Wow Book Reviews! 'The Dramedy', and It's Over!

Love and Death has been on a virtual book tour! Paste Creative arranged it for me and I am grateful for the opportunity and am thrilled with the reviews!

Paste Creative enlisted Instagram influencers in the book world to shine a spotlight on my book. Several profiled my book and it was encouraging and heartwarming to read the comments they made. I appreciate their participation in the tour. Here are a few of the reviews:

First, I'll share the review Paste Creative posted:

"MY THOUGHTS: It’s so very obvious that the author herself has been immersed in the world of thoroughbred race horses – her books are very descriptive, but also written in a way that a complete novice (like me) can understand what’s going on without it feeling like I’m being burdened with too many facts & jargon.

Meg is a wonderful main character – she’s resilient, smart, tough, & persistent. More importantly, she feels very realistic. & of course, since I’ve been looking into adopting a border collie myself, I can’t help but fall in love with the fictional Kelly, Meg’s dog. As with many other mystery series, the animals that inhabit this world are characters in themselves & add so much to the stories.

The world that Meg navigates has a very welcoming feel to it but this mystery definitely isn’t a slow, sleepy one! It’s actually quite fast-paced, with a very real sense of danger that keeps this story moving along & kept me turning the pages.

...

Disclaimer: the author, Vicky Earle, is one of my clients & I organised the book tour for Love and Death that this review is a part of. This review is completely unbiased & voluntary & I would not have posted a review if I didn't honestly enjoy the book"

By the way, you may like following Paste Creative (Stephanie) on Instragram.

Here's the review from the bookish brunette 483:

"So I am coming into this series in the wrong order (seems to be a habit for me), but from what I gathered, they are interconnected standalones, so you can technically read them in any order. This is book six in this series, and the first time I have read anything by this author. Now I’m learning that this is a mystery series set in the horse industry?? As someone who has owned horses most of my life, I am now going to be reading ALL of these books.

...

Vicky is a masterful storyteller. Again, as an avid horse person who has participated in the breeding and showing aspect of it, I really appreciated an author who made it obvious they knew what they were talking about. Additionally, I appreciated how everything was explained so someone outside of the horse would not be lost, without feeling like this was a “how-to” horse guide. It was the perfect mix of need-to-know, without taking away from the plot. The story itself was gripping and full of tension and suspense, with twists I did not see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this book and I can’t wait to read more in this series."

And this review from sun_garden_reads:

"...Fans of Dick and Felix Francis and Jane Smiley's "Horse Heaven" will adore this tour through the world of Canadian Thoroughbred racing. I am so pleased to find another great author and animal lover who has several other books in the series to discover. I love how the author introduced several characters, leaving us to discover their true identity as the action unfolded. Great mystery, this one will keep you guessing."

So, I now feel more energized to complete Book 7!

After my story, you'll get the latest on our 2025 racing season.

But first, here's the piece I wrote for the most recent Uxbridge Writers' Circle meeting. The words we had to use are: poppy, triangle, Hollywood, distinguish, reluctance, fly, and humility. I hope you enjoy reading the story!

The Dramedy

The theatre was half-full. At least, that’s what Marcel told me. He’d peeked out from the wings before the lights went down. That’s good, I said, because I’m a half-full kind of gal. He huffed and sauntered away as if he was modelling the latest Dior suit on a catwalk. I would have loved him whatever he did—like a favourite cat. I do love cats, but sadly, there were none at home.

Anyway, the night I’m telling you about was the night I was going to distinguish myself as an actor. It was my first chance to act in front of an audience which wasn’t made up of family and friends. I believed it would be a significant stepping-stone on my inevitable path to Hollywood. I’d never been, but I’d heard about it, and I was sure my talents would be appreciated there.

So, I was excited. I didn’t have stage fright. I knew that because I’d played the triangle in the school band and hadn’t felt the least bit nervous, even though my parents were in the front row. They looked apprehensive, though, which made me chuckle inside and gave me more courage, not that I needed it. I struck the triangle with extra vigour, and I’m sure my eyes sparkled as much as the triangle did.

