Candace Carrabus
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Carrabus writes from the Lincoln County, Missouri farm she shares with her husband and daughter. A scoliosis diagnosis at age 11 changed her life. A horse lover from a young age, she signed up for riding lessons and learned much more than posting trot. With quiet power, horses provided comfort and a sympathetic ear, never judging or poking fun at her cumbersome back brace. Those years, though often difficult, taught Candace the value of persistence, the healing power of believing in oneself, and how strength can be gained through kindness. Her stories are imbued with the irresistible wonder, mystery, and solace her equine friends have provided.
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On the Buckle, Dream Horse Mystery #1
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Mystery
Vi's attitude just landed her out of work--again--and she can barely keep her horse in hay let alone support her need for whipped cream. Now, all that's between her and a surprise trust fund is keeping a job for one full year by the time she's 30. And a glowing letter of recommendation. But it's hard to keep a civil tongue when within minutes of arriving at her new post at a Missouri horse farm, Vi runs headlong into a bull, has to catch a runaway, and her horse kicks her kilt-clad boss, Robert Malcolm. If Malcolm doesn't make the farm a success within the year, his father will sell it to developers. The new manager is a key component in his plan, but the moment Vi and her long legs and keen gaze step into his bull's path, he knows he's in trouble. Soon, sparks fly between them. But someone else has their eye on the land, too, and they will do anything to kill his success. It's supposed to be a relaxing--boring!--year of riding "on the buckle." First, Vi's favorite red panties take a float downstream without her, and when she gets to the store to stock up on whipped cream, people are already talking about it. Soon, between the ghost horse visiting Vi's dreams and the dead bodies piling up, the question isn't whether she can keep her mouth shut long enough to earn a reference, but whether she'll live long enough to get it.
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Run Out, Dream Horse Mystery #2
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Mystery
Keeping a job for one year shouldn't be this hard. Vi's sworn off whipped cream, her favorite bra is strung on a tomato plant, and ghost horse Wastrel has galloped back into her nights... Vi's kept her attitude in check--at least on the outside--and kept her job. So far, so good. The mysterious trust fund created by her absentee parents might be attainable after all. But on a hot and sticky day in August, when Vi's hunky boss, Malcolm, is out of town, her estranged parents and long-lost grandfather land on the farm's doorstep with nothing more than empty suitcases and a few scraggly tomato plants. Tempers flare and secrets emerge. Fearing Malcolm will finally lose his patience with her, Vi does her best to keep her grandfather out of the gun safe and her dog out of his precious garden all while trying to curb a lifetime of anger to endure her parents' mystifying visit. But that's the least of her problems. The eye thief is stalking them, and he'll stop at nothing to execute his long-awaited revenge. Vi can barely resist the urge to run out. Will she survive a scorching summer of tomatoes, tango, and terror? Witty, crisp dialogue and plenty of twists and turns will keep you guessing right to the end of this thrilling and emotional sequel to On the Buckle.
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Wrong Lead, Dream Horse Mystery #3
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Mystery
~Winner, 2019 American Horse Publications Equine Media Award for Fiction~ Gallop to the finish with Dream Horse Mystery #3 Vi's kept a job for nearly one year and is sure she's going ride off into the sunset with her trust fund, but ghost horse Wastrel has plans that put everything she's worked for in jeopardy... Viola Parker knows old wounds can fester. What she doesn't know is how deeply they can cut or to what lengths people will go to recover. When she returns to her roots to solve her mentor's murder, nothing and no one is what they seem and no amount of whipped cream makes sense of it. She should be able to trust her friends, her family, herself. She should know where she belongs, where home is. But with Malcolm and everyone she loves acting strangely, and everyone she hates even stranger, trust becomes elusive. Wastrel becomes her only confidant. Has she been on the wrong lead all along? If Vi doesn't figure out Wastrel's clues in time, what she doesn't know could kill her. Vi's in for a bumpy ride in this riveting and poignant wrap-up to the Dream Horse Mysteries.
