Triumphing Over Life’s Challenges.

Edited Press Release

Hartford, Wisconsin (September, 2023) — Overcoming life’s challenges are difficult for adults, but it’s even more so for early teens and their limited experiences. In her latest book, Ghost Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Marsh Edge Press), award-winning author Kerri Lukasavitz guides young readers through her characters’ words and actions to choose growth over difficulties when pursuing life’s adventures.

Ghost Horse at Oak Lane Stable is the continuing story of fourteen-year-old Cassie and her showjumper, NightHawk, who is recovering from an injury sustained at an earlier show. She’s allowed to borrow Oak Lane Stable’s showjumper, Ghost Story, as she heads out on the summer show circuit. Although Cassie is an experienced rider, she must adjust to the big, snowy horse if she plans to succeed. Thoughts of easily winning with the seasoned Ghost Story enter her mind, but placing in jumper classes
proves to be a problem. Her dad’s unexpected absence at shows and championing her—due to increased travel and work responsibilities—leaves Cassie in an angry, vulnerable state. More tension builds between them—if he’s actually at home— when he casually remarks about the expensive upkeep of a lame, useless horse, tossing around regretting not selling NightHawk when he’d had the chance earlier in the spring, which adds to Cassie’s troubling concerns about being able to keep her horse.

“Confronting the difficult issues of a young girl coming-of-age, the conflicts of friendships, first love, and, of course, horses, presents a compelling story that will attract young horse-loving readers. The plot follows Cassie as she learns to adjust to a new horse and new friends, all while facing the challenges that everything new presents. A descriptive narrative is used well to develop the setting, and the plot and dialogue are effective and believable. The characters are well-presented and defined. This is
more than a story about a girl and her horse (or in this case, horses). It’s a story about dreaming big and working hard to achieve those dreams.” —Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Senior Reviewer for Readers’ Favorite.

The novel series is inspired by Lukasavitz’s experience working with horses for almost three decades, with life at two Class-A hunter/jumper stables. “I wanted young readers to learn from strong, dedicated girl characters about the realities of and how much work goes into life around horses, whether that means something as simple as Saturday morning riding lessons or more involved by having their own horse(s),” Lukasavitz says. “It takes strength—physical, emotional, and mental—heart, and devotion to thrive in the horse world, but I also wanted them to see how life at a stable can strengthen friendships, build new ways of relating to others, celebrating goals once they’re met, and the healing power of horses. It’s not an easy life by any means, but it’s full of rich rewards if they’re willing to put in the time to learn.”

Ghost Horse at Oak Lane Stable is the fourth book in the series for upper Middle Grade readers. Lukasavitz’s first three books—Mystery Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 1), Gray Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 2), and Dark Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 3)—have earned awards for their literary excellence, with Mystery Horse and Gray Horse both Silver Medal Finalists in the Children’s Fiction category for the 2023 & 2022 Midwest Book Awards and Dark Horse a 2023 Nominee for the Eric Hoffer Book Award and the 2022 First Place Winner in Middle Grade Fiction for the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. Ghost Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 4), the final novel to round out the series, will be released mid-October, 2023, just in time for Halloween.

Ghost Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 4) paperback ISBN number: 979-8-9882964-2-3 [$13.95 US retail], eBook E-ISBN number: 979-8-9882964-3-0 [$3.99 US Kindle Select]. Published by Marsh Edge Press. Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, and other fine Booksellers. A portion of the book sales are donated to the Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation and the Wisconsin and Washington County Humane Societies.