'Impressive Bravado' - Short Horse Mystery

[K. A. Jordan]

Dr. Katie McCarty DVM, is called in to assess the 'mutilation' of a horse. She finds a crazy woman who calls herself a 'Horse Whisperer' running a barn full of teen-aged girls and young stallions. This is a recipe for disaster - luckily Dr. McCarty's there when it strikes.

'Impressive Bravado' Kindle profile page.

At Christmas, our family gathered in the den around the tree. The Topper t-shirts were unwrapped and admired along with all the other stuff. Only one of the six little kids wasn't satisfied with the presents.

My brother's eight-year-old daughter, Trisha, came up to my Dad with a stuffed pony under her arm and determination in her eyes. She'd been bugging her parents, not for a pony but for a horse, for months. A smart kid, she was going to the source on Christmas day.

 "Papaw, do you love me?" Trisha leaned against his knee looking up with little girl adoration.

"Of course I do, baby girl," her doting Papaw assured her.

"Papaw – I want a horse."

"You do?"

"Yes. It's Christmas, Papaw and I want a horse more than anything else in the whole world."

There was a collective chuckle at her bravado, some nudged ribs and winks exchanged.

"Will you give me Topper? I'll take good care of him." Her bravado was truly impressive. Dad turned red around the ears. My mother laughed with delight. The family went quiet to see how he was going to handle his eldest grandchild.

"Well, Trisha, not so fast." He lifted her up on his knee. "Topper is a lot of horse for a little bitty girl like you to ride."

"Topper is the best horse in the whole world," she said. "I can ride him just fine. You taught me."

I snapped a picture – delighted to have another blackmail-worthy photo. It was a great shot – the little girl on her Papaw's knee, her face serious as she tried to horse-trade for his prize stallion with Christmas day as her excuse. The Christmas tree was even in the background.

In ten years, Trisha was going to hate me. She was never going to live this one down.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Impressive-Bravado-ebook/dp/B0053HA1LI

I loved this little story. In only 7 k words, the author has managed to tell a wonderfully satisfying, complete story with complex, engaging characters.

Dr. Katie McCarty is a newly-minted veterinarian. Early one morning she gets a call from a handsome Deputy to look at a colt that has been raised for expensive breeding stock. Someone has snuck into the stables and gelded this magnificent specimen of Show Horse.

Aside from losing his manhood, the colt will be all right. It is the `horse whisperer' the stables maintain who worries Katie.

Just who and why someone would neuter the colt from the long line of `Impressive' breeding stock is the mystery that Katie and the Deputy must solve...

I understand this may be the first in a series. I certainly hope so; I want to read more of Katie and her friends, family, and foes.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  4.0 out of 5 stars

[Ann in Arlington]

Hello again, K.A., and congratulations on your book! 

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[K. A. Jordan]

Thank you - Anne. It is always good to come back with a new e-book.

[K. A. Jordan]

Dr. Katie McCarty and Sheriff Shalloman are working together to solve a mystery.

They find a horse whisperer and a barn owner hip deep in trouble.

[K. A. Jordan]

"Filled with vivid characters."

[K. A. Jordan]

Now free on B&N and Smashwords!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/impressive-bravado-k-a-jordan/1102629807

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60392

[K. A. Jordan]

I loved this little story. In only 7 k words, the author has managed to tell a wonderfully satisfying, complete story with complex, engaging characters.

[K. A. Jordan]

Dr Katie McCarty DVM was raised by a horse trainer - her father and his palomino stallion Topper are famous. In fact, every little girl in town would love to have a horse just like Topper.

What happens when well-meaning parent purchase a horse for their daughter? Is it really all sweetness and light as in all those TV "Black Stallion" movies?

Or would it be like handing a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse to a 12 year-old?

This Short Story is a free read through Smashwords, Nook and related sites, and it's $.99 at the Kindle Store.

[K. A. Jordan]

We parked by the big red barn where a lean dark-haired woman waited at the door. Deputy Shallamon identified her as Margery Hopkins, the barn owner.

When he introduced me as Dr. McCarty, her guarded expression thawed but before she could say a word, she was pushed aside.

"Oh, thank the goddess!" A woman, dressed in a blue caftan, fluttered towards me. "I'm the horse whisperer, Aquitania."

The name was as fake as her eyelashes. In a voice reminiscent of a German Lady Macbeth she made another dramatic pronouncement. "Someone tried to kill Bravado – he's been cruelly mutilated."

I glanced at Shallamon. His eyes skated by mine to scan the barnyard. I caught the flash of amusement before he put on his poker face.

Great, he was going to make me handle this…horse whisperer.

[K. A. Jordan]

Impressive Bravado Amazon US

Curently Free on Amazon US and Smashwords.

4-stars from an Amazon Reader

I loved this little story. In only 7 k words, the author has managed to tell a wonderfully satisfying, complete story with complex, engaging characters.

Impressive Bravado - Smashwords

[K. A. Jordan]

This little story is a hit on Barnes & Noble - just waiting for the Kindle crowd to discover it.


Amazon UK 'Impressive Bravado'

Amazon US 'Impressive Bravado'

Barnes & Noble 'Impressive Bravado'

Smashwords 'Impressive Bravado'

[K. A. Jordan]

Most fads are harmless - but this one is not: Teenage girls owning stallions and using a 'horse whisperer' instead of a trainer.

Major disaster in waiting - luckily, Dr McCarty is there when it happens.