Tudor Robins's Blog, page 21

Setting

If you have ever (like I have, multiple times) given a writing workshop, you’ve probably talked about setting. If you’ve ever taken a writing workshop, you’ve probably discussed setting.

Setting in writing is huge and I agree with the people who say setting can sometimes become another character. I think the island setting in Appaloosa Summer is like a character, and many of my readers seem to agree.

However, the “setting” I’m talking about in this post, is MY setting. Where I live, and raise my family, and – yes – write. I’m someone who is hugely sensitive to my surroundings, and if they’re wrong, I find it very hard to feel like other things are right. This starts on a micro level - for the most part if my family is safe, and around me, I feel pretty good. I’m not a big traveler, but when we’re (for example) in Wales, if I know my kids are snug asleep down the hall from me, and the four of us are together, and fine, that’s a great start.

But more than that - because if we’re talking about a prolonged period of time, comfort is a major contributor to my happiness. I love our little, old, crooked, funny house. I need access to the outdoors. Ottawa suits me because we are only ever steps from the river. Wolfe Island is a fantastic escape. Kingston is a city I love because it’s small, and manageable and, again, just steps from the water. Western Quebec has always drawn me.

I used to think a happy person would be happy no matter where they were. On that principle, I moved to Toronto after my first degree. I thought “if I’m happy, I’ll be happy in Toronto.” I tried – I ran in the ravines whenever I could, and I kept up my mountain biking, and riding, but I WAS NOT happy. It was too much for me. I had a couple of experiences that were probably close to panic or anxiety attacks, and I thought it was me, but when I left Toronto, they never came again. I moved from Toronto to Halifax, and Halifax was much better. I’m definitely a small-to-medium-sized place kind of person, and that place needs to have a fairly laid-back pace of life, and access to nature.

This is how I live best, this is how I function best (and am best able to support others around me) and this is how I write best.

I know this about me, and so I try to give it to myself, and I’m so lucky to have a family that feels pretty much the same way, and access to great nature on our urban doorstep here in Ottawa. Here, for example, is what we walked through today, just a few minutes from our front door:

The light is amazing this time of year.

It’s hard to believe these views are from right in the heart of Ottawa – inside the Greenbelt.

In case you’re from Ottawa, and you’re wondering – yes – this is Mud Lake.

There’s nothing quite like feeling chickadee feet wrapped around your finger. It’s like they suck all the stress out of you … (sorry for the blur – it’s hard to take a good picture while not scaring the birds!)

And the geese are never shy … (note the apartment buildings in the background – we really are in the CITY, but it’s hard to remember that).

This is one of the settings I need to visit regularly to keep me balanced. What setting do you need? Have you thought about it? Are you able to be in the setting you like the most?

I’d love to know!

The other thing the CBC’s in denial about …

If you’re one of my Canadian readers, I bet you wonder if I’m going to write about this story.

Well, I’m not. Enough people are writing about this story (finally, some might say). Nobody really needs my two-cents worth (other than what I already mentioned in my last post).

However, I am going to reference Q in talking about something else I think the CBC is in denial about. So first, let’s have a look at how Q brands itself:

Q is an energetic daily arts, culture and entertainment magazine that takes you on a smart and surprising ride, interviewing personalities and tackling the cultural issues that matter.

Q covers pop culture and high arts alike with forays into the most provocative and compelling cultural trends.

From music icons like Van Morrison and Neil Young; smart conversations with everyone from Al Gore to Barbara Walters; CNN operas; to the branding of politicians… Q brings you big names, big ideas, and those paving the way on the cultural landscape.

Q is your cultural intervention.

But it’s not just Q, the “arts” are also covered on The Next Chapter – which is supposed to cover books, specifically, and Writers and Company, which, from the title, seems self-explanatory and, also, CBC has a whole portal called CBC Books, but you would never – and I mean not ever, if you were an alien coming to earth for the first time, and listening only to CBC, know there is such a thing as self-publishing.

Not only that, you would also have the overwhelming impression that all writers are happy creatures, leading quiet lives, making a living, honoured by their national broadcaster.

You would never have the faintest whiff that there is trouble in “paradise” – you would never know that most writers have day jobs, you would never know their publishers pay them a pittance, and you would never know many of them write for a publisher that has exposed them to a very public battle with the world’s biggest bookseller.

You would also never know that these writers are anything other than clever, creative, and reasonable. And, you know what? Sometimes they are. CBC prides itself on asking tough questions of politicians and business leaders, but writers just get lobbed softball questions about creativity and writing habits.

This is not journalism. This is not cutting edge. This is not representing the world that really exists for a huge proportion of authors. Most importantly, this is not being honest with readers / listeners about how many writers make their living today. When I give presentations about my publishing path, people are fascinated. They have no idea this other world exists. The last school I went to, a student stayed behind and said “all writers visit us and tell us the same things – nobody has ever talked to us about self-publishing. It is SO interesting.”

Shouldn’t our arts-focused, culturally supportive national broadcaster at least be hinting at this truth?

This is where Q (IMHO) is particularly guilty. Remember up above, when we learned that Q: “… covers pop culture and high arts alike with forays into the most provocative and compelling cultural trends.” Remember that? Uh, no. Or, at least, you’re missing out on this one big-time.

