No Go For Audi! Meg Sheppard and the Series, and Reviews!

This is Rizzmo (Toby)! He's back at the track and back in school! Here he's waiting patiently for his groom to get him ready for his daily exercise and training. He has good weight on him (see the roundness at the top of his leg). He has a lot of learning to do, but we're excited to watch his development.

In this post, there's an update on Audi's World (his race was scheduled for June 1st) and a couple of short videos of him setting out for his exercise on the training track, and of him returning afterwards. These were taken before his scheduled June 1st race.

I'm delighted that my Meg Sheppard Mystery Series is featured on shepherd.com: check it out: https://shepherd.com/books-in-order/meg-sheppard-mystery I'm a founding member of this site. It's an exciting venture with the aim of helping authors to reach readers, and readers to find books that they love.

I wrote the following piece for Dru's Book Musings https://drusbookmusing.com/meg-sheppard/ which you may not have read. After this, you'll find a couple of reviews that are posted on Dru Ann's site. I'm grateful to Dru Ann for this opportunity.

A Day In My Life - Meg Sheppard

Hi! I’m Meg, and I’m living the life of my dreams on an idyllic horse farm in Ontario. I emigrated from England to escape an abusive situation, but you won’t want to hear about that.

I eventually married Frank. It was a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience which ended tragically with Frank’s death. He left me this farm and four horses, including two thoroughbred racehorses.  

Because Frank died under suspicious circumstances, I was driven to become an amateur sleuth, although sometimes a reluctant one. I’m proud to say that I discovered what happened to him, but it wasn’t easy, and I unearthed facts that were tough to face.

My best friend and loyal partner is my beloved border collie, Kelly. She might be smarter than I am. I met her when I was the Executive Director of Vannersville Humane Society. Kelly sleeps on my bed, and this morning we both woke up feeling a little blue. We’ve each lost a good friend. I pushed William out of my life, and he took Jake, Kelly’s buddy, with him.   

Kelly and I follow the well-worn path to the barn to feed Eagle and Bullet, two retired racehorses. I love the sweet smell of horse feed, the grassy odour of green hay, and the tangy scent of wood shavings.

After a mug of tea back in the kitchen, I lead the horses out to the paddock. Kelly and I return to the back door just as Neal, my racehorse trainer, calls me. He says a racehorse trainer with a bad reputation was found dead in a ditch near the racetrack. Linda is being questioned by the police and she’s terrified. She’s a top-notch groom at Vannersville Racetrack and takes excellent care of my racehorses.  

Kelly and I are soon in my pickup on our way to Vannersville Racetrack. I love to visit my horses in the backstretch barns, but Kelly knows she’s not allowed there. She lies down behind the front seats and stays out of sight. I have mints, but won’t have a chance to feed them to my horses this morning. After a brief chat with Neal, I leave to meet Linda in a coffee shop. The police have seized her car because they suspect it was involved in the trainer’s death.  

I want to help Linda, but when I chat with her, it’s clear she’s hiding something and protecting someone.

Love and Death, a Meg Sheppard Mystery Series, Book 6.

A cheating racehorse trainer is dead, and someone close to Meg is under suspicion. As she digs for the truth, past gang members involved in a murder, and a zealous animal rights group bring danger to Meg. Wounded by a gunshot, Meg is reluctant to continue as a sleuth. Does she have the resilience to face the danger and investigate a stolen horse, another death, and two attempted murders while struggling to cope with the likelihood of a devastating personal loss?

Reviews

It's such a treat to receive reviews of my books (these heartwarming ones are posted on Dru's Book Musings). Thank you!!

1. Maren Tirabassi

   This series is completely new to me and sounds wonderful!

   • Vicky Earle

     Maren: I hope you enjoy the books!

2. Amanda & Glenn Morgan

   My husband and I have read all of the books to date . We have thoroughly enjoyed the plots and feel we are part of Meg’s family and friends! We always look forward to the next book release in the series !

3. Dawn Symes-Podic

   I absolutely love these books. Reading them is like being wrapped in a warm hug. It’s such a pleasure to follow Meg’s (and Kelly’s!) adventures. I particularly enjoy the horse farm setting. Please write more!

Update on Audi's World

This is Audi on his way out to the training track. Doesn't he seem relaxed?! (See my notes below).

And this is him returning to the barn:

These videos were taken before his scheduled race on June 1st. And I

I expect you want to know how it went!

Some of you already know that he didn't make it out of the starting gate.

He was very excited before the race. I didn't see it, but apparently he bucked several times while being led around the paddock (the saddling area). After he'd entered the starting gate he reared up and landed with his front legs over the top of the gate. The jockey came off. Fortunately, Pietro Moran (an excellent apprentice jockey) wasn't hurt and Audi sustained minor cuts. It could have been a lot worse.

The official veterinarian who was stationed at the gate, scratched Audi from the race. In my opinion, it was the right thing to do because Audi showed some discomfort at the time and it was unclear as to the extent of his injuries.

Fortunately, he's back in training which includes work from the starting gate and he's handled it well so far. So, he doesn't appear to have suffered psychological or physical trauma.

And Pietro is fine.

So, we hope that Audi will have a much more positive experience next time!

Book 7

Life has got in the way of my writing recently but I am now back working on book 7.

Thank you for your encouragement and support. I sincerely appreciate your feedback. You help to keep me writing!

Thank you for reading my post.

Please share.

Vicky