Leather to Steel

Gold/1st Place award in the 2018 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program for the Animal - Adult category as well as Bronze/3rd Place award in the historical category!

Experience history through the eyes of courageous horses whose herds were torn apart during the Great War. Two black stallions are caught up in the fog-of-war, carrying cavalrymen towards victory and defeat. Only one comes home.

Leather to Steel highlights the struggles between American neutrality and European aggression during the early Twentieth Century. The story lines weave together families connected by their pasts. The Indian Wars veteran -- Jeremiah -- trying to raise a multi-race family in a white man's world. The wealthy spinster -- Allison -- whose tenacious determination for equality finds her true love on European battlefields. An era of desperation where a childless couple is blessed with the orphans of war.

The book's characters' endure trials and tribulations experienced fighting for freedom; as author Clint Goodwin did fighting alongside very brave men and women during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This post-war project gave him another opportunity to safely express unwanted feelings through the eyes of a horse. Writing continues to be truly healing...

Clean, well-thought out and presented. The history is rich and well-documented and expertly blended into the fictional storyline. The balance between humans and horses sharing an equally important spotlight through the course of the historical account is beautifully balanced.

- 2018 Feathered Quill Awards Judge