Paperback, Ebook, and audiobook available on Amazon. Discounted and signed paperback available on Shop Page
Full-color paperback available on Amazon. Signed paperback available at a discount on Shop Page
Coming Soon
Both Secret in the Stars and Secret in the Mist are based on our neighborhood in Purcellville, Virginia, with lots of fiction sprinkled in, of course. 😊 The inspiration for Secret in the Stars came from an experience I had at a nearby inn, and can be found in the blog post, “Linda’s Eerie Encounter.”
Our house of five acres stood on the northwest corner of Virginia, near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I could look out my bedroom window and see a grassy hillside on the West Virginia border. It felt like living in a corner of the world. That part of Virginia is known as “horse country.” Jackie Kennedy Onassis rode horses there. The Appalachian Trail, a trek of about 2,200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, that many people hike year-round, was a few miles up a dirt road. There were two horse stables nearby, and an alpaca and peacock farm down the road. That road, which bordered our house, is an official Virginia byway, a scenic road known for its beauty and cultural and historical significance. The Hilltop Inn, where Secret in the Stars takes place, is based on an inn built in the 1700s located about a mile from our house.
Our neighborhood played a role in Secret in the Mist. There are thirty-three homes on my street in the shape of a horseshoe, each with three-to-five acres. Originally, the property had been a farm that had been developed, and eventually became our neighborhood. All the homes were new except two, the original farmhouse and barn, and across the street, an old deserted farmhouse and barn. A marsh separated the deserted farmhouse from the road. During warm months lots of creatures lived there, including a bull frog that croaked on and off throughout the day. My favorite sounds came from the tree frogs that chorused the entire neighborhood in early spring. Perhaps you can see why I have revisited our old neighborhood to write my first two Abi Wunder stories.
The biggest day of the year had arrived: the 4-H Horse Show. Ashley bowed to the locker room mirror. "Today Lacy and I are going to win!" If Ashley could prove to her mom that she was serious about riding, she wouldn't have to wear her old red, rubber boots anymore. She could wear real riding boots. But sometimes her pony, Lacy, had a mind of her own. Did Lacy want to win, too?
"The illustrations are such a beautiful compliment to the well-written and darling story! Thanks again for promoting the 4-H program and for writing a story which will be enjoyed by youth and their families (enrolled 4-H members and those yet to enroll)!"
Laura Bittner, Ph.D., Interim Department Head, 4-H and Youth Development, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Ashley enters a 4-H Horse Show!
