Horse Gods: The Dressage Rider’s Betrayal

Teens

synopsis

Synopsis

A half-wild horse, a Celtic legend, and a teen trying to escape… Regina Hamilton has three months to prove to the courts she can earn a living on her own and avoid going home to her abusive mother—a tall order for a teen with only her riding skills to rely on. Desperate to prove herself, Regina lands a job at an exclusive dressage barn. But when workers start to mysteriously disappear, she becomes ensnared in a web of lies and deceit. With time running out and unsure who to trust, Regina turns to an unlikely trio: an unusual boy who trains hawks, a reclusive professor of Celtic history, and a half-wild red mare. Together they form a bond that will be tested when a long-held secret exposes a much greater threat—and Regina’s the target. To save her horses and her life Regina may have to trust her enemies and betray her friends.

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

Mysterious Settings That Really Exist, Book 2

You may know that I love to pick real places around Maryland in which to set scenes in my novels. In Horse Gods, some secrets are revealed in a very mysterious and very real setting: Hell House. Yes, that's the name given to St. Mary's College, a seminary founded in 1868 in Ilchester, MD, now in ruins. The locals and media dubbed it Hell House or Creepy College after it fell into ruins in the early 1970's and supposedly attracted vandals and (get this!) satanic worshippers and ghosts. Even the ruins of the college buildings are gone now and only an altar under a stone columned gazebo remains. Check out pictures of it! But don't worry, not all the settings in this book are creepy! I was inspired by some of the most beautiful horse stables in the country, delicious restaurants, breathtaking countryside, and more.

Book Excerpt

Horse Gods: The Dressage Rider’s Betrayal

Cory slides over the bench seat, closer to Kevyn, in order to make room for me. Kevyn, home from college for the holiday, offered to drive. I think Cory asked him, to have a guy with us when we go. I didn’t argue.

“Hell House, really?” Cory says before I can get the door shut. “It sounds like some place in a bad slasher movie. Why does she want to meet there? And why is it called Hell House?”

“It’s what’s left of St. Mary’s college—a seminary. The ruins became a teen hangout decades ago, and some people thought satanic rituals were going on there.” Kevyn gives an exaggerated eye roll. “That’s how it got its name. There’s nothing much left of it now.”

“Except the altar,” I say.

Cory gives me a sideways look. “And that’s not creepy and strange?”