Hey, I’m Rainy. Rainy Dale, owner and operator of Dale’s Horseshoeing here in Cowdry, on the west end of Butte County, Oregon. Yeah, I’m only twenty-three, but Guy’s the same age and he says that people like us who find our way into doing what we truly love are double lucky.
You know Guy? Cooks at the Cascade Kitchen? I’ve been renting his garage as my bedroom and eating his home-cooking while trying to make a go as a start-up shoer. Business is starting to pick up. I might stay a spell.
He’s a tall drink of water, Guy. The thing about him is, he tries to understand everybody by asking good questions, but maybe sometimes too many. His folks are hoity toity types, not like my ranch hand and truck-driving old man or my mama, who gets by on small-time acting jobs. No, Guy’s folks teach college back in Texas and they taught their only son to consider everything: motivations, incentives, unconscious rationalizations. It’s a bit much, Guy’s probing. There’s stuff that I’m not about to tell. And as far as understanding another soul, I get by on the look in their eye. After all, I spend my days working with blessed born critters: horses.
A horse’s eye is a window.
What really curls my ponytail is when my day is full-scheduled with horses ready for plenty of attention. I need clients wanting their horses’ hooves put right: trimmed or shod, standard, specialty or therapeutic. No work means no groceries or diesel money.
I put my business cards up at feed stores and community bulletin boards and trailheads. I take referrals and work the rodeos and horse shows. I’ve got some regular clients now, backyard owners mostly, like Guy’s neighbor’s little girl, the loggers across the highway, some roping and cutting horses, and a few of the jumpers and dressage types here on the west side. And I took on shoeing for the new wife of a rich widower. But if I’d known the day would end with a dead client and me on the wrong side of the sheriff’s interrogation room, well, I might not have taken that job.
Giveaway: Comment below for a chance to win a print copy of The Clincher. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends January 7, 2019. Good luck everyone!
You can read more about Rainy in The Clincher, the first book in the NEW “Horseshoer” traditional mystery series, released in November 2018.
Clinching is the technique used to bend a driven horseshoe nail to hold the shoe to a hoof. Rainy Dale is The Clincher, a twenty-something high school-dropout turned farrier (horseshoer) who is haunted by a secret she carries. Estranged from her California d-list actress momma and her ranch hand Texas daddy, she tracked down her childhood horse in small-town Oregon―a land full of cowboys and their horses―then stayed to build a life with her tools, steel, and forge. She’s sleeping in a garage and trying not to fall for her landlord, the hapless and hopeful chef, Guy, who is determined to create the perfect soufflé while Rainy would prefer to just stuff her mouth with fuel for her physically demanding job. As the new kid in town, Rainy has an uphill battle to prove herself, especially to her male clients, but when one of her clients turns up dead, Rainy is in over her head as both a suspect and a seeker of the truth.
The Clincher is the first in a series of horseshoer mysteries featuring the irrepressible, irreverent, and irresistible Rainy Dale and her loveable and unlikely side-kick (her culinarily inclined boyfriend, Guy).
Purchase Link
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Meet the author
Lisa Preston began writing after careers as a fire department paramedic and a city police sergeant. She was first published in nonfiction, with titles on animal care, such as The Ultimate Guide to Horse Feed, Supplements and Nutrition. Her debut novel, Orchids and Stone, (Thomas & Mercer, 2016), has been described as a book club thriller, or domestic noir. Her psychological suspense novel, The Measure of the Moon, (Thomas & Mercer, 2017) was also a book club pick. The Clincher (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018) debuted her mystery series featuring a young woman horseshoer. She lives with her husband in western Washington. Visit Lisa’s website at lisapreston.com.
All comments are welcomed.
This book sounds good. I’m adding it to my TBR list.
Ooooh….I’m up for trying this book…..
Thank you for the giveaway….
I love horses! I have always wanted to be around them on a daily basis. They are amazing creatures.
Thank you for offering a copy of this book.
Sounds like this book would be educational. I don’t know much about the world of horses.
This sounds good
Sounds like a good read.
I’m always looking for different settings in books I read. It’s nice to see a book set with a Western feel to it. Can’t wait to get an opportunity to read. Thanks for sharing it with us.
A captivating novel with a fascinating locale which I love. Western settings are my favorite and unique.
I’d love to win and start reading this new series!
Ohhhh, this sounds great, thank you for the chance to win a copy.
wfnren at aol dot com
Yippee ky yi yay! Want it!
This sounds like a good read.
A farrier mystery is a new slant! I’ll enjoy this and so will my sister who actually uses a farrier.
Sounds like an interesting storyline. Would really like to read. Thanks for the chance.
I think this heroine must have the most unusual career I have come across in recent memory. Sounds like quite a fun read.
This is a new author for me–I haven’t been around horses much, but sounds like an interesting read.
Sounds quite interesting! I’m in…
Thanks for the love, folks! I look forward to sending one of you a spanking new hardback of The Clincher! -Lisa
This sounds much different from what I generally read. However, I think I would enjoy this new author.
Unusual career for heroine – thanks for the chance.
Sounds really great 👍
Thanks for sharing this book with us 😍
Shared on Twitter 😍❤😍
https://twitter.com/LindaMoffitt02/status/1081717374565400577
I’m curious about Rainy’s secret.
Am curious to read this book that is Rainy’s Secret.
Don’t enter me in the giveaway. I loved this book. The characters were likable, and I’m still trying to figure out which town in Central Oregon is modeled on.
**** WINNER ****
The Clincher is GB
Congratulations!
Congratulations, GB! Thank you all for reading and commenting. Read on–there’s nothing I enjoy more than sharing a book.