Laura Hesse

Canadian author and screenwriter. She has a background as a forester and firefighter, but began writing after recovering from major surgery. She has now written a number of books for both teens and adults, including four horse stories. She runs her own publishing company, Running L Productions, and you can find out more about her and her books on their website.

Holiday Series:
Not a series as such, as the books do not follow any characters and are all stand-alone stories. They are linked more by the theme of holidays in which people's lives are changed by their encounters with horses.

ONE FROSTY CHRISTMAS
(RUNNING L [CANADA] 2003)
SUMMARY: A handicapped girl and a Metis boy join forces to save an old mustang from freezing to death and wind up teaching a whole town about love, friendship, and hope.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN RIDE
(RUNNING L [CANADA] 2004)
SUMMARY: If you camped out at a haunted cabin in the woods on Halloween night, would you leave your horse saddled? Everyone knows that ghosts walk the trail to Pumpkin Alley during The Great Pumpkin Ride, but when a group of young teens ride out into the night afterwards, none of them are prepared for what happens next…

A FILLY CALLED EASTER
(RUNNING L [CANADA] 2005)
SUMMARY: Linda desperately wants a new barrel racing horse and talks her father into taking her to the local livestock auction in the hopes of finding one there, but when she sets eyes on the beautiful, and very pregnant, palomino filly all dreams of barrel racing fly out the window. All too quickly vet Doc Martin becomes a regular visitor to the McCloud family farm, leaving Linda's father to wonder just what he'd done. When Mother Nature enters into the mix, hope comes in an unlikely form.

TWO INDEPENDENTS
(RUNNING L [CANADA] 2006)
SUMMARY: Set at an older readership than the other books in the series, described as teen to adult. Californian surfer girl Susie must get to grips with horses, cowboys and a completely new lifestyle when she goes to stay for the holidays with her grandmother and step-brother in the mountains.

Collector's Info:
All paperbacks. All in print and available to buy in Canada, the USA and the UK.