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.

website

Author Insight

A Year Later...How are You Coping?

It has been a little over a year since the pandemic quarantine and strict lockdown. A little bit of normal life is trickling back, but I ask myself not so much when we will return to normal...but how? So many people are still afraid--worried about the vaccinations, the virus, the possible new mutations. The list goes on. I also wonder how people are coping. Really coping, not just health and basic needs, but emotionally, spiritually, creatively. Has the last year taken a toll on your imagination, energy, ability to feel joy? Or has it been beneficial for you, forcing you to slow down and take stock in simpler pursuits? Do you feel strange going "back out there" or mingling with other people? What's your biggest challenge now?

Book Excerpt

False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Jack grabbed a burgundy cooler hanging on the rack nearby with Angela’s farm logo embroidered on the hip and slid the door open. Prophet stopped to study Jack, a familiar person. He ceased circling and lowered his head, nostrils quivering, and sniffed the blanket. Jack flung the woolen cooler over Prophet’s broad, tall back in one fluid movement, then tied it in front.

“You’re going to a new home, guy,” Jack said. “Be good. Be good, be smart, and keep yourself out of trouble. Nothing we can do about it now. Angela’s got your papers, and it’s a done deal.”

Prophet butted Jack with his head and rubbed it against his shoulder. Cory watched, expecting Jack to chastise him for this forbidden behavior, but instead he ran his hand up under Prophet’s forelock and scratched him there. “Use the brain God gave you. Don’t make trouble for that woman, okay?”

Vee appeared beside Jack and slid her hand down Prophet’s neck, then into her never-empty pocket to extract a sugar cube.

“You’re a great horse. One of the true greats. You don’t deserve this,” she whispered to him as he grabbed the sugar. Vee’s voice dropped lower, inaudible.

Buy

Amazon

Share
Follow Unfollow
Comment
x
Comment on this Bubble

Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.

L R Trovillion

False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

A Year Later...How are You Coping?

Book Excerpt

False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Comment on this Bubble