Thanks, Jana, for allowing me to take over your lovely blog today to ramble on about my hobby though horses are more than a hobby (ask any horseman). They are a lifelong love. Since I was very young, I’ve loved everything equine—books, films, TV or radio. At that time radio broadcasts were mostly racing. Didn’t you just adore Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series, Lone Ranger’s alabaster Silver, and Roy Rogers’ palomino Trigger?
I’ve heard that the way to make a small fortune with horses is to start with a large one. If so, the journey is worth the ticket. But I can testify to the statement. For years, I bred, trained, and showed horses—first Arabians, then Andalusians. At one time, when Andalusians were rare in this country, we were the largest breeder in South Carolina.
Every Christmas morning, I awoke and hurried to the window to see if there was a pony tied to a tree on our front lawn. There never was. Finally, at thirteen, my parents bought me a paint gelding whom I named First Fling. Fling was a trip—like the day he laid down with a friend and me in a plowed field.
My favorite breed is the Iberian horse—the magnificent Andalusian. You’ve seen them in movies, on TV, and in books. They are used a lot in film today. Fancy movement, long flowing manes and tails, arched necks make them look like a fairytale. They are beautiful, and they are kind and smart. They are intelligent.
The Andalusian is the bullfighting horse of Spain, quick or dead. Mounted rejoneadors depend on their horse to avoid the deadly horns of the fierce Iberian bulls while they place the picadors in the animal. They are also seen often in the modern dressage arena though they are perfectly suited to Classical Horsemanship, which is my interest. This school includes the Airs above the Ground: Capriole, Courbette which were designed to strike terror in the enemy foot soldiers. In capriole, the horse leaps into the air and kicks out with his hind feet. In courbette, he rears and jumps forward on his hind feet.
I could expound for hours on classical horsmanshipo, but I imagine you’d rather hear about the horse.
The Andalusian is called the Horse of Kings because in the heyday of European monarchies, the Andalusian's flair, style, and formidable carriage made him the mount of choice for the aristocracy. Many, many kings and queens had their portraits painted on Andalusians.
One of the slogans of the International Andalusian and Lusitano Association is: ‘This horse will change your life.’ My stallion Bonito certainly changed mine. He won the national championship at halter twice and brought home a boxful of blue ribbons under saddle.
If you are in the market for a horse, I can personally and enthusiastically recommend an Andalusian. They tend to be gentle and calm (even the stallions) and loving. Riding an Andalusian, you will never go unnoticed. They are beautiful and showy. They come in bay, black, and gray which usually becomes white as they mature. My boy stayed gray with a black mane and tail his entire life.
In my books, I almost always have someone who loves the Andalusian. Gambler’s Choice, my book about the horsey set, is not about Andalusians, but it is about people who love horses. The title is derived from a jumping class in a horse show. The class is a timed event, racing the clock as the fences are raised higher and higher, eliminating competitors until only one team of horse and rider remain.
In Life for Sale, March and Christian go on a beach trail ride in Jamaica with two of the other escaped androids. The villain swings the horse’s reins, hits March’s horse, and the heroine’s trusty trail mount bolts. This is the only horse-related scene in the book, but I did get something about the horse into even a sci-fi romance.
I could indeed ramble all day about horses, but I’ll finish up now. I hope you have a good day … and rush right to the internet and research the Andalusian. The international association can be reached at: info@ialha.org or at 205-995-8900. Their website is https://ialha.org/
Series Blurb for TOMORROW'S ANGELS:
Mayfair Electronics has created life.
In Love for Sale, the high-tech electronics company, in black and white, offers “love for sale”. Mayfair has engineered sentient androids indistinguishable from humans. March Morgan flies to England and meets the man she has been searching for her entire life. Christian requires no programming to love March at first sight, but her past and his future soon threaten their happiness—and their lives.
In the sequel, Life for Sale, four of the Special Editions have escaped. Rebel, Christian and March are on the run, but they have a bigger problem than his creator's plan to destroy him. They've discovered that one of the renegades has suffered a dangerous malfunction, threatening them with more than just exposure. March and Christian must stop the insane robot before someone else dies. All the evidence points to March being the killer's next victim.
Excerpt, LIFE FOR SALE:
March shivered again, rested her face on his chest. “Hold me until I stop trembling.” Tears she didn’t want him to see welled in her eyes. The whole ghastly business had to be hard on a man encoded to protect not harm humans.
Her AI angel stroked her hair, and a sob broke through her control. She squeezed her eyes shut, battling tears.
“Shush, dear. It’s over now,” but he didn’t sound confident. The thing buried in the backyard could tear them apart or worse. Any slight misstep, and they both faced Death in all his chilling glory.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He brushed a kiss to her lips and pulled held her closer.
For some time, they stood. taking comfort from holding each other and simply being, then, hand-in-hand, they walked, when they wanted to run, to the house. Christian had switched on the overhead light in the anteroom. In the brilliance, it was possible to pretend the past few minutes hadn’t occurred. Again the tears threatened, and he held her until she’d regained control. She straightened, gazing into his eyes. Battered emotions stained them darker blue. Mayfair hadn’t missed even that small detail. He cradled her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly, his lips soft and his body close. In a lifetime of searching, she’d never have found anyone like him. If she were to lose him…she couldn’t imagine living without him.
Once, Mayfair had taken him away. They could do it again—and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. The golden ring on the third finger of his left hand should protect Christian from Mayfair, but who’d investigate a missing robot, or even believe her in the first place?
With almost religious fervor, she and Christian had adhered to Mayfair’s first commandment. Above all, the company demanded secrecy. The Special Editions passed for human, and no one was ever to know that Mayfair had engendered life, but at any moment Aguillard, the wild card for whom the Christian line was named, might renege on the freedom he’d grudgingly bestowed.
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
Linda Nightingale’s Life for Sale takes the characters from Love for Sale and sets them on a dangerous adventure for these androids posing as human. After fleeing at the end of the first book, they are trying to hide from the watchful eye of Mayfair, but decide a reunion is in order. One of the four, however, is suffering a murderous malfunction. The resulting story is not so much a murder mystery as it is a study of a chaotic mind, albeit lab created, yet eerily human in its madness.
Nightingale has seamlessly made the unbelievable believable for the reader with a totally unexpected, but thoroughly satisfying ending to this duet. Imaginative premise, well developed characters and an insight into a mind gone wrong make this a great read…S. Hutchinson
BUY LINKS:
Life for Sale - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D2Z5XLC
Love for Sale - https://www.amazon.com/Love-Sale-Linda-Nightingale-ebook/dp/B00XCZ6EVY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
After 14 years in Texas, Linda returned home to her roots in the South Carolina red clay. She has eight published novels, four of which are available from Audible.com in audio. For many years, she bred, trained and showed the magnificent Andalusian horses. So, she’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer. She’s won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers’ Magnolia Award for Excellence, the Raven Award, and the SARA Merritt. In real life, she was a legal assistant.
LINKS:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LNightingale
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaNightingaleAuthor
Web Site: http://www.lindanightingale.com – Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.
Blog: https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ - Lots of interesting guests & prizes
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4839311.Linda_Nightingale
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Nightingale/e/B005OSOJ0U
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/linda-nightingale
Jana, thanks for hosting me today.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to have you here, Linda. Best of luck with this series!
DeleteSounds fascinating! Best of luck to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Jennifer.
DeleteIt's on my TBR. Loved the first book, Linda.
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