This book/series has developed a lot since I first conceptualized it pretty close to the time I started Revelation, and really only became what it is now very recently. I got a lot of inspiration from one of my favorite TV shows, Heartland, which is about a girl who loses her mom in a car crash and must take over her mother's work as a "horse whisperer". I wanted to add my own sort of raw, unique twist to the story, so that's where the current Unbreakable Saga stands. It's an eight-book series about an equine rescue right outside of Jackson, Wyoming, and about the many struggles the family and the horses face in the reality of living this kind of life. I've been around horses all my life, and really wanted to incorporate some of my own personal experiences or desires into this series.
Book 1: No Name
I mainly wanted this first book to be the most relative to my own experience as a horse trainer, and the story of how me and y horse's relationship started. In the story, Cheyanne, right now only helping her aunt work with the rescues on the ranch, convinces her aunt to work by herself on a wild paint filly they rescue at the beginning of the book from her abusive owner. The filly is mistrustful and unpredictable, and the two don't really connect until very near the end of the story, with a lot of ups and downs in between. Until that point, the filly is nameless and otherwise known as "The Paint", hence the title. Alot of the scenes between Cheyanne and the filly come from my own experience working with my paint filly, who also has had quite the name crisis throughout her life (I've written about it more in my post about She and I's full story together). There are a couple more storylines going on at the time, from a super shy kid named Ryan bonding with an untouchable colt, Red, a colt Chey was dedicated to reaching but couldn't, to the daily grind of life on a horse ranch. And then there's Noah, the arrogant, lazy stable hand that can't seem to get off Chey's nerve, and the crisis that brings them together.
What I really like about this book (and really the entire series) is the more emotional, mental experiences the characters have throughout the eight years the full story covers, not to mention a lot of insight into the horsemanship and ranching world. I've worked a lot on this book, but because of its laid-back style a lot of the scenes tend to blend together and get really repetitive so this one has definitely required the most rewriting, even without a plot change.
Book 2: Devoted
This book was one of the hardest books to "clean out", because I crammed a lot of side plots into it due to the pretty anti-climactic storyline. The book is mainly about a major upheaval in the family, leaving the ranch unprepared for the demanding needs of the rescues, and how the Ember Forest crew must pull the added load along with the typical hectic ranch life. I really have enjoyed writing the few scenes I have of this book because a lot of the main plot is all the emotional struggle the characters, especially Cheyanne, are facing through the story. I also had a lot of room to incorporate some unique equine stories into this book alongside the main plot.
Book 3: Up in the Air
This is the only book I added a lot of English style riding in, since the whole point of the series was to keep the raw, western vibe consistent throughout the books. The story is mainly about the complexity of trying to run ember Forest while Cheyanne is away during the week at Aldon Hall, the most elite equine prep-college in the western states. Chey struggles, however, with the strict training schedule and driving competition, and soon enough she must decide which is more important: what she believes is true horsemanship, or her future at Aldon Hall. Alongside this storyline is also the addition of a new character, Shane, brought to the ranch by a friend of Erin's with hopes he can stay for the summer and work with the horses, and a few new equine characters that take the center stage such as Sunshine, Mercury, and Medina. I've written a few of the starring scenes throughout this book, as well as a few background panels to set the stage for this stand-out story type.
Book 4: Too Far Gone
I really liked the way this storyline panned out in comparison to the first three before it. Chey's term at Aldon Hall is over, and now she's trying to use her free time to establish a stronger foundation to the ranch, expanding the grounds and capacity, and gathering even more staff. But to make things a little more difficult, a herd of feral horses have been caught roaming local ranches, and it's only a matter of time before they lose their patience and decide to take care of the horses themselves. So, with the help of the Ember Forest staff, the herd is rounded up and stabled at the ranch for retraining. But after such a long, hard life of survival on their own, is it even possible that any of them can be retrained? And along with that, Austin is thinking about moving to Kentucky to expand his career as a racehorse trainer, and it seems like in the midst of the ranch's greatest progression, things are only going downhill.
