Contact: Abigail Davidson, Publicity Assistant, WinePress Publishing Group, 360-802-9758, abigail@winepressgroup.com

ENUMCLAW, Wash., Dec. 4 /Standard Newswire/ -- For 16-year-old MacKenzie Davis, getting a driver's license seems scary. Mushing her team of sled dogs 25 miles into the wilderness, on the other hand, doesn't frighten her a bit.

"In her mind, the vagaries of the Alaska wilderness are more predictable than its roads." This is according to a February 22, 2008 interview with MacKenzie and her family for the Anchorage Daily News.* At the time MacKenzie was preparing to be one of 21 mushers in the Junior Iditarod race. The race required 14 to 17-year-olds to drive their team 60 miles along the Iditarod Trail and Yentna River, spend the night at a roadhouse, then do the return trip the next day. The winner received a $5,000 scholarship. In areas like Anchorage junior mushers are not uncommon. While most are children of professional mushers, some, like MacKenzie and her family, simply discovered a love for sled dogs and a desire to have their own team.

Lori Layne, a musher and new author, follows the adventure of a young musher in her new book, "If I Only Had an Angel". Written as a poem with pictures, a girl imagines how much easier and better her sled race would be if she had an angel to keep her from stumbling, keep her sled steady, and help her go faster. "As she journeys through snow country, she faces trials that help her learn about the Lord and realize that she doesn't need faster dogs or a newer sled, but rather, a strong relationship with God," the author explains.

While Layne is new to writing children's books she is no stranger to the challenges and excitement of mushing. A resident of Sand Lake, Michigan, Layne often takes breaks from her career as Postmaster to speak to local groups about mushing, sled dogs, and how her faith ties in.

Her racing life began when her husband bought her a Husky for Christmas in 1996. It is a sport that gives her such pleasure that she was dubbed the smiling musher at the Can-am race in Maine. "I just couldn't quit smiling."

She lives with her husband Tim, and many dogs; they have six children and eleven grandchildren!

To order visit www.winepressgroup.com or call 1-877-421-7323. For a review copy or to schedule an interview please contact Abigail Davidson at 360-802-9758 or abigail@winepressgroup.com.

*Found on www.adn.com