Off The Rails - A Wilderness Survival Adventure by Susan Count
About Off The Rails
Off The Rails - A Wilderness Survival Adventure
Middle Grade Fiction Reading
age : 8 - 12 years
2nd in Series
Setting - Montana
Publisher : Hastings Creations Group
Publication date : September 1, 2026
Print length : 204 pages
Paperback ISBN-10 : 1952371236
ISBN-13 : 978-1952371233
Digital will be available too.
After planning a fun experience for a year, two Texas cousins make their first trip to Montana. When their train stalls, the boys leap from it into the white wilderness, beginning a perilous run for their lives.
As a blizzard hits, the boys spend a miserable night trying not to freeze. They struggle along the tracks to find shelter, but a disaster leaves them exposed to the elements and every famished wild creature.
Frustrated by their too-real situation, Davy and Anderson struggle to endure. Instead of vacationers at a wolf sanctuary, they become players in an unplanned survival experience.
Just because your cousin jumps from a train in the wilderness doesn't mean you should too.
About Susan Count
Susan Count is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Texas Association of Authors. She takes studying the craft of writing seriously. Revision is her super-power.
Ms. Count has published Texas Boys Adventures, Dream Horse Adventures, and Dream Pony Riders. All series are for young readers ages 8 – 14.
Susan is a life-long equestrian and owned by a Rocky Mountain Horse that is kind-hearted enough to take her on long, forested trail rides. She says the only thing more fun than riding might be writing adventure stories for children.
Answer to why did I write Off The Rails
Ten of my novels are horse books for girls. But on the rare occasions that I do an event book table, I’m inevitable asked if I’ve written any books for boys. So, I wrote this two book series (Texas Boys Adventures) because you asked and kept asking. You and my four grandsons. Finding wholesome books that will engage 8- to 12-year-old boys is a parental challenge.
I’m so old school. Let the kids keep their childhood for as long as possible. I believe in protecting their young hearts and minds. Give them adventures where they learn to build friendships and be the hero of their own stories. Capture their interest and then encourage and strengthen them to grow into the arrows they are destined to be.
Interview:
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I didn’t make a conscious decision to write a novel, it just happened. After my parents passed away, I had a stretch of time where I was a bit lost. It was quiet and hot outside, so I sat and admired the pastures with the horses grazing. Though I’d never written a novel and would have told you I was incapable of doing so, a story formed in my mind. Each day thereafter, I wrote an unbelievably rough draft; no chapters, no breaks, horrible punctuation—just dump. But I loved it and couldn’t wait to add to the story each day. As it turned out Selah’s Sweet Dream was a terrific story, and I spent the next two years rewriting and editing it.
2. How long does it take you to write a book? With a strong concept, it takes me only three to four months to cough out a terrible, rough, first draft. It will take another eighteen months to write the second draft and work it though a critique group. That process is followed by two rounds of professional editing before it can go to a formatter. In the meantime, I work with an artist to create the cover. Whew… Almost always over two years.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Completely free form. I write when I want to and because I’m an Independent Author I never have to force the story to meet anyone else’s deadlines or expectations.
4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? Maybe that I turn my writing space into a sticky-note quilt. I put the plot points on one color and stick them to a large, glass sliding door. They are placed in the shape of the W as it helps me following the rising and falling action beats. On another color of sticky-note, I keep track of the emotion driving the main character and the story. On a poster board, I keep track of the word count for each chapter and make sure I’m not straying from the main conflict. Also on the poster board are my notes on timeline, settings, character descriptions, and the last line of each chapter.
5. How do your books get published? I’m an Independent Author so all the publishing tasks are on me. I hire specialists as I need them; like a cover artist, an editor, and a formatter. I upload them myself to Ingram Publishing which does distribution to bookstores and libraries. I also upload the work to the largest on-line bookstore – Amazon.
6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? My story concept is developed by determining what the main character wants more than anything and what keeps him from getting it. As I compose, I’m constantly thinking though what would make the characters’ situation worse and I love getting them in tight jams.
7. When did you write your first book and how old were you? I wrote my very first novel, Selah’s Sweet Dream, in 2013 and I was 62 years old.
8 What do you like to do when you're not writing? Until three years ago, if I wasn’t writing I was horseback riding on the local forest trails. Tragically, my riding horse died and he remains unreplaceable. I focus on spending quality time with my grandchildren and traveling with my husband.
9. What does your family think of your writing? In many ways, it’s a team effort. My daughter helps me with many technical things. My grands all read and offer feedback on my writing. My eldest grandson is my AI content editor – he makes sure no AI has inadvertently crept into the art used in my books or in the cover. My son is my go-to AI expert and guides me toward platforms I can use to create support marketing materials. My husband supports me in every way and helps with every aspect of having an event book table, sometimes traveling with me from Houston to Lexington for Breyerfest.
10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? I learned the most about myself. I learned that I had a barn full of fun stories and that I loved writing them. Then, I learned I am more than capable of wearing the many hats required to write and publish books.
11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? I’ve written 10 horse novels and 2 adventure/survival novels. Also one how to write guidebook that will be released in September. I’m excited about and currently working on a series of short stories that will also be coloring books. While all my books are dear to me, my favorite book is always the one I’m working on.
12. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they? I have a workbook/guidebook geared toward teens that will be released in September. Its title is Write the Next Great Horse/Pony/Animal Story.
13. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? I adore middle-graders. They still have such tender hearts, and it means a lot to me when they write to tell me what the stories mean to them. Here’s one I just got from an 8-year-old in her own handwriting–isn’t she precious?
Dear Susan Count,
Your books are s000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 good. I wish I could buy 100 more copies! I just want to let you know how good your books are! I think Abby's pony and Mary's song! are the best of the best. I encourage you to keep writing
Love Arabella the young rider with a string of emojis.
14. Do you like to create books for adults? Middle-grade is my natural groove. I belong to the local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers and stepped WAY out of my comfort zone recently to write a chapter in a cozy mystery anthology. I can’t wait to read the chapter that comes after mine to see what the writer does with the nuggets I slipped into it.
15. What do you think makes a good story? Making the situation as bad or as impossible as I can for the characters and having them find their way through the mess I created for them. Conflict is key. Without it, the writing is boring.
16. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? I grew up in an Army family dubbed an Army Brat. I was doing good to just do each day as it came and no one was more surprised than me when I turned 18, my father was deployed to Vietnam, and my mother moved to Hawaii leaving me in Kansas. I had no vision but I knew I needed to keep going to school so I started college with a business major. Clueless.
17. What Would you like my readers to know? I would like for the parents of my readers to know that I make every effort to write wholesome, realistic stories their kids will love. I believe in protecting the hearts and minds of young people. I strive to show them healthy, loving relationships and show kids overcoming their problems.
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