It's a ritual I have, on New Year's Day, to go around to each Thoroughbred in my barn and exclaim with wonder how old they are now. Peaker, who is the oldest of them now, is seventeen, and it seems so hard to believe! As you can see, I spend far too much time around horses instead of humans! https://video.wixstatic.com/video/312025_783ad1a3a6904a18992df226d822caa0/720p/mp4/file.mp4 ..read more

You know how it goes, right? There's always something, especially on a farm, with horses. This month, my big expense was dental work for the horses, but my tractor has decided to be flaky. I know what it is — the safety switch in the seat, so it stalls as soon as I try to move it — but I really don't want to call the dealership right now. To be fair, the tractor is due for maintenance, but considering last year the guy who did the service completely neglected to put the mower deck back on properly, I don't have a lot of faith in them anymore. Between me and YouTube, we got it figured out, but ..read more

First one of the year! Here are some book promos to check out this month. Hope you find something to love! Just click on the banners to browse the selections. Until January 28th: Until January 31st ..read more

Time to compile the list of books and promotions for July! Until July 15: Sisters At Heart: An all-genre giveaway for stories with strong female friendships. Until July 22: Summer Stories with All The Feels (women's fiction). Also, until July 7 in at Amazon dot com and Amazon UK, you can get Amanda Wills' The Thirteenth Horse for 99 cents or pence, depending on where you live! ;-) I'll add to and edit the list as the month goes on. Happy reading ..read more

Good Things Come, my best-selling debut novel and finalist for the prestigious Dr Tony Ryan award, is now available as an audiobook. I'll add links here as more retailers add it to their rosters. Many of them let you listen for free with a free trial. If you do listen, please consider leaving a review to help it get off the ground! This is also the debut of the narrator, Elisabeth Stones; let's help her launch her narration career! Audible/universal link Kobo and Walmart Chirp Audiobooks.com (best deal) Scribd NOOK Audiobooks ..read more

By Linda Shantz , Imported from my Canadian Thoroughbred in Fine Art Blog I started the story that became Good Things Come when I was about eight. My favourite books as a child were The Black Stallion series and Marguerite Henry’s Black Gold and King of the Wind, and while what I wrote way back then was definitely influenced by them, I was writing the book I wanted to read, which was about the Queen’s Plate instead of the usual Derby stories. I had a fascination with the Plate from very early on, and never understood why there weren’t novels about it! While the basic premise of the story didn ..read more

I have lots of promotions for you to check out this month. Have a look! Christmas in July is a big thing, no? (July 1-31) (July8-Aug 6) (June 30-Aug2) (July 1-31) (July 1-31) (July 1-Aug1) (July1-Aug1 ..read more

My debut novel will be released on September 1, 2020. The Kindle e-book edition is available for pre-order now, worldwide, on Amazon! As the majority of my followers are in North America, I'll share the US and Canadian links here: Amazon.com Amazon.ca There will be a paperback available if you're holding out for that! Everyone who orders before Queen's Plate Day – which this year is September 12, 2020 – will be entered in a draw to receive a tote bag with the cover image on it, filled with swag that will include the hardcover book, Track Life, Images and Words, a collection of photos by fine ..read more

I had some fun with my last author newsletter, sharing a very old excerpt from my novel, Good Things Come. Embarrassing? Sure. But I've never been above embarrassing myself, and I though it might be fun for readers! This year's Kentucky Derby was a great story, I think, when racing very much needed one. It always makes me laugh when what happens in real life reflects little things I've included in my books. Rich Strike's antics with the outrider after the race made Chique's seem tame, though! His connections' decision to skip the Preakness reminded me of GTC *before* I tore it apart and rewr ..read more

Mighty Heart will always be very special to me. 2020 was a wild and crazy time for all of us, I'd sure everyone would agree. Just a couple of weeks after I published my debut novel, Good Things Come, a story that is centred around the Queen's Plate and stars a quirky little filly, this quirky little colt was a welcome dose of life imitating art. Instant fangirl here. Sign me up! When I learned Jennifer Morrison was planning to write his tale as her own debut book, I was already looking forward to reading the story behind Mighty Heart. It was fun to learn more about familiar names and faces, g ..read more