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Raver, The Horsecaller: Book One
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Fantasy
An unexpected ride... Lauren's hush-hush family history tells of an ancestor and his horse vanishing in a forbidden corner of their upstate New York farm. But on the other side of the mysterious portal lies a dying land bereft of its beloved steeds. Lauren is enjoying a rare day with the horses to herself when a strange man arrives seeking a particular rider. Before she knows what's happening, she and her her brother's prize stallion, Pindar, are abducted through the Ravery to Cirq where she is proclaimed the Horsecaller and expected to return their country to greatness. There, she encounters Supreme Guardian Leinos who awakens her long-dormant hope for the future. Lauren denies she is the prophesied Horsecaller but is drawn into his quest to return Cirq to greatness. Soon, she’s fighting giant venomous birds, a hostile queen, and the unfamiliar yearnings of her own heart. But time is running out. Conspiracy threatens from all sides, and not everyone looks upon Ravers with kindness. Will Lauren and Pindar bring Cirq’s horses home before it’s too late? A story of life, love, and the secret places we dream about.
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The Roar of Smoke, A Book of the Meldborn
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Fantasy
Tressida is a smoke-spinner, a meldborn. It's a lethal legacy, a forbidden force. Daughter of Crone and Sage, she should have been killed at birth. Now she's seventeen, wanting only to be a member of her land's vanished Horseguard and discovering she is more than she ever knew, as first her eyes and then her hair turn to smoke. Just as she learns she can fulfill her dream of working with horses, her talent awakens an ancient and deadly feud. On one side—those claiming the honor of destroying a meldborn. On the other—those intending to use her for their own ends. Tressida must master her power in order to save herself and those she loves. Is she strong enough? Or will the roar of smoke consume her?
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Cold Backed, A Short Dream Horse Mystery Prequel
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Mystery
Viola Parker can’t land a job since the famous jumper, Wastrel, crashed to his death with her aboard. She can barely afford her whipped-cream-in-a-can addiction. When she finds her mentor unconscious, she suspects foul play and wonders if her old friend, Harry, has answers. But Harry disappears with the truth, leaving behind a mysterious delivery and cryptic confession. A short story prequel/prologue to the Dream Horse Mysteries with a preview of On the Buckle: Dream Horse Mystery #1.
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The Man, The Dog, His Owner & Her Lover - A Witting Woman Novella
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Romance
To Stephanie O’Hanlon, 40-something workaholic, a blank to-do list is crazy-making. When she gets laid off and rescues a huge, smiling dog from a shelter—a dog her friend insists is inhabited by Steph’s lover from a former life—she discovers the true meaning of crazy. Gabe Fagen, handyman and crazy-in-love with Stephanie since they were teenagers, sees Steph losing her job as the chance he’s been waiting for. But will she notice he’s alive with a mysterious giant dog acting as her guardian angel?
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The Good Horse, The Bad Man & The Ugly Woman - A Witting Woman Novella
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Romance
Meet Maureen Smith—a 50-something empty nester—for whom a boring job, bushy hair, busy husband, and bird feeders add up to a life of tranquility. And ennui. When... ~her breakfast granola spells out the word Help ~her boss goes out of town and insists Maureen care for a horse ~the horse runs Maureen down ~the boss's angry ex shows up claiming the horse as his own ...life becomes chaotic! And exciting. Mix in a wacky receptionist/rescuer of hair, a worried husband bent on changing his ways, a helpful horse transporter with a wandering eye, and you have all the ingredients for another light-hearted Witting Woman ebook.
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The Dream Horse Mysteries Boxed Set
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Mystery
Jump in the saddle for a fun but bumpy ride! Few will hire competitive rider, Viola Parker, since the famous jumper, Wastrel, crashed to his death with her aboard. Not only that, her attitude just landed her out of work…again. She can barely afford her whipped-cream-in-a-can addiction. Now, before she's thirty, she must keep a job for one year and receive a glowing letter of recommendation to get a surprise trust fund set up by her absentee parents. A trust fund that could represent freedom and independence—or might be worth nothing. Vi accepts a position and moves from Long Island to Missouri thinking that keeping her mouth shut and her head down for one year will be easy. But when Wastrel begins haunting her dreams and dead bodies start piling up, the question isn’t whether she can earn a reference from her hunky boss, Malcolm, but whether she’ll live long enough to get it. Includes: Cold Backed (short prequel) On the Buckle, Dream Horse Mystery #1 Run Out, Dream Horse Mystery #2 Wrong Lead, Dream Horse Mystery #3
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