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.