SKELETON TRAIL

Author’s review

While I cannot truly afford an editor, I know it would be a disservice to my readers if I published without having the work edited. I have an issue with commas, semi-colons and run on sentences that needs a skilled eye to catch and correct. Dr. Jennifer did a great job.

Jennifer and I only had one minor misunderstanding. I quickly caught it and rejected the corrections that were not needed, understanding that the confusion was an easy one to make.

All in all, I opened the document at 9AM and had it reviewed, accepted/rejected and clean enough to format for publishing by 1PM Good job to both of us:o).

We published on Monday after getting the edited document on Saturday. That's the quickest formatting and review yet.

A short introduction

Bethany and Megan set out on a bright fall day to mark a fifteen-mile equestrian trail into the National Forest lands from the soon to be opened R-B Equestrian Campground located on the R-M Ranch. A minor landslide and fall from her horse brings Bethany face to face with a mummified skull when she lands in the rocks.

Megan and Kam take FBI Forensic specialist, David Harrison, to the corpse on horseback the next day. After Megan leaves to continue marking trail, Kam and David become the target of a shooter who wants the murder to remain unsolved. Attracted to David, Kam worries that it's only because of shared danger. Danger is known to strengthen attraction between people, right?

When bullets start flying, David finds his protective instincts heightened. Taking shelter in an abandoned cabin, he enjoys teasing Kam about their shared heritage while she doctors his flesh wound. He asks her if his father needs to take ponies to her grandfather in payment since they are unchaperoned in the lonely cabin.

Mysteries unfold and the connections to current day become clearer. Crimes of the distant past link to crimes of the more recent past and even to crimes of the present; blackmail, extortion, arson, assaults and murder attempts link the body to one or more of the inhabitants of Riverview.

With each new danger, Kam and David grow closer. While appreciating the similarities of their heritage, they wonder if they can form lasting ties. Kam worries that the problems of her past will interfere with her possible future with David. How much does he need to know about why she left Des Moines? She knows he can find out about the whole sordid mess, but hesitates to bring it up. Secrets are never good when falling in love, and she's afraid that's exactly what is happening between them.

Author: Kimberly

Kasey Riley has been riding in the sport of Endurance since 1990. Her knowledge and experience with horses and trails allows her to create stories that other equestrians can recognize and all readers can appreciate for their validity and realism.

Her first novel, Desperate Endurance, dealt with the sport she loves and her second, Skeleton Trail, recounts a story made up as she rode along wooded trails in the Ouachita mountains in Oklahoma. Both mysteries involve things that happen to unsuspecting people and play out in possible (if not exactly probable) manners.

Her next work is less suspense and more romantic as she once again visits the residents of Riverview for characters and story line.

Riverview, the R-M and the R-B will be the scene of several more novels over the next few years. Suspense, Romance, even Young Adult stories are waiting to be told. The values and rugged country of rural America and Colorado in particular are an amazing fountain of ideas for Kasey and she hopes to visit the well often.