Ianto
Annie O’Haegan
Author Bio
Annie O’Haegan was born into a military family and grew up on Army bases around the world. The extraordinary freedom she was allowed in exploring her always changing environment gave her the strong sense of independence and adventure she brings to her writing. Her particular interest is crafting characters who must delve into their deepest selves to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
She is an avid outdoors and animal enthusiast, and volunteers at a wildlife refuge where she helps care for orphaned and injured owls. She currently lives with her husband and rescue Labrador Retrievers in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Annie is also the author of McCloonan’s Boys, The Accidental Rescue, and the Unmoored Society Saga.
Description
When a disaster leaves 14-year-old Tan Trudeau alone and stranded in the Ontario wilderness, she must rely on her father’s outdoors survival training and her own instincts to stay alive. Her struggles lead her to a starved and injured coyote that becomes dependent on her for his own survival. As the coyote’s dependence slowly transforms into trust, a relationship develops that may save them both.
Ianto is an unforgettable story of courage, survival, and trust – of two born enemies who must learn to share their world in order to stay alive.
Book excerpt
I was cold, so cold, and there was a weight on my chest that made it hard to breathe. My head felt squeezed and every heartbeat throbbed pain through it. It hurt to open my eyes but when I did, all I could see was my hair. It took me a minute to figure out that although I was sitting up, I was hanging forward and way to the left.
The heavy pressure on my chest was killing me and I was desperate to get the weight off. I twisted sideways and yowled as a sharp pain took hold of my neck. I saw Sully’s body, strapped into the pilot seat beside me, and hanging half upside down and leaning to the left just as I was. His head and arms hung out of what used to be Danny Boy’s pilot window.
The crash came back to me in a flash: Sully getting sick and trying to land us in a rushing river, then his dead eyes staring at me just before we hit water. I vomited, choking with the extra weight on my chest, and then started grabbing and tugging at the seat belt that held me up but squeezed me so tightly. I felt the clasp digging into my side and finally found the release lever. My body fell sideway into Sully’s, but I was so crazy to get out of the plane that I ignored that grim contact. I just wanted to know where Danny Boy was stuck so I could get myself out.
The ruined Danny Boy was wedged nearly sideways between two trees, only a few feet off the ground. There was nothing for me to hold onto to pull myself through the window, and my legs wobbled so much that I barely had the strength to push my feet against Sully’s body and squeeze myself through the shattered opening. I used my last bit of energy to tuck my head and roll onto the ground.
I lay wide-eyed in the pine needles and leaves with Sully’s dead face hanging right above me. Further back, I could see the top part of Robert’s body hanging out of what used to be a passenger window. A big gash gaped open on his head and blackish blood was pooled on the ground underneath him. His eyes, like Sully’s, were wide open and waxy looking. He was dead, too.
Author Website