JENNY STORM
Children’s and YA fiction appear under the Jenny Storm name.
DIXIE DUST RUMORS
a YA horse racing mystery, available from eTreasures Publishing.
Who could be luckier than a young girl whose father trains racehorses? That is, until false accusations could cause the loss of not only their livelihood and the horses they love, but their dreams. Due to the belief that horse racing is a crooked sport, even unsubstantiated rumors can be fatal to a trainer’s career. Twelve-year-old Rose Olen is determined to find out why a journalist printed innuendos that make her father’s business practices sound unethical without checking facts. Aided by her friends Maya Sanchez and Libby Kim, and her younger brother Simon, they investigate the charges and come up with a scheme to foil the reporter. They juggle responsibilities at school, the contempt and ridicule from other students, and responsibilities at the track as they search for the truth behind the Dixie Dust Rumors.
Excerpt 1:
“So, is your Dad, like, going to jail?”
I turned around. The school hallway seemed both noisy and quiet simultaneously. I faced Sue Allen, probably my least favorite person in the school, and her giggling posse of Ellie Katz and Tracey Vitella. The only reason I was even polite to Sue was because my dad trained horses for her dad. “Why would my Dad be going to jail?”
“You don’t know?”
“Why would I ask if I knew?”
“Unless she thinks it’s okay, what he did.” Ellie began tittering again. Boys liked it, but that high-pitched cackle made me want to slap her.
“Like, where have you been all day?” Sue rolled her eyes.
“Science class. And before that, a math test.” I glared at her. “Why do you want to know my schedule?”
“You are so lame, so out of it,” Tracey sniffed. “Brian heard it on the radio in shop class.”
“Heard what?” “
That your dad’s under investigation.”
“For what?”
“For fixing a race or something. I don’t know.” Sue shrugged. “All I know is that your dad’s a crook.”
Excerpt 2:
I took a deep breath. I flipped on the porch lights, and flung open the door, wielding the baseball bat with as much threat as I could.
“Hey!” I shouted.
Three figures dashed from various points around the house and ran down the sidewalk.
“Hey!” I repeated.
One of the figures turned back and pulled something out of his pocket. There was a blinding flash of light. I staggered back against the doorway. The three figures jumped into the car and sped off.
I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, I stared at the outside of the house in disbelief. Someone had spray-painted “cheater” over and over again in red paint on our pale blue house. The way the paint ran down, it looked like blood.
I heard screaming. At first, I thought maybe I’d screamed without knowing it. Then, I realized it was Maya.
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Available Digitally for $1.50 here.