There’s heartbreak, deceit, courage, loss and redemption. And yes, there’s romance!
From the glamorous world of California Eventing to the freedom of riding the trails in the mountains you are there!
Gemcie and her Irish Hunter, Marshal, are about to capture the World Cup when a nasty fall dashes their chances. While she is mending, her arch rival seizes this opportunity to catch a ride on Marshal, and to seduce her young husband. Confused and dazed by her new circumstances, Gemcie heads for the high Sierras hoping the majestic spires that captured the heart of the father she never met will provide the answers she seeks. She finds strength and solace riding solo on the John Muir Trail, but a bear attack ends her time of introspection and places her in the care of a solitary cowboy manning a fire lookout. Brady shows her love and gives her the courage to get back in the saddle. Haunted by images of Marshal being abused by his owners, Gemcie returns to rescue him and fly high with him once more.
Ballou’s prose gallops ahead at breakneck speed as she takes you along on this wild ride.
Publishing The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon has brought me many things I had not considered. . It has re-connected me to the horse world I love in many different ways. Thanks to Alice Champlin, the editor of EquineAddiction.net, I have a new best friend named Daphne. She a sweet mare who still has a spring in her step that makes her a perfect ride for me.
Reading the books of other authors who love the horse world has broaden my appreciation for the animals that serve us in so many ways. Horses have a healing power that transcends anything modern medicine can supply. It is a spiritual gift that so many have experienced, I believe it must be true. I know it was true for me that when I was recovering from an injury grooming my mare took my mind off my pain. I could feel my molecules settling into place and the anxiety I was feeling slip away.
The Cowgirl story is one of self-discovery for my protagonist Gemcie, but her journey has also brought personal growth for me. Writing it served as closure on so many emotional levels and allowed me to move forward in my own life. My story Irish Mist appears in the anthology Why We Ride. This collection of essays shares all the different ways we humans connect with a 1,000 pound animal that stays with us all our lives. I am so happy to be back in that world strolling along singing a song.
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From my roots in Alaska I receive strength, centeredness and respect for the awful power of nature. Numerous adventure articles, essays on my website are set in my homeland. In Hawaii I found a spiritual awakening, sensuality and the heroine for my historical novel Wai-nani: A Voice from Old Hawaii. Lost Angel in Paradise, takes you day tripping with me to my favorite outdoor days in sun-splashed California. I share tips for “Wannabe” travel writers in GET GREAT TRIPS. I added Lost Angel Walkabout to my audio books for my armchair traveling friends in 2020. I just released of Embrace of the Wild an historical novel inspired by the life of equestrian explorer Isabella Bird.
