I should have swooned. Instead, I walked toward him quite calmly, or I thought I was calm. Yet I do remember wondering if I had combed my hair that morning. I do remember being glad I had worn a bra and wishing it were not so plain and businesslike. And I remember thinking of one more thing to add to my 'before I die' list - not the list I'd written out of things a person can actually arrange on purpose, but the mental list of things I would most likely die without: passion. It is a measure of how dazzled I was that I completely failed to see any significance in such a thought at that particular moment." And so begins The Falconer, a stunning love story set in the Sierra Nevada mountains, about two ordinary people whose lives are transformed by love. India Blake realizes that she has let her life pass in dutiful commitments, without living fully, without achieving her dream of adventure and love. And then she meets Rhodri, a master falconer who teaches her how to fly falcons - and with whom she discovers the passion and deep connection she has been missing.

    But his dream is about to be put on hold. Arriving at the stables late one night to prepare his horse for a competition the next day, Bay walks into a crisis. Thieves have targeted the tackroom and viciously attacked fifteen-year-old Abby Hathaway, the stable owners' daughter, leaving her unconscious.As Abby lies in a coma, what seems like freak chance sets Bay on the track of the thieves. Disregarding the advice of the investigating officer and increasingly unpleasant warnings from those involved, he juggles sleuthing with his demanding job and a competitive riding career. But, as the violence against him escalates and begins to affect those close to him, Bay soon realises that someone, under cover of the trouble he has stirred up, is trying to kill him for reasons of their own, and the race is on to find out who, before they succeed...

    She feel that neither she nor the baby's father can provide adequate care for the child. The Salems adopt the child and raise him as their own for two years--until Lori and her boyfriend decide they want their son back. The dramatic courtroom struggle seems ripped from today's headlines.

    Quarter horse trainer Michaela Bancroft's husband is divorcing her for a 22 year-old beauty. Stunned, Michaela is trying to rein in her life when she finds her Uncle Lou murdered. And when she's nearly run off the road, she suspects she's on the fast track to being the next victim.

    In the pristine world of Virginia foxhunting, hunters, horses, hounds, and foxes form a lively community of conflicting loyalties, where the thrill of the chase and the intricacies of human-animal relationships are experienced firsthand--and murder exposes a proud Southern community's unsavory secrets. . . . As Master of the prestigious Jefferson Hunt Club, Jane Arnold, known as Sister, is the most revered citizen in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain town where a rigid code of social conduct and deep-seated tradition carry more weight than money. Nearing seventy, Sister now must select a joint master to ensure a smooth transition of leadership after her death. It is an honor of the highest order--and one that any serious social climber would covet like the Holy Grail.Virginian to the bone with a solid foxhunting history, Fontaine Buruss is an obvious candidate, but his penchant for philandering and squandering money has earned him a less than sparkling reputation. And not even Sister knows about his latest tawdry scandal. Then there is Crawford Howard, a Yankee in a small town where Rebel bloodlines are sacred. Still, Crawford has money--lots of it--and as Sister is well aware, maintaining a first-class hunt club is far from cheap. With the competition flaring up, Southern gentility flies out the window. Fontaine and Crawford will stop at nothing to discredit each other. Soon the entire town is pulled into a rivalry that is spiraling dangerously out of control. Even the animals have strong opinions, and only Sister is able to maintain objectivity. But when opening hunt day ends in murder, she, too, is stunned. Who was bold and skilled enough to commit murder on the field? It could only be someone who knew both the territory and the complex nature of the hunt inside out. Sister knows of three people who qualify--and only she, with the help of a few clever foxes and hounds, can lay the trap to catch the killer.A colorful foray into an intriguing world, Outfoxed features a captivating cast of Southerners and their unforgettable animal counterparts. Rita Mae Brown has written a masterful novel that surprises, delights, and enchants.From the Hardcover edition.

    But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes:Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon. Author Laura Hillenbrand brilliantly re-creates a universal underdog story, one that proves life is a horse race.From the Hardcover edition.

    These modern-day cowpokes--two chivalrous knights of the rope and range with a hankering for bucking broncos and for the female of the two-legged species--find much more than they bargained for in Oklahoma City. Against the colorful, flamboyant backdrop of the hard-ridin', hard-playin' rodeo circuit, they encounter a city woman named Lilac, with whom Cody falls in love; a bull named Kamikaze; and two corrupt Texas billionaires who bet against Lick. In the vein of a latter-day Will Rogers, Baxter Black combines a colorful yarn with occasional bits of his unique cowboy philosophy and poetry."It could make a dead man sit up and laugh"--The Washington Post Book World

    Her sense of belonging is threatened when the stableowner is hurt by a mysterious attacker and in the aftermath decides to sells his horses if the criminal isn't found. Shay and her two best friends determine to find the criminal - at the cost of their own safety.

    Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. This gentle creature??—??malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection??—??had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. It seemed fated that she would come into Susan’s paddock and teach her how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living.An elegant and often heartbreaking tale filled with animal characters as complicated and lively as their human counterparts, this is an inspiring story of courage and hope and the ways in which all love??—??even an animal’s??—??has the power to heal.

     It’s into this white-gloved arena that Clarissa Stamos, a reclusive, midlife romance writer is thrust when she decides to write a country-western romance. The only problem is—she’s never been on a horse. Clarissa signs up for riding lessons and finds relief from her troubled marriage and her darkest secrets in the company of horses who offer an intoxicating sense of freedom and daring. Before long, she impulsively buys an ex-rodeo horse who spurs her to take charge of her own destiny—or wind up in the dust. Complicating matters is an intriguing, Argentinian dressage trainer with secrets of his own. One part romance novel, one part literary fiction, one part love-affair-with-horses, Ephemeral is told from the viewpoint of a quirky, old cow horse who not only invites you into his world, but also shares his sensible and soulful outlook on human hearts and the meaning of true horsemanship.

