Why am I passionate about this?

I am a life-long equestrian. I believe I was born with manure in my blood! I have always loved horses. I bought my own horse with my own money when I was thirteen and had to work to support him myself. I continue to own and ride horses more than fifty years later! I love competing in Dressage and riding the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains. My interest in researching and writing historical horse stories grew out of my love of both horses and history.


I wrote

The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

By M.J. Evans,

Book cover of The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

What is my book about?

Inspired by a true story, The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy will touch your heart as no other horse story…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Black Beauty

M.J. Evans Why did I love this book?

Some books stay with you for a lifetime. Such is the case with Black Beauty for me.

This historical fiction novel (although it wasn’t “Historical” when it was written!”) is considered a classic because of its staying power and message. Anna Sewell’s work inspired the creation of the ASPCA because of the depictions of animal cruelty in the book.

Now, half a century later, it has inspired me to not only write historical fiction horse stories but I also chose to write in first person from the horse’s point of view the way Black Beauty is written.

By Anna Sewell, Kristen Guest (editor),

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Black Beauty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Continuously in print and translated into multiple languages since it was first published, Anna Sewell's Black Beauty is a classic work of children's literature and an important text in the fields of Victorian studies and animal studies. Writing to ""induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment"", Sewell realistically documents the working conditions of Black Beauty, who moves down the social scale from a rural carriage horse to a delivery horse in London. Sewell makes visible and tangible the experience of animals who were often treated as if they were machines. Though she died shortly after it was published, Sewell's book…


Book cover of Horse Gone Silent

M.J. Evans Why did I love this book?

Shane Ledyard is a well-respected horse trainer, riding instructor, and competitor in the hunter/jumper world on the east coast of the U.S.A.

But, after reading this book you can see his love of and empathy for the horse and all horses in general. It is a heartwarming story that teens and adults will love.

By Shane Ledyard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Horse Gone Silent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Inspired by a true story, Horse Gone Silent delivers adventure, drama, and life lessons in a tale that will speak to your heart like no horse story ever has before.

2020 EQUUS Film Festival Literary Award Winner

In the first book of the Horse Gone Silent trilogy, you will follow the life of champion show jumping horse "Calebo" from his sweet youth in the Netherlands to the United States where he quickly makes it to the top of his sport. Multiple times throughout his life, unbelievable events occur where this kind, courageous horse faces unfathomable depths of despair as he…


Book cover of The Last Diving Horse in America: Rescuing Gamal and Other Animals--Lessons in Living and Loving

M.J. Evans Why did I love this book?

To stick with my love of historical novels, this book is about rescuing Gamal, the last diving horse in the U.S.

In the early 1900s horses were used in a carnival stunt in which the horse with a rider on board would dive off a platform several stories high and plunge into a tiny pool of water. This is the non-fiction story of the last known diving horse. 

If you are like me, you love a good horse story. Combine that with history and this non-fiction story of the last diving horse was a perfect fit for me. As a lifelong horse lover and owner, I can't imagine asking my horses to jump off a high dive into a tiny pool. And I can't imagine being the rider that goes down with him!

By Cynthia A. Branigan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Diving Horse in America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named Best Equine Non-Fiction Book at the 2022 Equus Film & Arts Fest

The rescue of the last diving horse in America and the inspiring story of how horse and animal rescuer were each profoundly transformed by the other—from the award-winning animal rescuer of retired racing greyhounds and author of the best-selling Adopting the Racing Greyhound

It was the signature of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier in the golden age of “America’s Favorite Playground”: Doc Carver’s High Diving Horses. Beginning in 1929, four times a day, seven days a week, a trained horse wearing only a harness ran up a ramp,…


Book cover of And Miles to Go: The Biography of a Great Arabian Horse, Witez II

M.J. Evans Why did I love this book?

This long-out-of-print book that came out in the 1960s introduced me to Witez II, the subject of my new book. While And Miles to Go is also historical fiction, it uses the real details of the life of Witez from his birth in Poland to his capture by the Nazis during WWII.

