Born That Way (18 page)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe a debt of gratitude to many in the creation of this book.

First and foremost, I am thankful to my family and friends for their support and inspiration.

To Hiro Boga at Oolichan Books for, well, everything!

To Isobel Springett for her amazing photography skills.

To Janet, for the barnacles, and Tricia Forrester-Hunter, for her love of dance.

To Richard Ketchen for all that free help with the technical stuff.

Mark Hobby, farrier and tireless source of interesting equine information. Any errors are mine, not his.

My twin, who I have never met, Anna Elvidge, for reading the first draft and responding with such enthusiasm.

Brian Brett for reading an early draft and sending me in the right direction.

Miss Haut and her English classes at G.P. Vanier Secondary School, for listening, laughing at the right bits, and then advising so astutely on the cover.

Dr. Bill Otto, for reviewing medical issues in an early draft. Any errors are mine.

To Kristina and her pals, and Kaela and Alex. Thanks for being girls, and for visiting and letting me see what it's like to be young nowadays.

To two gifted teachers who helped along the way, Jack Hodgins and Matt Hughes.

To my riding pals, who help to keep me in the game, especially Bonnie, Pauline, Natasha and Gina. And my friend Seiko who keeps me on track.

To the horses who have passed through my life: Cloudy, Squirt, Stash, Lucy, Major, Shadow, Cowboy, Blazer and Lollipop.

To Mike, for listening, then listening again . . . and for pretending I wasn't home.

Wonderful. Reads like a cross between Adrian Mole and
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
.

—Dr. David Davies,

Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

I knew Susan rode her horse with intelligence, heart and humour, so I'm not surprised to find that she writes the same way.

—Gina Allan-Belasik, Equine Canada Coach

A smart, modern, witty novel. Curious adolescent equestrian navigates toward her passion. A must family read!”

—John Marton, Ph.D. Psychologist,

and Seiko Marton, Social Worker

Susan Ketchen
holds an M.Sc. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She lives on a small Vancouver Island hobby farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens.

Susan is a member of the B.C. Horse Council, the Comox Valley Dressage Club, the Comox Valley Writer's Society and a psychiatry journal club.

She is a monitor with the Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program, giving her an official excuse to spend many hours staring out the window . . . at the eagles perching and nesting at the edge of the property.

She is interested in animal training and teaches her horses to recognize a remarkable number of words, play the piano with their noses, and identify flash cards. She has given up trying to master dressage but still enjoys her riding lessons.

She is inspired by her surroundings, by the animals domesticated and wild, and by the many interesting people in her life. Her favourite places to come up with new ideas are the barn, the pasture, and the shower. She has never received creative inspiration while vacuuming.

Author photo: Terrance Berscheid