    But Paintbox was taken from her by his spiteful former owners and there was nothing Lucy could do. Despite having Hope, Lucy never got over losing Paintbox. The worst part was, she had no idea what became of him until, one day, a mysterious letter arrives…. www.whitecloudstation.com A White Cloud Station short story.

    No ISBN. Catherine Cookson (The Silent Lady: A Novel). A not so typical family and their charming way of life.

    The only problem is that her new boss is a little too fussy...and way too sexy.She can handle sleeping in a mice infested stall as well as the occasional encounter with a sinister knife-wielding trespasser, but a lovable old gelding and his uncompromising trainer threaten to break her heart.

    But his life is about to change dramatically when he sees and falls secretly in love with Laura Leach.Laura lives all alone in an 18th Century folly known as Devereux Towers; a brooding old building sitting alone in its field a few miles from Langbridge. Recently returned to the area to bury her father and having inherited Devereux Towers, Laura is something of a recluse. The local children call Laura the ‘Witch of Devereux Towers’; some people call her ‘damaged goods’. She too is lonely and unassuming, a desperately troubled woman haunted by her dark, secret past. Haunted by what lies behind the blue-painted door in Devereux Towers which Laura lets no one enter…Then Laura Leach meets Casper Younge. He’s handsome, well-spoken, gentle and loving, and Laura falls head-over-heels in love with him. Vince Moody is devastated to have lost the woman of his dreams, but he soon discovers that Casper Younge is not all he first appears. He’s blackmailing the Empire’s manager, Martin Caldwell, for one thing; and who is the attractive woman Vince sees Casper meeting in Glastonbury? What plans are they hatching? Martin Caldwell is having serious troubles of his own, aside from managing the failing Empire cinema – his affair with Monica Andrews the cleaner has gone horribly wrong. His world is falling apart, and the last thing he wants is a visit from Casper Younge dredging up a murky past he thought he’d left behind.Then both Casper and Monica go missing; the longer they are gone, the more the thoughts turn to their possible deaths. But if they are dead, who is responsible for killing them?Soon, everyone is caught up in a dangerous spiral of events that draws them inexorably into a world of jealousy, deceit, passion, blackmail and murder, where the hunter becomes the hunted, the mice turn on the cats.Set against the impressive yet claustrophobic landscape of the Somerset Levels, Mouse is a chilling exploration of the corrupt depths people will sink to in the name of revenge, power, greed and love and is D. M. Mitchell at his imaginative best.

    Watch out, Dick Francis!” —New York Times Bestselling Author J.A. JANCE Despite the accidents plaguing his racing business, horse breeder Coke McCallister was sure that Shameless, his prized filly, would put him back on top. But now Coke is dead, and his daughter Dakota returns to Arizona determined to sell Black Oak. Dakota is not prepared for the bittersweet memories that greet her, and she really isn’t prepared to see her ex-husband, Clay Pearce. Although she has every reason to distrust him, who else can she turn to in an atmosphere fraught with danger? Who else can she confide in when her life is threatened by an unseen stalker? When Dakota enters the filly Shameless in the All American Futurity, a desperate killer lays a trap. And on the eve of the race, Dakota learns the shattering truth. If she runs the filly to restore her father’s good name, her actions could bring down Black Oak and everything with it. And she could lose her life. >As featured in THE QUARTER RACING JOURNAL and THE QUARTER HORSE JOURNAL “DARK HORSE brings readers smack dab to the center of the complex and fascinating world of horse breeding and racing, and will take readers on an intense and nerve-shattering ride that is bound to please.” —ROMANTIC TIMES “DARK HORSE should put Falk in the Winner’s Circle.” —New York Times Bestselling Author TONY HILLERMAN “…joins the ranks of Nora Roberts and Janet Dailey with her wonderfully fresh tale of mystery and romance. A book rich in character and place, where the reader experiences firsthand the fascinating world of Quarter Horse racing and the mélange of people drawn to it. DARK HORSE marks the arrival of a most welcome new talent in romantic suspense. Gripping. Satisfying. A keeper!” —CAROL DAVIS LUCE, author of NIGHT STALKER, NIGHT PREY, and NIGHT PASSAGE. “Suspense and romance combined with the excitement of Quarter Horse racing and thrill of competing in a million-dollar race make DARK HORSE a winner.” —AMY OWENS, THE QUARTER HORSE JOURNAL What readers say about DARK HORSE: “I finished reading DARK HORSE last night (at 3 AM). I loved it and couldn’t put it down. … I had to tell you how much I enjoyed it and thank you for writing it. There isn’t a boring page in it. You have it Just Right. Thanks again – I’m glad I found you.” —Alva B. “I wanted to tell you of my recent excitement in reading your novel DARK HORSE. I purchased it because of the attractive cover and the praise of Judy Jance… a great lady and a wonderful writer. I am also a fan of Dick Francis. Your work is as good, if not better than his. … Thank you for the good read.” —Dan M. “I received a copy from you at the All American Futurity. I am the Navajo Indian racehorse owner from Colorado. … It was interesting to talk to you and see how you did your own track research. This research showed, as it really brings out realism in this book and makes it very enjoyable from my perspective as a horse owner.” —Ross A. “I have just finished reading your book DARK HORSE. To say that it was great is putting it mildly. I have been involved with horse racing, both at recognized tracks, as well as match racing all my adult life. … I won the 1985 All American Futurity with Mr. Trucka Jet.