Dancer
Hilary James (ʻMousieʼ) is just sixteen when Dancer, a seventeen hand, underfed, ill-mannered, pig-headed, chestnut stallion gallops into her life. While dealing with the death of her beloved father, and being bullied at school, she and Dancer win the Fuller Trophy at the Royal Winter Fair. Her triumph is rewarded with an invitation to perform in England for Queen Elizabeth, but she has also attracted the unwanted attention of Samuel Owens who schemes to aquire Dancer for his niece, Sara. Rebuffed in his first attempt to buy the horse, Owens instructs his hired man, Chad Smith, to try to steal it. In England, Mousie has a dream in which a beautiful blonde horsewoman warns her of impending danger. Mousie bravely plunges into a puzzling mystery involving treachery and a handsome love interest.
“Within one month of it’s publication, this galloping first novel by London-born actor Shelley Peterson is already into it’s third printing. That’s a pretty amazing feat…Dancer, the story of a girl and her horse, has all the key ingredients of a young adult best seller - adventure, suspense, violence, romance, the supernatural and even cameo appearances by members of the Royal Family.”
— Barbara Novak, London Free Press
“Characters come alive in a plot bristling with adventure and dirty tricks.”
— Marg Langton, Hamilton Spectator
“Shelley Peterson’s story - clearly a labour of love, a dedicated to her three children - is sure to please horse story fans.”
— Louise Mahoney, Quill and Quire
“The novel’s epic saga between good and evil is riveting.”
— Canadian Children’s Literature