Tag Archives: YA

by

The Wild Ones

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Young Adult
Date Published:  December 19, 2018
Publisher: Books To Go Now Publication
 
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The Wild Ones is about 7 young wild horses left on their own. How they survive and are eventually gentled by the men of the Circle bar X ranch. The horses talk amongst themselves but not to the humans in the story. It is told from one of the mare’s point of view. This is her first novel written from a picture of two black/grey horses on a calendar and what her father taught her.

Excerpt

Chapter Two

Over the next year, Molly did a good job of caring for her six foster babies and her son. We formed a strong bond. The older colts helped her as much as we could to look after the younger ones.

Then one day, Molly told us, “I’m going off alone. I want time to myself. Do not follow me this time. You older ones look after the young ones. I love you all. Good bye.” Molly looked at her foster family and her son for the last time. She had felt age creep up on her. Pain replaced her zest for life. She was going off to die alone. She knew we were old enough now to care for ourselves. It had been a long scary year for her. She knew Baby would be her last and may have grown up with one of the other mares as a foster mother. But it was she who became the only mother for all of us. She knows she had done a good job, as she tiredly trudged around the lake.

We don’t know what she meant as we watched her walk away over the rise. Usually we followed her wherever she went. Now we were alone.

We knickered and whinnied, and waited for Molly to return. I finally believed she wasn’t coming back. The way she said good-bye and not to follow her. What are we going to do now? I wonder, and when should I tell the others I think she isn’t coming back. Sooner would be better than later. Then we can decide what to do and who will lead us now. I call, “Hey, guys come here. I want to tell you something.”

“What is it, Angel?” Blaze asked, as he came over to me. He was the oldest by two days.

“I think Molly isn’t coming back.” I said and looked at Baby and Cheekie, they were closer to Molly because they nursed longer than the rest of us. The rest of us took what was left one at a time when they were finished.

Baby was upset, “Why do you say that about mother? She loved us and wouldn’t leave us alone.”

“Baby,” I said softly, “I am sorry, but the way she said good bye and not to follow her. We had always gone with her. She was old and tired. It was a hard job to look after us. We hadn’t always been good. Yes, she loved us; that is what kept her going as long as she did.”

Blaze said, “Angel is right, we are on our own now. We must decide what we are going to do and who is going to lead us.”

Cheekie said, “Blaze and Angel are the oldest and if we all co-operate like the family Molly taught us to be, we can survive on our own.”

About the Author


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Gladys Swedak lives in Vancouver B. C. with her partner and two cats. She likes to read, do handcrafts and is learning art. She is a spiritual person and a member of Unity of New Westminster. She likes to write fiction and about animals.

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by

In The Middle

 Girl moves to new town.

Girl meets Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.

Cue Happily Ever After.

That’s how the story goes, right?

Except this is Lucy. The same Lucy whose stellar driving skills single-handedly wiped out both of her parents, leaving her with nothing but the suitcase in her hand and the screws in her skull. Not to mention that Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome—AKA Oliver—is just as annoyingly bossy as he is hot. According to Oliver, Lucy’s not safe in her new hometown, but he refuses to say why. He just gives her some lame warning about not going out after dark, like that’ll stop her.

When several townspeople vanish, the lethargic community springs to life, fearful of the danger lurking among them. The problem is that Lucy’s the last person to have seen any of the missing. Doesn’t exactly qualify her for the Neighbor of the Year Award.

Lucy’s already given up on Happily Ever After, but now she has two choices left: find out what’s happening in her new home, or become the next victim.

Read an excerpt from…

 

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“Do you trust me?” he asks. He’s closer to me.

 

“Do I have a choice?”

 

“Not really. We’ve got to get you back to the mansion before . . .” His voice trails off. I want to slug him in the arm for being spooky again, but I’d have to find his arm first.

 

He swoops in without warning, whisking me from my feet. Again, I cry out. He sucks in a sharp breath that catches between his teeth. “Lucy, I’m not kidding—stop making noise.”

 

My blood simmers beneath my skin. “Warn me next time you’re planning on picking me up, then.”

 

“Sorry,” he fires back, his mouth too close to my ear.

 

I want nothing more than for the strength in my legs to return so I can get away from him and his nerve, but Oliver is in control now and holds me pressed unnecessarily tightly to his body. Turning my head from him is my only means of escape. I’d shown him, all right.

 

With a little more energy than necessary, he heaves me up into the blackness. My bottom connects to something soft yet solid—Jasper’s back—and pain spikes down my spine. I gasp as my body starts to curl in on itself.

 

“Okay,” Oliver says. “Slide your right leg over to the other side. I’ll keep you steady.”

My mouth flops open and I wonder if he can see the ever-growing whites of my eyes. Or maybe he’s picked up on the stampede going on between the valves of my heart, because he softens. “Lucy, I’m not going to let you fall. Trust me.”

 

“The only people I’ve ever trusted are dead,” I shoot down to him as I claw around for something, anything, to keep me from falling on my face.

 

Oliver snorts, which sends me over the edge.

 

“What? You think that’s funny?” I challenge him, no longer concerned about keeping quiet. His hand clamps on my leg in piercing reproof. I’ll have bruises there tomorrow, for sure. Through locked teeth, I order, “Let. Go.”

 

“Please stop,” he says. “I’m trying to keep you sa—”

 

A rumble beyond us, where the orchard fades into the rest of the forest, interrupts his plea. Even though I sit astride stoic Jasper, I can feel the ground vibrating beneath us.

 

“What in the—?” I cry, whipping my head in the direction of the growing commotion.

 

“Slide back,” Oliver commands. I know better than to take offense at his bossy tone. I’d made a big mistake, one he’d been trying to protect me from. The fear of horses leaves my body, only to be replaced by the fear of the unknown. Ignoring the bite of pain in my hip, I throw my leg over Jasper’s withers and shove myself backward, using my palms for leverage. A second later, Oliver sweeps himself upward and in front of me on his horse’s back.

 

“Hold on,” he yells over the thunder moving our direction.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon (www.amazon.com/Middle-S-J-Henderson-ebook/dp/B01MS38HH5/)

Tiny Fox Press (http://tinyfoxpress.com/product/in-the-middle/)

 

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  1. J. Henderson is the founder of theKid Authors Project, as well as a published author of the DANIEL THE DRAW-ER series. Now that she’s published IN THE MIDDLE, she’ll start working on the next big thing.

 

  1. J. lives on a farm with her husband, four boys, two dogs, and cat. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her riding one of her family’s three horses. She loves to sing and is slowly learning to play the ukulele.

 

 

Website (www.sjhenderson.net)

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