Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
by John Egenes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
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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
John Egenes will be awarding 4 digital copies of the book to 4
randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
Be sure to visit the other blogs on the tour:
November 27: This and That Book Blog
November 28: Sea's Nod
November 29: Rogue's Angels
November 30: Books, Dreams,Life
December 1: Sharing Links and Wisdom
December 4: Regan Black
December 5: Queen of All She Reads
December 6: Straight From the Library
December 7: Mixed Book Bag
December 8: Jennifer Macaire, Tell me a Story
Hello. Thanks a lot for having me. I'm in New Zealand, so I'm a day ahead of America and the UK, but a few hours behind. Please feel free to ask questions about Gizmo and me, or the ride, or anything else. Make comments, crack jokes... whatever you like. I'll stop in and try to answer any that come my way. I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteall the best,
--john egenes
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteInteresting book. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete