other to task for clunky, formal speech, for words a professor would use in a teenager's mouth, or a line dripping with feminine hallmarks spoken by a strapping male hero. "That's not man-speak!" we hoot. And when the author reads it out loud herself, she starts laughing, too.

Book Excerpt

False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

From the bathroom down the hall, she heard gagging, choking sounds. Another flush. Cory propped herself up on her elbows, thinking what to do, then scooted under the covers when the bathroom light went out. She watched as Jessica felt her way back to the bed and climbed in.

“You sick?” Cory asked.

“Oh! You’re awake?”

“Am now. What’s up?”

“Yeah, feel kinda sick.” Jessica pulled the covers back over her. “Must be the pizza. Too greasy. Made me feel gross.”

Cory had eaten four pieces of pizza to Jess’s one small slice. And she felt okay.

“Hope it’s not food poisoning,” Cory said, “or I’ll be worse than sick.”

“Nah, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Jessica paused. “I’m worried about the Massachusetts thing, the dance scholarship auditions, I guess.” Her voice sounded small in the dark room.

“What, you’re worried about escaping this place and spending the summer doing what you want? Right.”

“There’s more to it than just doing what I want,” Jess said. “I have to make the final cuts. I have to keep up once I’m there. This isn’t like the local stuff I do at the studio—this is with real dancers who . . . well, you have to look right and be perfect all the time.”

Cory couldn’t imagine Jessica not looking right, not being perfect. She had long, straight blond hair. She had perfect skin and a tall, lean body. Everything seemed easier for Jess. She had made friends right away after moving here, and she had a boyfriend—even if he was a creep. She had landed in a dance studio where she was the star, and Mom was willing to cart her all over creation for her lessons and buy her ballet stuff.

“Oh, boo-hoo, Jess. You whine about how hard everything is and then you always end up being the best. This is no different.”

Jess turned her back to Cory. “I hope so,” she murmured to the wall.