This is me talking to Toby (Rizzmo). There's more about him below.
As you know, the book launch is on Sunday, November 17 in the Blue Heron Studio (at the back of the bookstore). We have an agenda since there are some special things we want to share with you!
Doors open at 1 pm.
Refreshments will be available.
There will be tables and we'll ask everyone to be seated by 1.15 pm.
Then we'll show a couple of horse races - just to set the tone and because they're exciting! We plan to share ones that feature horses we have bred and raced ourselves (Martin and me).
Then we'll play my new book trailer.
Lucy Black will interview me (Lucy is a renowned local author. Please check out her website https://lucyemblack.com. Her books are available at Blue Heron.
And you'll have a chance to ask questions.
We anticipate this part of the launch will end at about 2 pm.
I will be available until 3 pm to sign books and to answer any further questions.
There will be lots of giveaways for those of you who buy books!
I look forward to welcoming you on the 17th!
Here's a 5-star review of my book:
"Despite Meg Sheppard's distress over personal issues and a murder needing urgent investigation, we are at once drawn back into the world of her idyllic Canadian horse farm. Against the backdrop of birdsong, lush paddocks and maple trees; glossy horses are lovingly cared for. The loyal dogs, Kelly and Jake, follow Meg’s every command whilst Cooper the cat follows no orders at all. Meg’s family grows and changes over the years. New characters mix with returning old friends. It’s certainly a place I’d love to visit! Meg remains an unofficial aide to Detective Valeska as a useful connection for the police within the world of horse racing. This time Meg gets shot a few times for good measure – which she handles with an enviable nonchalance. The complex plot is interwoven with twists and red herrings and, despite several corpses along the way, the ending feels like the warmest and most satisfying hug." - Dawn Symes-Podic.
I appreciate receiving reviews SO much!!!
This is another word challenge story I wrote for the Uxbridge Writers' Circle. The words I had to incorporate are in italics.
Advantage
The view hadn’t changed from the evening before, except that the sun was in a different spot in the sky, which made the shadows shorter and more distinct. The trees were the same trees that Melanie had stared at for hours, weeks on end. She’d lost track of time. How long had she been in this godforsaken place? What day was it? The lilacs were over, the grass had been mown and the hostas were spreading their wings, so it must be well into spring. But she didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore.
Her eyes caught movement on the driveway that led from the parking lot. There weren’t many visitors because this so-called retirement haven was stuck out on the country road that wound its way to the garbage dump.
As far as Melanie was concerned, she’d been dumped by her family. They’d insisted that it was for her own good. She’d be safe and have company. She’d much rather be living dangerously and alone.
The young woman looked familiar. She approached the front door with a determined stride. Melanie couldn’t see her enter the building but sensed that she was about to receive her first visitor.
Penny stopped at the doorway into the quiet, still, ‘dying room’ as Melanie called it. The girl’s eyes widened in response to the older woman’s half-hearted wave. Melanie hadn’t seen her granddaughter for several months, but she knew the girl had had her appendix out and been busy at university with exams afterwards.
Melanie used to be busy once.
“Anybody’d think this was hallowed ground. They gave me the third degree. I thought I wasn’t going to be let in,” Penny said as she flopped down on the vinyl-covered sofa, unwound her long, stripy scarf and unzipped her backpack.
“Hello,” Melanie said, not without tentativeness.
Penny got up and gave Melanie an almost touchless hug as she made the gesture of kissing each of the old woman’s wrinkled cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Gran. I’m in a state. I’m here to ask for your help.”
“You’ve been busy.” Melanie hoped the words didn’t convey the envy she felt.
“I’m on some kind of hamster wheel and can’t get off, and then this happens.” She handed Melanie a newspaper clipping.
“Student stabbed in locker room,” Melanie read out loud. “Was he someone you knew?”
“Brendan was a good friend. I really liked him.”
“He was murdered?” Melanie asked, although the answer was obvious.