Anyway, back to my path to Hollywood. The play went well that night. I had a very important part, even though the character didn’t speak. I should explain that it was a comedy called ‘There Are No Such Things As Secrets’ and I had a pivotal role as the fly-on-the-wall. It really was a funny play, but I’ll admit there was some reluctance on my part when I saw the costume design and even more hesitation when I was being fitted for it—yards and yards of black satin and huge wings made out of grey netting. I didn’t mind all that, but I was disappointed that I had to wear a head even though I admit it was spectacular. The realistic eyes gave me the creeps. I was disappointed because any bigwigs visiting from Hollywood wouldn’t see my face, and although the part of the fly was incredibly important to the dramedy, I have to admit my scope was limited by the costume. And the set designers had cleverly built a harness and a small shelf so it looked as if I really was on the wall of the room they’d constructed on the stage.

Not being someone who has ever subscribed to humility, I approached the playwright who attended all the rehearsals and suggested it would be hilarious if the fly said something at the end of the play. He didn’t like the idea. He said the whole point of the fly being on the wall was to poke fun at the idiom ‘fly-on-the-wall’ because flies cannot talk. So, if the fly spoke, that would ruin the whole point.

He turned away from me abruptly and obviously didn’t want to discuss it further. But I could have written a better play, and the fly would have revealed the secrets he heard—and it would have been consistent with the title of the dramedy ‘There Are No Such Things As Secrets’.

The fact that I’d come up with this brilliant idea boosted my confidence, and I gave the role all I had to give. Even Marcel agreed with me that I played my part well. Yes, the fly was very convincing, he said, and yes, it was an important role.

But Marcel told me no one from Hollywood had seen the play, and it was closing after that opening night. There weren’t enough people buying tickets. Even my family and friends had been significantly under-represented. Nearly all of them had scheduling conflicts.

I was undeterred. In fact, I was motivated. If the Hollywood bigwigs wouldn’t come to me, I would go to them. I left a voicemail message with the school band leader, and packed my bag with essential items as I listened to the poppy music I loved. I shook my piggy bank—it really was a pig—a bright pink ceramic one. I had a total of thirty-three dollars and fifteen cents. I had to find a cheap way to get to Hollywood from Uxbridge, Ontario, and the only way I could think of was to hitch. I’d seen people do it, and I knew it was free.

So, I was on the side of Highway 47 waving my hand around when a GO bus stopped. I thought I might as well get on it.

I didn’t know it at the time, but a whole bunch of people were looking for me. Someone who knew my dad had seen me get on the bus, so a police officer got on at one of the stops.

It was exciting to be driven home in his police vehicle, but he told me I shouldn’t have scared everyone by taking off like that. He asked me questions and gave me some advice. I never listened to my parents because they weren’t on my side. But the police officer didn’t ridicule my dream of being an actor. He said he’d dreamt of being a police officer when he was about my age, and he said if I really wanted to do it, I’d make it. But I had to get good grades at school and have excellent drama coaching.

Despite the continued discouragement dished out by my parents, I did what the police officer said, and I have made it to Hollywood. I have never played a fly-on-the-wall here. I only play leading roles. And I live with three beautiful cats. The male is called Marcel. I do love cats.

Vicky Earle Copyright 2025

It's Over!

As you know, Prized Spirit was injured last fall, and the trainer (Darwin Banach) and owners (including Martin and me) were patient and cautious, and she didn't race until this fall. I included the video of her October race in my previous post. She didn't do well, but we attributed that to the long lay-off. But this most recent race showed that she lacks competitive spirit (despite her name!) and doesn't have the desire to be a racehorse. So, Darwin is searching for a new home where she can pursue a different career.

Here's the race (she is no. 9) and you can decide if you agree with our assessment!

Rizzmo (Toby) has joined Audi's World on the farm (Franz Crean's farm where they were raised) for the winter. Toby is only two-years-old and was not ready to race this year. However, he did well in his training and we are hopeful he will have a great racing season in 2026. Audi became unwell while at the racetrack, so was sent home earlier this fall. We are optimistic he will be fit and well for next year's racing.

We hope to visit them both before Christmas and I plan to take some photos to share with you!

BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS!

Please support Canadian authors this Christmas (and indie bookstores)!

My books are available at Blue Heron Books and can be ordered at any bookstore.

They can be purchased as e-books or paperback from various e-book retailers (including Amazon).

Happy Reading and Happy Gift Giving!

Thank you for your support.

Vicky