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A very special offer plus all my latest news
Hello! I've been so busy quizzing my fellow pony book authors these last couple of months that I haven't had a chance to share my own news with you, so I thought it was high time I let you know what I've been up to since I last wrote. It's been a busy summer, the highlights of which were two weeks in the south of France and my first ever show on Dobbie...but more of that later. France was great. It was blisteringly hot but it gave me the chance to realise a lifelong ambition - to ride in the Camargue. I had a romantic picture in my head of rounding up a few bulls on a grey Camargue horse. It wasn't quite like that, sadly! I rode a mare called Saturne on the beach with eight other trekkers starting from a very touristy part of the Camargue. But Saturne was very sweet - forward going (and grey!) - and we had some exciting gallops on the beach and through sand dunes, so I enjoyed it nonetheless. It definitely got me thinking about a Camargue adventure Poppy might have while on holiday in France...
I took my trusty laptop on holiday and when I wasn't lounging by the pool or cantering through the sand dunes I did get a few thousand words written. I have almost finished the first draft of my latest book, which is my first stab at an entirely new genre. I'm keeping it under wraps at the moment, but when I can say more you will, of course, be the first to know. Once the work in progress is finished my plan is to head back to Riverdale for a book that I hope all fans of Poppy and Cloud will love. Again, I can't say too much at the moment, but it's going to be a lot of fun! The Hunt for the Golden Horse, the seventh Riverdale book, is now available in paperback. It's had some great reviews, with readers saying it's their favourite of the series so far, with a gripping, compelling plot and plenty of twists and turns that kept them guessing 'til the end.
If you think it would look great on your bookshelf (and it absolutely would!), here are the links:
Back in August, to celebrate my birthday, I held a competition to win copies of The Thirteenth Horse and Trophy Horse, the two books in the Mill Farm Stables series.
Once again I was overwhelmed by the response to the competition, which was seen by more than FIVE THOUSAND people! Tricia Craven from North Yorkshire in the UK was first out of the hat and won signed paperback copies of the books. Sue Long Billings from Maryland in the US was the first reader outside the UK to be picked, and Sue won ebook versions of both books.
Thanks to everyone who liked and shared the competition and I'm sorry if you weren't lucky this time. But don't worry, I have plenty more competitions and special offers planned! Speaking of which, Into the Storm, the third Riverdale book, is just 99p in the UK and 99 cents in the US this week, a huge saving on its normal list price.
The book follows the adventures of Poppy and Scarlett as they spend a week at Oaklands Trekking Centre in the Forest of Dean.
Poppy struggles to click with her horse, a hairy, bumbling piebald cob with a wall eye and a stubborn streak. But Beau is the least of her worries when the future of Oaklands is threatened. Only Poppy can save the Oakland horses. But first she must place her trust in the most unlikely of heroes...
Don't forget it's a time-limited offer, so grab your copy while you can. And finally, I wanted to tell you about Dobbie's and my first show together. It was also the first show I have competed at for almost thirty years! To say I was nervous was an understatement. Especially as Dobbie, who's normally so laid back he's virtually horizontal, was totally over-excited by all the goings-on. We entered two classes, novice pony, just for the experience as Dobbie is a shade too big for the class, and novice horse. Both were over the same course, which was 2ft to 2ft 3in, which was probably a bit small for him but plenty big enough for me!
Anyway, we had four faults in the first class and eight in the second. But we didn't have any stops or falls and they were both nice, steady rounds, which made me really happy. Winning fourth place in the novice horse class was the icing on the cake! OK, there were only seven in the class but who's counting?!! Here we are with our green rosette. I think the smile on my face says it all!
And I think Dobbie enjoyed it as much as I did! That's all my news. I'll be back with another author interview very soon. But in the meantime... Happy reading! Amanda
