Lurlene McDaniel

Popular and prolific Canadian/American author. Born in Canada in the 1940s but has lived in America for many years. Her books are mainly aimed at the young adult market and many are about teenagers coping with challenging or even tragic situations. (Apparently American librarians have dubbed her the 'crying and dying' author!)

Lurlene began writing after her young son was diagnosed with diabetes. She found that writing about the effect of a family coping with a chronic illness or other similar life-changing situation was therapeutic. She has written just three pony stories as far as I know. I am not sure what, if any, connection she has to horses however.

As well as writing novels Lurlene McDaniel also writes radio and TV scripts, a magazine column and is a frequent speaker at schools and writing conferences.

The author has her own site on the Random House website and her personal website is currently in construction. She is also on Facebook and Myspace.

Sources: www.randomhouse.com

Horse & Pony Books:

A HORSE FOR MANDY
(SCHOOL BOOK FAIRS [USA] 1980)
Paperback original
Reprinted in paperback by Willowisp and Darby Creek
Still in print.
EDITIONS PICTURED: Willowisp, paperback, Darby Creek paperback.
SUMMARY: After falling in love with horses during a summer camp Mandy returns home to find herself bored with her old friends and yearning for a horse of her own. After a fruitless search for her perfect horse in which her exacting standards mean almost every animal falls short, she eventually finds her dream mount. Initially the horse's owner Ted is annoyed by Mandy's rather snobby attitude to horses, but eventually the pair become close friends and Mandy even names her horse Teddy after him. As Mandy grows up and loses her attitude problem she suddenly finds she has to deal with tragedy when she finds out a secret Ted has been keeping from her.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

THE PONY THAT NOBODY WANTED
(WILLOWISP PRESS [USA] 1982)
Paperback original
SUMMARY: The wild ponies are rounded up and sold at auction each year. But what happens to the pony nobody wants to buy?

WHERE'S THE HORSE FOR ME?
(WILLOWISP PRESS [USA] 1984)
Paperback original.
SUMMARY: Cindy didn't want to go to Colorado. But since her dad was on his honeymoon, this was the only place to go. Beth, her new stepsister, was with her, too. She was a sister that Cindy didn't want. When the two girls spend the summer together, they find out a lot about each other. They find out that sisters can be very special.

Collector's Info:
The books were all paperback first editions. As far as I know there were no hardback editions of any of them. The easiest of these to find is A Horse for Mandy which was reprinted a number of times. It is still in print and can be bought new in both the USA and the UK, including an e-book edition. The others, if not common titles, are reasonably easy to find in America. Can be quite hard to track down outside of the States however. Usually fairly low cost.