Award-winning and bestselling novelist Rusty Blackwood has announced that the ebook version of her latest novel, Before The Grandeur: The Making of a Horsemaster, will be available at no charge on July 30 and 31, 2026. The book can be downloaded from Amazon during this limited-time promotion.
Before the Grandeur: The Making of a Horsemaster serves as the prequel to the thrilling Autumn Trilogy, immersing readers in the equestrian world of professional racing, concealed secrets, and unfaltering love. The story follows Cyril Landon, a young Englishman born into extreme poverty in the village of South Wood Chester, Gloucestershire, England. With determination and grit, Landon steps through an opened door at a local farm that leads to a future he never imagined. As Blackwood states, "Born into extreme poverty with little hope of survival, Cyril Landon's difficult beginnings throughout England's horrific war years will better assist readers in understanding the difficult journey that precedes the grandeur awaiting them in The Perils of Autumn."
The promotion offers readers a chance to begin the series from its roots. The first book in the trilogy, The Perils of Autumn, set primarily in the early 1970s, centers on Autumn Leeves, a young Kentucky woman who faces societal challenges and finds herself caring for the terminally ill wife of equestrian master Cyril Landon. That book earned Blackwood finalist status in the Fiction Romance category at the 2019 International Book Awards and the American Book Fest's 2019 awards program. Reviewers have praised the series; Richard Prause of Readers Favorite noted, "It doesn't depend on manufactured plot twists to drive the story. Instead, it focuses on the simple, powerful moments of a man earning the trust of a stallion." Another reviewer, Asher Syed, commented, "Overall, this will be a boon for readers who are already fans of the series, and a brilliant introduction to fans-in-waiting."
Blackwood's previous works include the 5-star rated romantic fiction novel Willow's Walk and Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary, which has been compared to Erich Segal's Love Story and Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook. Information on all of Blackwood's work is available at her website, and her books can be downloaded at Amazon sites worldwide.
