Meet Eyeballs, from Suddenly Rural Girl

Suddenly Rural Girl’s protagonist is a conflicted teen wrestling with faith and friendship after her father dies and her family moves to a new town–but a kind old man and his horse offer her an escape.

Eyeballs reared up again, revealing the little white star on his chest surrounded by patches of black and brown hair on his otherwise dark ash body…he also had a wavy mane and curly eyelashes that would make a supermodel jealous. Rather than a smooth, shiny coat like so many horses, his dark hair was a mix of tightly woven curls…almost like an afro.

She’s also conflicted . . . and brave.

Cupping my fingers like I was holding water, I nervously stretched both clover-filled hands toward the horse, who turned toward me and inhaled. His massive lips began to dance around my cupped hands. Stiff whiskers tickled while he lightly pulled the bits of sweet plant from my skin.

Afterall,

“Ready, boy?” I asked, giving Eyeballs a good pat on his neck. With a squeeze of my thighs and a crisp snap of the reins, he began to pick up speed. Before long, we were flying along at a gallop—both of us glad to be racing through open air…Eyeballs and I forged the creek between the beaver pond and the bridge so he could get a refreshing walk through the creek. With each step, Eyeballs sent a spray of gems dancing ahead of us in the water. Tiny fish raced in the shallows when we entered, and a nice-sized brown trout flipped out of the swirling eddy it had been lounging in.

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Published by Hurlbert

Dann is an educator, Media & Design Guru, Author, and Public Speaker. He currently serves as Media and Design Specialist at an impressive little Midwestern College where he works directly with faculty to develop effective instructional videos. He has an MFA in Digital Cinema from California's National University, a BSED in English and Theatre Education from the University of South Dakota, and a certificate in Online Education from UW Stout. He was founder and principle owner of Little Prompter, LLC, a teleprompter design and manufacturing company until he sold the company in 2020. Prior to joining Carleton's staff, he taught communication, theatre, and video production for approximately 15 years while working as a professional actor and director--appearing in over forty national and regional commercials and directing and editing dozens of videos and musicals. Dann’s MFA thesis project involved writing and directing an original, full-length musical, filming the entire development and production process, and editing it into an educational DVD entitled How to Write and Produce Your Own High School Musical. His DVD is currently being distributed by Films Media Group. His debut YA Christian Fiction novel, Suddenly Rural Girl, is published through Kirk House Publishing.

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