In 1971, the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act
provided for the management, protection and control of all unbranded and
unclaimed horses and burros on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
I live not too far from one of the areas in the US set
aside specifically for the wild horses—The Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range
near Grand Junction, Colorado. For
more than a century, mustangs have made their home there. This range encompasses more than 36,000 acres
and is currently supporting approximately 130 horses that roam the pinion-juniper
covered hills and the sagebrush parks that make up most of the area. These horses have an advocate group, Friends
of the Mustangs, which helps ensure they stay safe from harm. Not all the wild horses in the west are so
lucky.
In Wild Horses, Martin
Castillo is obsessed with protecting the mustangs that run wild on Arizona’s Apache-Sitgreave
National forest. The Bureau of Land
Management has decided to round up the mustangs and send them to
slaughter. Martin could care less what
the government thinks, and does everything in his power to protect the proud
and free horses. When two BLM agents are
found murdered, and Martin disappears, his sister Castaña
comes home to search, and literally runs into Jake Breton, FBI agent.
Wild Horses
Chapter One
“Damn, it's hotter than the devil's
backyard out here.” Castaña Castillo
took one hand off the steering wheel just long enough to swipe at the trickle
of sweat running down the nape of her neck and adjust the volume on the
radio. One of her favorites, “Amarillo
by Morning,” wafted from the speakers.
Not even George Strait's silky
smooth voice helped ward off her exhaustion.
Castaña’s hands felt like twisted claws wrapped around the steering
wheel, and the space between her shoulders ached until she prayed it would go
numb. The AC gasped out its last breath
of cool air somewhere in the middle of Texas yesterday afternoon. Both windows in her old Dodge were down,
blasting June air through the cab like a roar from an open furnace. An enormous red and orange sun sinking out of
the Arizona sky made a blinding glare on the bug-splattered windshield.
Her eyes burned from keeping them
open. She tried to rest last night,
parked near the highway and huddled in her combination camper horse trailer,
but worrying about her missing brother kept her awake until almost three in the
morning. According to a woman who
refused to identify herself, no one had seen Martin for a few days. The mystery caller implied he might be lying
out in the forest hurt . . . or worse.
58 comments:
Sounds like a great premise. Love the idea of the mustangs roaming free. Thank you for your informative post.
Thank you for having me today!
I love this book, D'Ann. Your writing is fantastic and the chemistry between Castana and Jake is HOT. ;)
This sounds like a wonderful book.
Sounds like an interesting story, D'Ann! I love horse stories!
Fab interview, D'Ann, and your book is a must read!
So happy for you, D'Ann. I really MUST read Wild Horses. It sounds fantastic. Wonderful blog post...best of luck.
BTW - OMG - LOVE that hot cowboy on the banner of this blog. Nice!
Love this book! Love everything D'Ann writes! Fantastic interview :) Wishing you millions of sales, my friend!
PS. Love the Cowboy Kisses pic :)
I'm intrigued, D'Ann! George Strait, mustangs, and a mystery: that works for me!
Wild Horses, sounds like a great read. Loved the info on the mustangs too! Things of this nature should make headlines around the world.
Neecy
Excellent blurb D'Ann...it's hot and humid here today and reading your snippet made it even more so! lol
Congrats on your release!
Once on the way to Kah-neeta in Oregon, we saw some wild horses. It's one the most awesome sights ever to behold. I've only seen them the one time, but the memory is stamped on my mind. It is an awesome thing to bring this subject to the forefront, D. Good luck with your wonderful book.
Great beginning! So great that your Western romance is now published!
Awesome excerpt! What a way to get the reader to feel the heat. Congratulations!
Great post, D'Ann! I hope Wild Horses is doing well, it's such an enjoyable story. Keep it up :)
The mustangs should definitely be protected! Love the premise of this book, kudos D'Ann!!
Great post. Although I'm not an animal person (gasp), I want to see them protected. There are few things in nature more beautiful than a horse, and wildness just adds to that.
Great post d'Ann. Keep those stories coming!
Another great excerpt and spotlight! Just the beginning of many, many more fabulous ones to come! Congrats again!
I vividly remember a wild horse running across the desert when I was driving from Yuma, AZ to the Yuma Proving Grounds. It was pure magic for this city girl.
Excellent post, D'Ann. And your excerpt blew me away! Perfect teaser!
Liked learning about the backstory to your book. And the hot cowboy isn't bad either. You and Deb are awfully good at finding these men. LOL.
We have BLM wild horse round ups in Oregon but the horses are put up for auction and there is a whole score of things a person has to do to be able to adopt them.
This sounds like a great read! Congrats, D'Ann!
I love that you've grounded your book in some real-life drama!
Hi D'Ann, I like that there is a real story in your story. Thanks for sharing the plight of the wild horses, I learnt something new.
Thanks for having me today, Ciara!
Great post, D'Ann! And I thought the book was great and I loved you wove this topic into the story.
Thank you, Allie! That's nice of you.
Hi, Ella!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thanks so much, Cait!
HI, Alicia! Isn't that guy HOT???
Ah, Jenn! You're so sweet!
Thanks, Joanne!
Thanks, Neecy.
LOL, Christine. I need to market this book in the winter!
I've never seen them here, Margie. But I've seen them in Arizona, and yes, they are wonderful.
Thank you, me, too!
Thank you!
Thanks, girlie!
Gotta get you on the back of one of my horses, Liz!
Thanks, Shawn! Working on it.
Thanks, Mart!
Hi, they are wonderful!
Thank you, Brenda!
Awesomesauce, Daryl!
I wish I found this man, too, but he belongs to the ladies here at CK.
We have them here, too, Paty.
Yes, I did! Thanks!
Thanks, Heather!
Hi, Chickie!
Thanks!
The wild horse is as much a part of the West as the cowboy, in my opinion...
I loved this book!
I completely agree, Sara, and thank you!
Thank you, Ginger, and everyone, for having me here today. Thank you so much, friends, for coming out and supporting me again. Hugs and love!
Wonderful beginning to your book, D'Ann. My TBR list now has one more on it. :) Loved the description in the excerpt. Next best thing to being there!
Thanks for coming by, Jenna!
Welcome, D'Ann. Best of luck with your new release!
Love the topic of wild horses--my dad caught his horse from a wild herd. That horse never did tame down very well and only dad could ride him. There's a real beauty in watching a wild herd run across the foothills. I think it's the gracefullness and freedom that speaks such a strong message.
Post a Comment