Guest Post – Jan Sikes – Saddled Hearts Blog Tour & Giveaway: Saddled Hearts by Jan Sikes #NewRelease #RomanticSuspense #HorseSanctuary #Rodeo @JanSikes3 @wildrosepress

~ John W. Howell

I am happy to welcome Fellow Story Empire colleague and friend Jan Sikes to Fiction Favorites. She has a new book and is here to tell us about it. So the blog is yours, Jan.

Thank you, John, for offering your blog to promote my new book, Saddled Hearts. I am excited to be here and share with your followers.

While my story is set on a horse ranch, it is also a horse rescue center. Colt Layne is dedicated to saving horses from slaughter. He had decided to turn the ranch into a sanctuary for abused and neglected animals after he inherited the ranch from his grandfather. It was a tribute to the man who raised him and provided a good life.

There is one scene in the story where Colt receives a delivery—a horse that no one can ride or control. I’ll share a snippet of that scene with you.

Excerpt:

Colt stood in front of the quarantine barn early the next morning with two of his ranch hands. He used hand signals to direct the driver of the horse trailer as he backed it up slowly.

When he came to a stop, the man jumped out of the truck cab. “You Colt Layne?”

“That’s me.” Colt extended his hand.

“Need you to sign here for the delivery.”

As he scribbled his name across the form, angry squeals and neighing from inside the trailer raised the hair on Colt’s neck.

One of the ranch hands unlatched the door, then swung it open.

“Got a mean one in there. Been on the rodeo circuit for a few years.” The driver squinted against the morning sun. “It took five guys to load him. So be careful.”

Colt strode to the back of the trailer. There was no mistaking the angry stamping of hooves against the wooden floor and the high-pitched squealing. “I’ll get that one, boys.” He turned to the driver. “What’s his name?”

The driver looked down at the paper in his hands. “Says here it’s Ghost.”

Colt waited until the other three horses were safely inside the barn before stepping up into the trailer. “Whoa, boy. Easy. Easy, Ghost.” He extended his hand toward the gray stallion.

The horse responded by rearing up on his hind legs as much as the trailer and rope holding him would allow. He tossed his head from side to side, whinnied loud and long, and pounded his hooves hard against the trailer floor.

“It’s okay, boy.” Colt approached one small step at a time. “No one’s going to hurt you. Whoa.”

The stallion laid back his ears and bucked against the rope holding him. The whites of his eyes spoke of fear, anger, and distrust.

Drawing in a slow breath, Colt took another step closer, then dodged as the horse attempted to kick him. Keeping his voice soft and steady, he extended his hand and changed position to approach from the side. “Easy, Ghost. Easy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The horse flicked his ears and snorted.

The deep-seated distrust of humans that Colt saw in the horse’s eyes sickened him. Someone had been brutal in their treatment of this magnificent animal.

***

It breaks my heart to see any animal abused. My oldest daughter has two rescue dogs. The first one, Ginger, was so terrified of everyone, it was heartbreaking. It has taken a long time, but she’s finally decided no one is going to hurt her and has relaxed a little. I know many of you have rescue animals as well. Do you have any stories you want to share? Let’s chat.

BOOK BLURB:

Colt Layne owns the Layne Horse Sanctuary. He lives an idyllic life between caring for the animals and playing music with his band. That is, until a stranger appears with unreasonable demands. When someone murders the man, Colt is arrested. He’s been framed, but by whom and why?

He needs to talk with his deceased grandfather. But that’s impossible. Or is it?

Sage Coventry is gifted with the ability to communicate with the deceased. Skeptical but desperate, when Colt consults with her, he gets more than messages from beyond the grave as she breezes into his heart with sweet patchouli fragrance and tempting lips he longs to kiss.

The race against time to clear his name and save the ranch launches them on a mission that brings shocking revelations.

