In Racing from Death by Sasscer Hill, a young jockey finds herself racing to unmask a sociopath who is manufacturing diet cocktails that are killing jockeys struggling to maintain their weight.
Hill wrote the book to illustrate her belief that people get back what they give. “My twenty-three-year-old heroine, jockey Nikki Latrelle, struggles to protect the helpless, innocent, or damaged victims that cross her path.”
The antagonists in her book, according to Hill, are “seriously evil people” and she pits her jockey against them during a fictional race meet at Colonial Downs race track near Richmond, Virginia. She added, “In real life I’ve seen people distribute evil, greed, and destruction. In Racing from Death, I was delighted for the chance to give the bad guys back what they gave!”
Hill is herself a race horse breeder and therefore familiar with the world she’s writing about. She said, “Horse racing is my inspiration—the risk, the beauty, the speed, the endless opportunities for skullduggery…The sport provides a microcosm for life. In one place, at one time, there is greed, crime, treachery, cruelty, love, heroism, bravery, determination, and underdogs who reach deep into their hearts to get the win.”
Horses have been a part of Hill’s life since she was a child. She said, “I started galloping about the family farm on a stick horse when I was four years old. By the time I was seven or eight, I was sneaking rides on the Belgian plow horses.”
She recalls trying to ride although her father didn’t like horses. She said, “I drummed my heels on the sides of a 2,000 pound draft mare while grasping whatever string or rope I managed to tie to her halter.”
Besides owning and racing horses, Hill is also passionate about her writing. She described how racing prepared her to be an author. “The rare heights of winning, the crashing lows of losing, the thrill of riding a race—it doesn’t get more intense. I believe this passion transfers itself to the written page.”
She added, “I believe my job is to entertain with stories about chasing a dream, fighting the odds, and helping the helpless. I want to create a world that’s a bit scary, sometimes funny, always informative, and a reliable destination for great reading.”
Learn more about Sasscer Hill on her website at http://sasscerhill.blogspot.com.
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