Please welcome John Egenes author of Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
John Egenes will be awarding 4 digital copies of the book to 4 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
by John Egenes
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GENRE: Memoir
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BLURB:
In 1974 a disenfranchised
young man from a broken home set out to do the impossible. With a hundred
dollars in his pocket, a beat up cavalry saddle, and a faraway look in his eye,
John Egenes saddled his horse Gizmo and started down the trail on an adventure
across the North American continent. Their seven month journey took them across
11 states from California to Virginia, ocean to ocean.. As they left the
pressing confinement of the city behind them, the pair experienced the
isolation and loneliness of the southwestern deserts, the vastness of the
prairie, and the great landscapes that make up America. Across hundreds of
miles of empty land they slept with coyotes and wild horses under the stars,
and in urban areas they camped alone in graveyards and abandoned shacks. Along
the way John and Gizmo were transformed from inexperienced horse and rider to
veterans of the trail. With his young horse as his spiritual guide John slowly
began to comprehend his own place in the world and to find peace within
himself. Full of heart and humor, Egenes serves up a tale that's as big as the
America he witnessed, an America that no longer exists. It was a journey that
could only have been experienced step by step, mile by mile, from the view
between a horse's ears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
The
young horse stands in the pale light of a gibbous moon, his hindquarters
positioned so they block the cold northwest wind. Spring has remained cool and
dry here in the high desert of the southwest, and the nightly winds have
steadily robbed the place of its water. A heavy toll has been taken this year
on the plants and animals who live here, and the horse can sense the corpse of
one of his kind close by, though the man who travels with him is unaware of it.
The
moon is bright, but not quite bright enough, and the man labors to read a
beat-up paperback novel. He wishes the moon was full, and as it moves lower
across the sky, the man finally gives up his struggle and stuffs the book into
his saddlebags. He gets to his feet, walks over to the horse, and scratches the
animal's ears, one by one. The horse enjoys this. The man says goodnight and
retires to his sleeping bag, leaving the horse to gaze at the night sky.
Coyotes
bark their high, shrill cries as the moon begins to set behind the mountains to
the west. Finally, the horse turns into the wind and walks the short distance
to where the man is sleeping. The horse allows his legs to buckle and slowly
settles to the ground next to the man. He tucks his legs beneath him and closes
his eyes to dream the dreams that horses dream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
John Egenes has been a musician, a
saddlemaker, a dog catcher, and a hobo, among other things. He only learns by
making mistakes and he views his life through a windshield full of squashed
bugs. He makes his home in New Zealand.
Online Sites for “Man & Horse”
Amazon:
Barnes & Noble:
AbeBooks:
Book Depository:
Alibris:
Twitter: @jegenes
The book will be
on sale for only $0.99.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
John Egenes will
be awarding 4 digital copies of the book to 4 randomly drawn winners via
rafflecopter during the tour.
Hello, everyone,
ReplyDeleteCertainly glad to be here. I'm in New Zealand, so if you're in America I am a day ahead of you and a few hours behind. So, I might get a bit of a late start, but I'll be around for questions, comments and general chat. Thanks for stopping by. All the best,
--john
Welcome to the Angel's blog. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting journey. Thank you for sharing it in this book!
ReplyDeleteJust checking in again. Thanks, Genene. I hope you enjoy it. Would really appreciate any feedback you want to give, on the Amazon site. If you have any questions, please feel free to fire away. All the best, --john
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks very much for hosting me here on your blog. I really appreciate it. Best, --john
ReplyDelete