From December 9-13, my pretty good book “Sam (a pastoral)” a novel about horses and humans for young and older adults, will be offered as a free gift to you in the Kindle edition on Amazon.com.

The ‘real’ Sam was a horse with common looks and no talent. He won no races, ribbons, or medals for bravery. What can I say about him? He  had a kindly temperament. He behaved for the farrier and the vet. He liked a good gallop, whenever possible. He was my friend.  The fictional Sam,  the humble  trash nag standing at the  center of this story, serves as an example of plain ordinary goodness. He is the calm center of the hurricane of human folly.

The human characters in this book don’t win any prizes either. In their way they are trying desperately to find some happy; some of them do, some don’t.  Small triumphs dot the story: a  man leaves his deadening job the city and goes fishing. An alcoholic kicks his habit by training ‘pulling ponies.’  An timid housewife takes a job and buys herself a pickup truck. A damaged kid adopts thrown-away animals.

Ruthie, the troubled girl who narrates the tale, is convinced that her steed Sam talks to her. She describes him like a lover would in affectionate detail: his hair, his eyes, his lips. She  gauges his moods by watching his ears. On the other hand, the important humans in her life are a blur. She doesn’t see them, nor they her. Mired in a cycle of misunderstandings, tantrums, physical fights, and vicious revenge plots, they talk, or shout, past each other, to the point of insanity. At war with God, her neighbor, and herself, Ruthie wants to find the happy. She may or may not heed Sam’s sound advice on this subject.

While  the characters in “Sam” are struggling and being miserable and so on, they can also be pretty funny. Even Sam is funny. Full disclosure: some sensitive issues are addressed, including bullying, parental abuse and abandonment, teen pregnancy, cruelty to animals, and the humiliation of somebody’s mother-in-law. No graphic violence or gore, no sex scenes, but intense emotional content may disturb younger kids, or kids with family issues.

I invite you to saddle up and ride with Sam for absolutely, totally, utterly free, during my Kindle Freebie Giveaway Dec 9-13.  Download this pretty nice book if you like horses, humans, or both, or know somebody who does.  If you like him, feel free to  post a good word about Sam somewhere.