Alyssa Brugman

Born in 1974, Alyssa studied marketing and worked as a tutor in business studies before becoming a full time writer. She is one of the most recent additions to the pony book scene, her first book only being written in 1998 (non pony). She has written a very popular pony series and a small number of other highly acclaimed children's books. At the moment she lives with her family and many horses and is pursuing post-graduate studies.

Her reason for writing pony books was because she felt there were few real Australian horse stories which Aussie horselovers could relate to. She takes riding and horse-care very seriously, studying both to keep her knowledge up to date, and this she tries to pass on in her books.

Alyssa is considered one of the best of the modern pony book authors and is one of the few such authors who comes highly recommended by the older readership group!

Shelby Series:

PONYMAD SERIES RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

1) FOR SALE OR SWAP
(RANDOM HOUSE 2004)
SUMMARY: When Shelby swaps her ugly old pony Blue for a gorgeous new horse, she thinks she has got a great deal. But when reality sets in she realises she has made a huge mistake…

2) BEGINNER'S LUCK
(RANDOM HOUSE 2005)
SUMMARY: Shelby's parents are threatening to sell her pony if she can't find somewhere to keep him. In her search for a solution to the problem she gets caught up in a local mystery.

3) HOT POTATO
(RANDOM HOUSE 2006)
SUMMARY: Despite not being allowed to have any more ponies Shelby and two of her friends buy a horse going cheap at the local auction, sure they can train her up and sell her for a profit. But training the mare and keeping her a secret from their parents is not as easy as they had hoped!

4) HIDE AND SEEK
(RANDOM HOUSE 2007)
SUMMARY: Shelby gets involved with both a search for a missing stallion and a trick riding troupe.

5) GREENER PASTURES
(RANDOM HOUSE 2008)
SUMMARY: Shelby's friends Olivia tells her she has got a horse for free, but Shelby is worried that this is just too good to be true...

Collectors Info:
All paperbacks. Not easily found in the UK, as they have not been reprinted here (despite the fact that some of the author's non-pony books have been published in the UK) They are in print in Australia but with shipping fees this makes them fairly expensive for non-Aussie readers. But  worth a look if you can find them.

Other Horse & Pony Books:

THE EQUEN QUEEN
(FORD 2008)
Not really a pony book in the strict sense of the word. This is a sci-fi/fantasy story which features horse-type characters. Part of the Quentaris series, in which the books are each written by different authors.

Collectors Info:
In print and can be bought new on Amazon. Second hand copies are harder to find in the UK.