A Horse of a Different Color Romance

I come from a horse-crazy family. My mom rode, two of my aunts are renown for their dressage riding and training chops, and even I rode as a young 'un (though I never came close to the level of awesome of my badass aunts). And all of us read romance. But where are the romances for horse-crazy chickies? Where are the romance authors who know their fetlocks from their withers?

Bev Pettersen is just such an author. (I like to call her the Dick Francis of Romance.) A fellow Ruby, she's been writing racetrack romance with a little murder mystery thrown in for years, but the Big New York publishers didn't believe there was an audience for the subgenre, so she decided to skip the middle man and self-publish through Westerhall to find her horse-crazy romance readers. Her first two novels, Jockeys & Jewels and Color My Horse. released earlier this year. Here's a peek:

Jockeys & Jewels
Racehorse trainer, Kurt MacKinnon, resents being yanked into undercover police work. But when his ex-partner is murdered, Kurt is determined to find the killer and moves his third-string Thoroughbreds to the backwater track where his partner was last seen alive.

Julie West, a struggling and dedicated jockey, pins her dreams of an elusive win on the new trainer in town, never suspecting she’s a person of interest—and not because of her riding skills.

Kurt didn’t expect his contrary colt to flourish under Julie’s feminine touch nor for his own rusty heart to soften. However, his deceit sucks them both into the cross hairs of a killer, and suddenly much more than their love is in danger.

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Color My Horse A disillusioned heiress swaps her credit cards for a pitchfork and shovel in a desperate attempt to escape her grandfather’s iron-fisted control. However, at the track she must earn the respect of an uncompromising horse trainer who has little tolerance for greenhorns, especially one he’s been forced to hire.

Mark Russell never expected his rookie groom to have the spunk or savvy to last at his demanding race barn. Or that his reluctant respect would turn to desire. But as the forbidden attraction between them sizzles, manipulation and murder threaten not only his horses but also their lives. And suddenly a Breeders’ Cup win is the very least of his worries.

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Meet Bev:

When Bev broke her leg galloping at the track, a friend brought a Dick Francis novel to the hospital and she was hooked. Horses had always been a integral part of her life, from Pony Club as a child and later within the dynamic world of horse racing so the combination of books and horses was irresistible.

Born and raised in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Bev moved to Alberta and spent five years racing and training Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. Her love of racing has taken her to Texas, Kentucky, California, Ontario, New York, and Dubai.

She earned her Bachelor of Business Degree from Mount Saint Vincent University and is an Equine Canada certified coach. Bev lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and two teenagers and when she’s not writing, likes to be riding.

Are you horse crazy? Do you love a romance (or other) novel with some equine elements thrown in? Tell me about your favorites!