“I can’t believe it. Who could want him dead? He was one of the good guys. He was even a bit of a hero in his community because he helped save the life of a little boy who’d fallen off a rock, or something, into the lake.”
“Oh dear.” Melanie looked at Penny’s face with its smooth, flawless skin and clear, bright eyes. Gravity hadn’t yet wreaked its havoc on her granddaughter’s looks, and her skin still had elasticity. Melanie couldn’t remember what she’d looked like when she was Penny’s age.
“Dad says I need to forget the whole thing and not get involved,” Penny said as she opened her laptop.
“I see. So, what are you going to do?”
“Not just me. We are going to solve this. The police have no idea what happened. Nobody’ll talk to them. But, in any case, there weren’t any witnesses, or at least no one will own up to being there.”
“What do you mean by ‘we’?”
“You and me. You were the best sleuth ever. I want the Melanie Butler advantage on my side.”
“Melanie Butler Investigations closed down several years ago, remember?”
“I don’t care. You’re still Melanie Butler. There’s nothing wrong with your brain. Just because you have arthritis and Grandad died doesn’t mean you can’t do stuff.”
Melanie smiled for the first time in over a year.
“But I’m stuck in this place,” Melanie said, as her mouth sagged back to its usual droopy position.
“We can work from here. This can be our office, and I’ve borrowed Dad’s fancy SUV for the summer. He’s off to China tomorrow, something to do with trade, and he said I could use it. You’ll be able to get in and out of it, no problem. Aren’t you supposed to keep moving?”
“Yes. Yes, I should.”
Melanie dared to feel a little hope, a glimmer of light in her life, as Penny handed her some papers and showed her pictures on her laptop. Something to think about. Something to do. Something to live for.
Melanie and Penny became an inseparable team, interviewing students, lecturers, custodians, security staff and others. Melanie’s walking improved and her brain felt as if it was running on higher octane fuel. Her appetite returned.
She regained some of her lost dignity.
“Why don’t you move out of this depressing place?” Penny asked one day, right in the middle of an intense discussion they were having about their three prime suspects.
“I’d love to get out of here. But I feel stuck.”
“There’s a condo available in town. Do you want to look at it? I’d be willing to share if you are. Dad wouldn’t be able to object.”
Strange droplets of water gathered in Melanie’s eyes.
“I’d absolutely love to look at it.”
That’s how Melanie and Penny Butler started M and P Advantage Investigation Services. And the first case they cracked was Brendan’s murder. Melanie’s persistent questioning of one of Brendan’s flat-mates uncovered the typical story of a jealous lover whose girlfriend decided she’d rather go out with Brendan. So, the murderer thought that the solution was to get rid of Brendan, and then he’d get his girlfriend back. It didn’t work out as planned, but it rarely does.
Melanie couldn’t help but feel a disturbing sense of gratitude to this young man. After all, if he hadn’t murdered Brendan, she wouldn’t have got her life back.
Vicky Earle Copyright 2024
Pic of a Very Large Baby!
This large, beautiful colt is only a yearling (not two years old yet!). Toby (racing name Rizzmo) is a stunner and we are excited to be part-owners.
Franz Crean is the breeder.
Toby will start his training in the early spring, probably at a horse farm that has an arena.
If all goes well, he'll then go to Woodbine where his training will continue on the dirt training track.
We're looking forward to seeing how he develops!
Click on the link below for a short video of Toby being led from the field at dinner time!
Thank you for reading my post.
Please share and tell your friends and family about the book launch - everyone is invited!
Vicky
A lovely, heartwarming story giving us all hope we will be able to contribute long into the future.
As for Toby: he has a coat like velvet. What an absolute beauty he is!
And, at the risk of exclaiming too much, what a fantastic event your book launch will be! Many, many congratulations.
I’m looking for a broomstick capable of getting me to Blue Heron on the 17th! 🧙🏻