Book 5: Only the Brave
This book is what turned the 4-book Unbreakable series into the current eight book saga. The main storyline started right around the time that I was getting really interested in the idea of adopting a mustang from the BLM, training it, and adopting it out later on. Somewhere along the lines I came up with the perfect name for my future mustang: Auca, after the tribe of South American natives infamous for the martyrs of 5 missionaries, Ed Mccully, Pete Fleming, Roger Youderian, Nate Saint, and Jim Elliot. Auca is the Quichua word for savage, but the message behind the name that I was really proud of was that eventually through a lot of perseverance of many missionaries, the Aucas were finally turned from their savage ways. Adn with just as much perseverance, a once wild, untouchable mustang could be tamed. So, long story short, that's where this book went. Cheyanne rescues two mustangs, Auca and Shadow, and begins work with her alongside Shane and Aspen. A big theme of this book is to highlight the cruelty of not only the BLM mustang roundups themselves, but what happens after: Nothing. If these horses are going to be taken out of their wild home, they shouldn't be left to stand in a holding pen forever, but through perseverance and patience, the best can be brought out. (For more and mustangs and the BLM, check out my post Mustang Management). Alongside this story is a lot of development for Aspen as she starts to progress in her horsemanship, as well as a new character addition, Wes, just out of Juvey and needing work. I've written some of this book, but it's required a lot of rewriting since some of the training scenes started to duplicate the scenes between Sky and Cheyanne in No Name.
Book 6: Killer
I really wanted to add a more intense factor to the series through this sixth book, and so far, I've been very pleased just the title and cover design have gotten in promoting that feel. I've written a decent amount of the book as well. Now that Chey has started college part time at the Jackson University of Equine Study, she begins to broaden her horizon and develop her training to top the trainers and ranchers she is around there. She specifically wants to show up one boy, Tucker, who firmly believes no girl can train an untrainable horse.
It's all talk until Webber's stallion comes into the picture.
The stallion is the definition of a horse too far gone. Webber can't keep him contained in a paddock because the Stallion will destroy the fence. If he doesn't put hay out before 7 in the morning or after 7 in the evening, the horse will paw at the doorstep, and was even known once to have struck his hooves through the front window, shattering it. No one ever knew how Webber's wife had died so abrupt and young- until they realized the stud once belonged to her.
He was a killer.
And Chey was going to train him.
She's never been afraid, truly afraid of a horse in her entire life. But she's terrified of this one. And to top it off, the one person she thought she would never see again finds hhis way to her doorstep, leaving her as confused and tangled as ever before.
Book 7: All that was Lost
Ember Forest could not be doing better. Aspen has begun her National Liberty tour with Auca and Apollo, Chey and Noah are busy with new rescues every day, and Ryan is busy working at a restaurant back in town to pay for Red's board. Not to mention the monthly checks coming in from Austin's winnings back in Kentucky.
But then everything changes.
Because the one thing no one ever dreamed would happen, happens.
The ranch is flipped on its axis, and Chey doesn't know if she can handle the pressure, but her family won't let her back down. They'll fight for her. In the meantime, she and Noah have finally made things right, their relationship thriving. And Autumn finally finds the horse of her dreams she's been searching for...
The writing process for this book is pretty far along, mainly because I have a lot of unique horses throughout the story that I like writing about.
Book 8: The Fast Lane
In this last book, I really wanted to bring out the Rodeo atmosphere that thrives throughout western America. After Aspen returns from her tour, she and her horses need nothing but a long, relieving break from training and performing. She's always wanted to compete in the rodeo, so why not start now?
It's always been Chey's dream too, to follow in her uncle's footsteps as a roper. So as soon as Aspen starts training on Hammer, Chey can't help but join in.
And then she finds Anaheim, and the great debate is over.
Anaheim is a beautiful bay four-year-old colt, just put up for sale by one of the area's top Quarter horse breeders. She can't resist him. In this conclusion to the series, the entire Ember Forest family comes together through this timeless sport, bringing the joy and connection they've lacked and longed for for so long.
Thanks for reading! You can tell me what you thought or any suggestions you might have at the bottom of this page or using the contact form on the home page.
I also made a book trailer that kind of overviews the series ;)
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