Steeplechase is an equestrian sport that takes a very special kind of athlete. Jockeys have to be a little crazy, fearless, and sort of adrenaline junkies to enter into the sport.
Rob Finn has that special combination of crazy and fearless….all he cares about is racing and winning. Literally nothing else matters to him. Finn is working his way up in the steeplechase world and basically has nerves of steel but he is always picked to ride second rate horses.
Then the day comes where he is in the right place at the right time, a fellow jockey takes a spill and Finn is hired to ride in his place. But then Finn too takes a spill, and after that he is always on slow horses so many start to wonder if he has lost his nerve.
Finn starts to wonder if he is the target of a plot to undermine his career. Finn sets out to clear not just his own reputation but the reputation of his fellow jockeys. This book immediately hooks the reader from the first paragraph, where a jockey shoots himself in front of Finn. From that moment on, the race is literally on to find out who is sabotaging Finn’s races and why.
Artist Laura Matthews and her husband Dan and decided to move to the Welsh countryside for a couple of reasons. They have enjoyed their lives in the city but for Laura, she hopes that living in the country will inspire not only her artwork, but also a baby.
Avelynn, a Saxon noblewoman in 869, has enjoyed luxuries that most women of her time haven’t. Her father is a lord and allows her to attend gatherings and she eventually hopes to rule her lands….the last things she expects is for her father to marry her off.
Veronica Speedwell is finally free from her spinster aunts! Not that she is rejoicing in their deaths or anything but she has longed to be free to travel the world in pursuit of butterflies and a few romantic liaisons. She is not just an amateur butterfly collector, but a scientist, lepidopterist, and lover of natural science in particular.
The Lit Bitch 