Ellesea Loves Reading: New Release Spotlight & Excerpt: Change Rein by Anne Jolin

Sunday, 21 June 2015

New Release Spotlight & Excerpt: Change Rein by Anne Jolin

London Daniels is returning home to Willow Bay, Alberta, on the heels of a televised loss. She blew her shot at the Summer Olympics and cost Canada the gold medal in dressage.

During her years of training abroad, her family's stable has fallen on hard times, and thus, they’ve accepted an offer to board the racehorses of Branson Tucker, the infamous tycoon, for the winter.

London lacks conviction after her ill-fated fall. And as if returning to her hometown to watch her epic failure replay on everyone's big screen isn't torture enough, she’s expected to cater to a man with an ego bigger than her hundred-acre farm just to earn a dime.

Is London saddling up for another ride that will leave both her heart and her ass in the dirt? Or could the handsome, unwanted guest at Willow Bay Stables be her second chance to go for gold?

Twenty minutes later, Aurora steps into the feed room. “The stalls are done. You ready?” she asks, wiping the dirt from her hands on her jeans before shoving them into her front pockets.

After lining up the last of the now-labeled containers on the shelf, I rest my hands on my hips. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” I follow behind her to the green gator we use to get around the property, huffing as I position the junk in my trunk on top of the elusive ass pillow.

“Have you been into town at all?” she questions, driving the howling hunk of junk towards the house.

Picking at the rip in the knee of my jeans, I fight against the urge to fidget. I know full well the actions will only serve to irritate both my injuries and me. “No.”

“You’ll have to go eventually.”

Rolling my shoulders back in an effort to exude more confidence, I shake my head. “To give the small town vultures a chance to pick apart what’s left of my dignity and career in person? I think I’ll pass.”

“You’re only making it worse by hiding out. You’re becoming some kind of attraction by staying holed up here. They need to see you. They need to see it hasn’t broken you.”

I don’t even consider answering her—for the simple fact I’m afraid to tell her it may have indeed broken me, at least more so than anything before.

“I’m meeting some of the girls at the Sundance tonight. They’re doing karaoke. Come with us.”

I open my mouth, an assault of excuses ranging from a sore ass to a headache on the tip of my tongue, but she abruptly pumps the brakes, turning almost fully in her seat to look at me.

“Stop.”

“Stop what?” I shrug.

As she pokes my chest with her finger, she loses the battle with the moisture in her eyes. “Letting this become you…” She struggles with her words, repeatedly fluttering her eyelids. When the familiar blue stares back at me this time, it’s with more fire than she usually harbors. “You’re not this person”—she now waves her hand in front of me—“and you’re not the person in that article, either. So let them choke on their ignorance. Heaven is filled with redeemed sinners sporting crooked halos, and your sins or mistakes hardly stack up to those of others. None of us are perfect, London, so to Hell with the bastards. It’s not your job to

make them understand. You’re not the asshole whisperer.”

Clenching my jaw to ward the threatening tears off, I nod. “A saint, a sinner, and a cowboy—Lord have mercy, Daddy has his hands full.”

“So, you’ll come?” she urges.

I’ll admit I’m still furiously unsure about whether the idea is good, but my sister is a saint, and she just pulled her guns out for me. Seems downright unsisterly to tell her no.

“I’ll come,” I say, giving in.

Without any warning, she morphs back into her dominant personality and enthusiastically claps her hands. “Then let’s get this godforsaken meeting over with so I can laugh at your attempt to sing Shania Twain,” she deadpans, pressing the gas pedal down and lurching us forward.

Hey y’all,

I was born and raised in Ladner, a small farm town just outside Vancouver, Canada. I grew up riding horses, shooting guns, and driving in trucks.

I never expected to be an author. A massage therapist? Yes. Take over the family construction company? Yes. But an author? No. Writing was something that snuck up on me and rooted itself into my life. It was beautiful to discover that love, and I’m truly grateful to say I’ve found my passion.

Since I’ve always been a creative person, it feels amazing to harness all of that energy and use it to tell a story I love. I enjoy incorporating bits of my real life into the stories I write. What parts are true? Hah. I’ll never tell—what would be the fun in that?

If I could leave y’all with one thing, it’s that life’s far too short to not live it out loud. Drown in your passions, hold on tight to the things that inspire you, and chase your dreams relentlessly. I can promise you without a doubt that you won’t regret it. I know I don’t.

Mad love,

Anne Jolin