Wow! I was blown away by the response to the last email. Some of the things you said were even kind 🙂

Thank you so much for the feedback on Sally and, if you’ve already ordered, for getting behind Cultivating Happiness.

If you missed the announcement, make sure to click here to see all kinds of cool giveaways you can access.

Here’s another sneak peek at what you can expect.

Snowy, the pony mentioned below, was a small Welsh mountain who looked like an angel but was, in fact, pure evil. Phil is my sister and was very keen on getting Snowy to canter.

I sympathised with Snowy’s enthusiasm for home as I trudged down the lane in my giant boots. Grabbing the harness, I heaved at the pony and turned her to face the long straight path away from home. Snowy plodded at funeral march speed back the way she had come.

“I have an idea,” Phil said, “You run ahead pretending you have the bucket and then she’ll follow you. You’ll have to run fast because I want to canter.”

I looked down at my clownish wellies and up at the malevolent glare of the pony.

“Come on. Hurry up.” 

I turned and started jogging up the path.

“Faster than that,” Phil yelled.

I picked up the pace.

“She’s trotting. Woohooo! Go faster. She loves chasing you.”

I ran. 

“Go faster. She’s right behind you.”

I ran as fast as my little legs and enormous boots would allow. I could hear the drumming of Snowy’s petite unshod hooves on the grass behind me. I felt sure I could feel her steamy breath on my neck and the heat of her demon eyes boring into the back of my head.

“She’s cantering. She’s cantering,” Phil screamed.

I risked a look over my shoulder.  Snowy was about a car’s length behind me and gaining fast.

“Don’t look at me. Look at where you’re going, you idiot,” Phil screamed.

I turned back to the track and looked at where I was going. I was in time to see the tip of my left boot slide with Cinderella precision into a rabbit hole. The boot stuck fast, and my foot slid out. Unencumbered by the boot, I continued to dash lopsidedly. Snowy’s hooves thundered behind me. Sensing my vulnerability, she seemed to pick up the pace.  My next step landed my socked foot squarely on a fresh cow-pat, and it slipped out from under me. The momentum carried me forward, and I found myself catapulted, like a human cannonball, towards a swathe of juicy spring grass.  

“Whoa.” I imagined (but couldn’t see) Phil heaving at the reins and digging in her heels, trying to slow the pony. The pony didn’t slow.

I curled into a ball, bringing my knees to my chest and prepared for impact.

Thanks again for being a part of the Cultivating Happiness launch! Don’t forget, you have to be on the mailing list and to buy the book by 21 January 2019 in order get access to:

  • The exclusive version of the 5-Day Failing Back to Fun Challenge
  • A clickable book list of all the books I found really useful when I was writing Cultivating Happiness
  • A FREE never-before-released copy of flash fiction and non-fiction called Fifteen Tiny Tales of Woe