Grace Burrowes's Blog

May is mental health awareness month, and as it happens, horses can contribute to our mental health. Equine assisted therapy is a thing, and Horses for Mental Health is a fundraising campaign to support organizations that provide this service. If you have some spare change, my friends at Great and Small therapeutic riding could sure put it to good use. In the alternative, click here to find a program in your neck of the woods that would appreciate some support! (Tell ’em Atlas sent you!)

May is ...

I was at the horse barn this week, taking a mighty steed to his stall after a lesson, and one of the other volunteers mentioned that she was looking for a paying horse barn job. She is mid-twenties, and new to the equine scene, but a quick and enthusiastic learner who has a natural aptitude for working with horses. She was convinced that lack of experience was going to doom her ambitions.

“Don’t sell yourself short. Experience can be a real liability. For some people, experience can result in cl...

On the blog this week, we’re examining some toxic aphorisms and watching me shoot around the room with flames coming out my nose. Add your perspective here. (Fire extinguisher optional.)

Pre-order links for The Mysterious Marquess audio edition are starting to populate in advance of a May 19 release. Spotify is up, and you can watch this space for Apple and Audible.

If you want to see me shoot around the room backward with flames pouring out of my nose, just tell me, “We are each responsible for our own happiness.” I’m not sure why I get all riled up at this phrase, but I suspect it has something to do with representing myriad foster children who went from lousy homes to lousy foster homes (maltreatment in foster homes is estimated conservatively at 25% of placements), while being told they should be grateful to have any roof over their heads.

Or it has to ...

On the blog this week, we are ruminating on trust, and how we choose whom to trust, and who gets a permanent side-eye. Add your comments here.

Our next Bad Heir, An Heir of Possibilities, is available for pre-order from the usual retailers and the web store. This will be an August release, and print will probably be available a few weeks before the ebook comes out.

Friendly mid-month reminder: For all of April, the web store editions of The Dreadful Duke and A Gentleman Fallen on Hard Times are ...

Photo Credit: Ridin’ Buddy extraordinaire, Alison Duvall

There sure are a lot of people making money off the non-profit sector!

This revelation has dawned as I’ve begun researching how I can raise money for my therapeutic riding barn. As sure as tech loves algorithms, if I’m nosing around the topic, “Grant funding for…” then I am besieged by a bazillion newsletters, workshops, webinars, and free!!! downloads, all purporting to make fundraising so much easier.

I was particularly intrigued by one ...

On the blog this week, we’re considering pillowcases, pansies, and other ways to stay sane and kind when the world runs amok. Add your wisdom here.

Audio fans, rejoice! The Dreadful Duke, first of The Bad Heir Day Tales, is now available on several major platforms in audio, and The Mysterious Marquess will follow suit on or around May 19. Please note that this means our Bad Heirs will also be available from Libby and Hoopla, if you prefer to get your audio editions through your public library.

O...

Mom and I in Ireland ca 1981.

My mother was an aggressively competent housekeeper and cook. She mitered the corners of our bed sheets, ironed our pillowcases (in a precise sequence of folds so the pillowcase only had to be turned over once), and had dinner on the table every night at 6 pm, for a household that for years included at least nine people.

I thought she was a little nuts. Ironing pillow cases? If you make your bed without a lot of frills nobody sees that pillowcase, and if it stays on...

Circle Tuesday, April 7, on your calendars, because that’s the date when The Dreadful Duke audio edition becomes available from Audible, Spotify, and Apple Books. The Mysterious Marquess is slated for audio release next month, to be followed by The Elusive Earl and The Besotted Baron. Wheee!

On the blog this week, we’re considering the compassion available to us through hindsight, as inspired by a kitten who is keeping me up at night. Join the discussion here.

Another month, another price-match!...

For the past couple weeks I have been bottle feeding a kitten. I came home one night, saw that the corner of the porch where the mama had made her nest was empty. I figured mama cat had moved the nest, as mama cats will do. Well… nope. I walked into the house, and there was this one little gray scrap of feline yelling her fuzzy head off about knowing her rights and this is an outrage and bring me a flagon of ale, wench!

The particular mama cat making free with the porch was feral. Had never been...