Valerie Ormond's Thoughts On …

Writing Tips from Valerie Ormond

Tag: Robin Hutton

  • Book Shepherd: Helping Readers Find Books

    Have you heard of Shepherd.com? I hadn’t until its founder, Ben Fox, reached out to me, introduced his concept, and asked if I wanted to create my own personalized book recommendation list for his site. I researched the platform and found authors I knew who had contributed lists and decided to create my own. You will see my list’s book covers throughout this post.

    When I asked Ben if he would share a bit more about Shepherd with my blog readers, he said:

    “I want to make finding your next book a fun experience. I’ve asked authors to recommend 5 books they love around a topic, mood, or theme they are passionate about. The book recommendations that result are fantastic, and you can see Valerie’s fantastic list on the best books about horses and their humans to see the results. Plus we are adding more and more features to help readers find books based on their favorite topic, book, or author.” 

    At just over a year old, Shepherd is growing fast and had more than 100,000 visitors last month, according to Ben. The best books lists cover everything from locations, eras, genres, and more – not just horse books. A few samples include:

    *The best fantasy books that taught me how to write funny (funny fiction, that is)

    *The best books to safely satisfy your lust for action and mystery

    *The best books on the art of writing

    To see why I recommended my five books, please see the best books about horses and their humans. These books include both non-fiction (history) and fiction ( mystery, middle-grade, young adult, and romance) by talented authors Robin Hutton, Sasscer Hill, Sharon Kay Roberts, Brittney Joy, and Carly Kade.

    I would love to hear your thoughts about Shepherd and what lists you would want to create.

  • Buy a Horse Book Day!

    Help me in celebrating a new holiday, Buy a Horse Book Day! Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, and Heels Down Spark, the daily equestrian newsletter, joined forces this year to declare May 10 “Buy a Horse Book Day.” As a horse book author and publisher, I was invited to participate.

    Looking for recommendations? Here are a few.

    1. Valerie Ormond’s Horse Book Reviews

    2. The Shepherd.com’s recommendations: 

    3. I’m submitting my five recommendations for the Shepherd.com this month and recommending these horse book authors and their books:

    I hope you enjoy the day and might find a new horse story to read! @HorseandRiderBooks and @HeelsDownMag #BuyAHorseBookDay

  • Believing In Horses Out West Released!

    I released my third novel, Believing In Horses Out West, on Friday, and it’s been a whirlwind couple of days! This book takes young Sadie Navarro on an adventure to a Montana ranch to check on a horse she rescued. While there, she makes new friends, learns about ranch life, and encounters a mystery.

    New York Times Bestselling Author of Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse, Robin Hutton, described the book as “A thrilling coming-of-age story filled with love, lessons, and finding one’s purpose in life…”

    On book launch day, the book achieved an Amazon #1 New Release ranking!

    The next day, the book debuted at Freedom Hill Horse Rescue’s Spirits & Steeds festival for a book signing where I had the chance to meet readers, volunteers, and tons of wonderful people who stopped by to talk about all three of my books.

    Books are available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Believing In Horses website, and retailers worldwide wherever you buy books. I greatly appreciate my readers and those who have encouraged me to keep on writing through the years; thank you for helping me reach this milestone!