Books, Mud and Compost. And Horses.

Author Jane Ayres, one of the contributors to the J A Allen Equestrian Fiction series, and writer of several pony series since, is re-issuing her Matty series in Kindle format. This is good news as it was previously available only in America, and the books are all fine reads. Not only that, all the profits from the books are going to Redwings Horse Sanctuary. All the books are available from Amazon , and they're £3.03 each. Jane will be doing some guest posts on this blog soon, so keep an eye open for those.

I haven't quite finished my survey of the pony book, but here's a list of all my posts on pony books thus far.  T he pony book in the 1920s and 1930s : how it all began P ony books in the 1940s 1950s series fiction : Jill, Jackie and the Three Jays The 1950s gallop on : adventure hits the pony book Fame: when riders turn into authors The 1960s and the pony paperback Pony books - did men write them? The 1960s pony book The pony book in the 1970s The 1980s and the pony book And the next one is... pony books in the 1990s First catch your unicorn: the pony book and fantasy It's pink! It sparkles! It must be a pony book! Pony books in the 19902 and beyond

As we're attempting to sell the house, I'm trying to take just the best stock with me, which means I have a lot of cheaper stock now going at bargain prices. There's paperbacks at 50p and £1, and hardbacks from £1 - £10. You can find all the stock, and all the ordering details, here . Here's a few examples, all at £1.00: and these are £5.00:

Elaine Walker - Virtual writer-in-residence - October 2012 Elaine writes fiction and non-fiction about the horse. Her work has been featured at The Guardian Hay Festival and translated into several languages. Her book The Horses, mentioned in this piece, is a n excellent post Apocalyptic story, in which a family who have been holidaying in remote Scotland find that  everyone who lived in any community numbering more than a few is dead. The family are trying to survive on a Scottish farmstead, but  life is desperately difficult, particularly when the family’s father dies. And then the horses come.. . As well as lecturing in Creative Writing and English Literature, Elaine offers bespoke courses and mentoring in Creative Writing. Mention Jane Badger Books for a discount on courses and copies of Elaine's books - you can contact her via her website . Reading Horses Moorland Mousie, The Story of Heather, Son of Black Beauty - the fictional horses that inspired my childhood ...

The months leading up to Christmas don't tend to be bumper ones for new publications. After October, energies are concentrated on selling what's already out. Here's a round up of interesting new books due out. If you know of anything else, please let me know. Children’s Literature Angela Dorsey: Autumn in Snake Canyon, Winter of Sinking Waters,  Spring of Secrets Episodes 4, 5 and 6 of Angela Dorsey’s excellent Whinnies in the Wind series are out this month. Set in the Canadian North, where life is hard, Evy lives with her mother. Will the on- going mystery of why they’re actually living there emerge? I am longing to find out, I must admit. The ebooks are available now: Kobo, £2.21. Kindle, £2.01, Nook $2.99 Linda Snow McLoon: Crown Prince, Crown Prince Challenged   Out on 15 October are the first two in the Brookmeade Young Riders series.  Heroine Sarah has always dreamed of a horse of her own, but life gets complicated when she get...

Anne Bullen The Osborne Studio Gallery 2 Motcomb Street, London, SW1X 8JU 020 7235 9667 18th September 2012 - 4th October 2012 Here I am, fresh-ish from the Anne Bullen exhibition, on what what was a thoroughly horsy Sunday. After rocking up late to the British Museum (train late) to meet my friends, we whirred round the Horse exhibition , which finishes on the 30th September: the Museum are obviously keen to divest themselves of their horsey merchandise before then. Much of it is on special offer. We then trekked off to St John's, Hyde Park, for Horseman's Sunday where those London horses and riders who can get there gather for their horses to be blessed. Nic Fiddian-Green's Horse at Water Marble Arch Riders are a hardy lot, generally, and they needed to be on Sunday, because it rained, and once it had finished raining it poured. And carried on pouring. The horses behaved amazingly well. The Hyde Park Stables equines had beautifully plaited manes and t...

Victoria Eveleigh: Katy's Pony Surprise Orion, 2012, £4.99 Kobo, £2.99, Kindle, £2.99 Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book Katy's Pony Surprise originally appeared as Katy's Exmoor Friends. This edition has been re-written and updated, and it loses none of the freshness of the original. Katy's Exmoor Pony, Trifle, is now four. She's broken in, but still very green. She and Katy are on their way to Pony Club Camp: Katy can't take her larger and more experienced pony, Jacko, as he's lame.  Nevertheless, she's looking forward to Pony Club Camp. Her best friend Alice is going. What can go wrong? Wanting Trifle to run before she can walk, and a deeply unsympathetic instructor, for a start. As ever with Victoria Eveleigh's heroine, Katy meets her problems head on.  She is determined to show Trifle, and when Val, the instructor from hell turns out to be riding one of Katy's competitors, she's momentarily phased, but...