Celia Ryker
Award Winning Author and Speaker
Writes about ordinary characters in extraordinary circumstances
MY NEW BOOK IS HERE!
Big Guy: A School Horse Story
Big Guy is a big horse dealing with big changes. His looks and talent have helped him win blue ribbons at the biggest horse shows in the country. But when age and injury keep him from winning top prizes his people retire him to a position as a school horse, giving riding lessons to children.
As a school horse, Big Guy meets Shorty, Kaiser, Slippy, Bucky and other horses who teach him about running in wide open fields and being part of a herd. Uplifting and sometimes funny, Big Guy is a sweet story told from the horse’s point of view that reads like a night under the stars, or an afternoon racing to a hay field.
Reviewed!
“Engaging, endearing, and downright charming…There’s something so timeless and special about this story of horses as told through the eyes of horses. It’s an ideal read for horse lovers of all ages.”
- Shawn T. Anderson, writer, author and former president of the League of Vermont Writers
Augusta: A Novel
"A historically evocative period drama that’s poignant and disquieting.” —Kirkus Reviews
From the author of Walking Home: Trail Stories, a gold and silver winner in the 2022 Human Relations Indie Book Award, Celia Ryker’s fiction debut is based on the true story of her grandmother, a woman who endured abuse and poverty at the turn of the twentieth century.
The historical novel begins in 1906 on a rural farm in Arkansas, where Augusta was raised on a hard-knock farm and married off to the widowed father of one of her classmates at the age of thirteen. They flee the failed cotton crops for factory work in Detroit, and Augusta must navigate city life alone as a new mother. Abandoned by her second husband, Augusta works as a waitress, but with four children to provide for, she is forced into a decision that will haunt her forever.
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Walking Home: Trail Stories
Trail Stories is about more than mud, sweat, and blisters while thru-hiking the Long Trail. Reminiscent of Cheryl Strayed's Wild, Ryker's mind wanders as her legs carry her forward, beyond a woodland path, to places and people she thought she had forgotten. Her grandmother's spirit appears on Mount Baker. A lost cousin waits for her at the bottom of every ladder. Her late father's words reverberate among the calls of barred owls. There were days when she didn't see another hiker, but she was never alone. Celia began writing about a difficult hike and ended up writing about the people who inspired her throughout her life. These are her "trail stories."
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I’m creating blogs in order to share news about things happening with myself and my books. I fear that I may be talking to myself. If there are people out there who are interested in my stories please let me know.
Book Club Specials
If your book club is interested in one of my books, I have some great offers for you.
The holidays may be over but I wanted to share with you a nostalgic moment in an essay that reflects a recurring holiday memory.
I hope you enjoy my stumble down memory lane..