When I am writing a new novel about a little-known horse or horse-related event, I buy all the nonfiction books on the subject that I can find.  Once the print copy arrives, I can highlight, write notes in margins, dogear corners, and so forth, to help me with my research. This was the case with my latest book.

I purchased several nonfiction books about the army's "Operation Cowboy" during WWII during which they rescued the horses stolen by the Nazis. This book was written in the 1960s, so the closest to the time of the actual event of all the books I bought.

It was also written at a time when Witez II was still alive. However, I discovered that it is historical fiction, (as is the book I wrote), but filled with lots of well-researched information about Witez II, the subject of both this book and my book.

By Linell Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked And Miles to Go as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Witez II, purportedly the most magnificent Arabian horse ever, was born in Poland in 1938 and survived the Nazi, Russian and American invasions. This is his story--a gallant one--told with irrepressible sentiment. Any youthful interest aroused by the general aura of the stable will be squelched by the appearance of the young twins Stacia and Stasik, both of whom utter only deathless prose. Stacia and her Babka (grandmother) are both clairvoyant, so that the grim future is always agonizingly clear. There are some interesting scenes which present the plight of Poland first under the Germans, then caught between the Russians…


Book cover of King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian

M.J. Evans Why did I love this book?

I grew up reading horse stories. I think they might have been the only books I read for a time.

I loved all of Marguerite Henry’s books but King of the Wind was my favorite. This story is about one of the Arabian horses who became a foundation breeding horse for what became the thoroughbred. His groom is a young mute boy who travels with him and became my inspiration for Teodor in my book.

By Marguerite Henry, Wesley Dennis,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked King of the Wind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden-red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was swift as the desert winds, Sham's pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. their adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara. to the royal courts of France, and finally to the green pastures and stately homes of…


Explore my book 😀

The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

By M.J. Evans,

Book cover of The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

What is my book about?

Inspired by a true story, The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy will touch your heart as no other horse story has before.

World War II is raging. Hitler is hiding away the world's most beautiful purebred horses in a little village in Czechoslovakia. Lipizzaners, Thoroughbreds and the prize Polish Arabians are being used in his experiments to create the perfect war horse. A peculiar twelve-year-old boy from the village named Teodor becomes the groom for one of those special horses - Witez II, one of the most famous Arabian stallions of all time. Witez helps the boy face his challenges and find his voice at a time when little is known about the condition now called "Autism."

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The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

Book cover of The Open Road

M.M. Holaday Author Of The Open Road

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up a fan of an evening news segment called “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” Kuralt spotlighted upbeat, affirmative, sometimes nostalgic stories of people and places he discovered as he traveled across the American landscape. The charming stories he told were only part of the appeal; the freedom and adventure of being on the open road ignited a spark that continues to smolder. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are our annual family road trips, and I still jump at the chance to drive across the country.

M.M.'s book list on following the open road to discover America

What is my book about?

Head West in 1865 with two life-long friends looking for adventure and who want to see the wilderness before it disappears. One is a wanderer; the other seeks a home he lost. The people they meet on their journey reflect the diverse events of this time period–settlers, adventure seekers, scientific expeditions, and Indigenous peoples–all of whom shape their lives in significant ways.

This is a story of friendship that casts a different look on a time period which often focuses only on wagon trains or gunslingers.

The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

What is this book about?

After four years of adventure in the frontier, Win Avery returns to his hometown on the edge of the prairie and tracks down his childhood friend, Jeb Dawson. Jeb has just lost his parents, and, in his efforts to console him, Win convinces his friend to travel west with him―to see the frontier before it is settled, while it is still unspoiled wilderness.

They embark on a free-spirited adventure, but their journey sidetracks when they befriend Meg Jameson, an accomplished horsewoman, lost on the Nebraska prairie. Traveling together through the Rocky Mountain foothills, they run into Gray Wolf, an Arapaho…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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