BOOK TRAILER: https://youtu.be/_MQ9fYH5PrI

UNIVERSAL PURCHASE LINK:  https://linktr.ee/Rijanjks

SOCIAL MEDIA:

WEBSITE: http://www.jansikes.com

BLOG:   http://www.jansikesblog.com

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/jansikes3

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks

PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/jks0851/

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7095856.Jan_Sikes

BOOKBUB:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-sikes

INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/sikesjan/

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Sikes/e/B00CS9K8DK

67 thoughts on “Guest Post – Jan Sikes – Saddled Hearts Blog Tour & Giveaway: Saddled Hearts by Jan Sikes #NewRelease #RomanticSuspense #HorseSanctuary #Rodeo @JanSikes3 @wildrosepress”

  1. Pingback: Saddled Hearts #BlogTour #Giveaway #ScavengerHunt @wildrosepress – Writing and Music

    1. Yes. John lives in the Austin area, and I live in the Dallas area, but we’ve gotten to meet a couple of times, and it was awesome. I’m glad you enjoyed the excerpt, Jill!

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  4. Pingback: Guest Post – Jan Sikes – Saddled Hearts Blog Tour & Giveaway: Saddled Hearts by Jan Sikes #NewRelease #RomanticSuspense #HorseSanctuary #Rodeo @… | Legends of Windemere

  12. Great to see Jan here today, John. I enjoyed that scene and it was a worthwhile glimpse into the daily life at a horse-rescue ranch. This was an engaging read with characters I loved getting to know. All of our pets have been rescued animals. It’s heartwarming to give a neglected or unwanted animal a forever home. Congrats to Jan on another wonderful tour stop!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Thank you for your comment, Diana. While Ghost’s situation was heartbreaking, I had to give him a chance at recovery. I appreciate you leaving a comment and love that your fur babies are rescues!

      Liked by 2 people

  13. I know you’ve read my account of Max (our second dog) and his terror of people when we got him. (Especially bearded men wearing hats.) There’s no excuse for abuse of any creature. I loved Ghost’s role in the story and how Colt treated him. Excellent job, Jan.

    John, thanks for hosting.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. It is absolutely horrible to think of the things people do to animals. It makes me angry, and as John said, I’d like to whip them! I’m glad you enjoyed this thread in the story. Thank you for stopping by and commenting!

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Oh, how I loved Ghost, Jan! That small thread in the story did a lot to define Colt’s character. If I hadn’t already been smitten with him, his treatment of that poor horse would have won me over I’m so glad you added that plot thread. The way it wrapped up reduced me to a happy puddle of mush.

    Wishing you all the best with Saddled Hearts.
    Thanks for hosting today, John!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I’m glad Ghost’s part in the story struck a chord with you, Mae. It certainly did with me as well. It gave me a way to deepen Colt’s character and show his love for animals, especially horses. Thank you for stopping by and adding your recommendation! Hugs!

      Liked by 2 people

  15. I love the idea of the rescue ranch as a setting in the book. Horse abuse and neglect is horrible (evil), but turning our faces from it doesn’t make it not exist. I haven’t read this book yet, but I know it’ll give me hope for horses caught in terrible situations.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you for visiting today, Priscilla. I agree with you. Animal abuse on any level is evil. I hope you enjoy the book should you decide to read it. I loved giving Ghost a chance at recovery!

      Liked by 2 people

  16. A great excerpt. As you know, I have two rescue dogs, both were very nervous when we first adopted them. To this day, 6 years later, Dot is still frightened of ladders. There is a story there, I’m sure. But I’d rather not know about it.

    Liked by 2 people

  17. I agree, Jan. I can’t stand to see animals abused. My daughter adopted two dogs from the same litter who had been abused. For the most part, they’ve recovered, but there are still certain things that will trigger them.

    Liked by 3 people

  18. It breaks my heart to think about any animal being mistreated, Jan. Bond is a rescue, and we could tell he’d been mistreated by the first people that adopted him. We’re lucky they returned him to the shelter and he chose us for his forever home. Thanks for hosting, John!

    Liked by 1 person

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