Hugh Howey was in Toronto in June – Hugh Howey! – not just a hugely successful self-publisher (so successful he really is mainstream now) but he’s also fascinating, and the face of self-publishing, and hugely articulate and has sway with Amazon (or at least it seems Amazon considers him enough to grant him certain exemptions and privileges – which is great – he’s earned those!).

So, was this compelling guy at the forefront of a cultural trend interviewed on Q? Nope. In fact here’s what was on Q that week. I don’t mean to be rude, or dismissive – I’m sure all these artists work hard, and I’m sure they’re interesting, but, you know, let’s just say, I think there was room for Hugh that week.

Why have I decided to write this now? Well, this week on Q, guest host (because that’s what we’re going to be having for a while, folks) Piya Chattopadhyay had a little chat with Margo Howard. Ms. Howard has brought out a new book, and Q gave her twenty minutes of massive, national / international promotion for that book with a pleasant, easy interview about being an advice columnist.

I knew nothing at all about Ms. Howard until very recently, when she made news for complaining about harsh reviews of her book (the one promoted by Q) in a story titled “Amazon’s Elite Reviewing Club Sabotaged my Book” (I was going to describe this title as “whiny,” but I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you think it is). Ms. Howard was likely surprised by the considerable backlash her story generated wherein many people suggested that, rather than “sabotaging” her book, many reviewers simply didn’t enjoy it.

This is hugely topical at the moment, in light of other recent attacks on / complaints about reviewers by other authors (#NoHale) and one might expect, instead of a complete free promotional ride paid for by Canadian tax dollars, Ms. Howard might have been asked one or two small questions about the role of reviewers in promoting books, how authors should react, and whether – as an advice columnist – she has learned anything from her recent publicity on the subject.

But no. Nothing about that.

And, you know, I don’t think it’s that CBC didn’t want to confront it, it’s that I think THEY HAD NO IDEA.

Which is sad. Which makes me think maybe one of the silver linings that could come out of this whole current shake-up with Q, and its future, would be to make it actually cutting edge. To have it actually cover what’s going on in the arts NOW. Maybe there’s a new host out there who is truly willing to talk about the way the arts world works today, and not the way it’s worked in CBCland for the past several decades.

Freedom

I feel like this is the theme of the week – the month – our current times. Freedom of association, of speech, of thought.

And I’m going to say, right up front, I have no answers. I don’t believe there is AN answer. Freedom is a concept of give and take. It’s like there’s a line, and we wobble on and off it. As long as we keep following the line maybe we’re OK (maybe?), but if those wobbles make us veer and take us in a different direction, maybe we’re not OK – or maybe we’re not US anymore. Maybe the Canadian line is different from the Chinese line, or even from the U.S. line, and we need to be true to our line.

The incidents making me feel this way are:

1) Last week’s shooting on Parliament Hill. One man who was just performing his responsibilities; doing his best, and contributing to our society was killed, and that is a tragedy that can’t be overlooked. But his death has led to much wider questions about freedom. What will the impact be on our physical freedoms to visit our institutions and memorials in our country? And what about the very big freedom ramifications that ripple out from this. The freedom of Muslims to worship and believe in peace? The freedom to hold unpopular / unconventional views? The freedom of people to protest those views? Wobbly lines indeed.

2) In the publishing community there’s been the #NoHale debate which, if you’re not familiar with it, is summarized here. Essentially, an author (named Hale) got a review she didn’t like. She chose to interpret that review, and some follow-up comments by the reviewer as personal attacks. She, then, mounted a personal attack on that reviewer – far outstripping anything done by the original reviewer (the author drove to the reviewer’s house). The result has been a flurry of discussion about the rights of reviewers to give any kind of review they want, the rights authors have when responding to those reviews, and, in general, the freedom to say and do what you want, and where that freedom crosses the line into creepiness / stalking / illegality. And the #NoHale hashtage is another expression of freedom – the freedom of reviewers / book bloggers not to give any press or support to Hale’s work.

3) Jian Ghomeshi. If you’re in Canada, that’s really all I have to write. If you’re elsewhere, this is a very big “he said / she (they) said” story. So far. I have to emphasize this is VERY early in the story and so far very little of what’s out is fact. This will, no doubt change. The point of this story, for the purposes of this post, is that it’s mostly being played out in the media / social media. There is no police involvement at the time I’m writing this. Because of this, it’s all about freedom. In Mr. Ghomeshi’s case, the freedom to live a certain private lifestyle. In the case of those who accuse him of impropriety, the argument is that his freedom infringed on their safety / well-being – essentially taking away some of their freedom. And, on both sides, there’s freedom of expression. Being allowed to state your case. Having a platform. Jian Ghomeshi, in one way, has had his platform (his radio show, Q) taken away, but still has an immense following. The women have much less of a platform and, indeed, argue that they didn’t come forward earlier due to fears of backlash from Mr. Ghomeshi’s loyal (and outspoken) fans.

Part of me hates the jumping to conclusions, and thousands and thousands of comments – often rash, and sometimes uninformed – that pop up the minute stories like these come to light. But then part of me wonders if that’s part of the process – at first the reactions are very far on one side, or the other, of our “freedom line” but eventually a kind of equilibrium comes out, and a middle ground develops. Sometimes this happens. Sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s a problem. It’s also problematic that, even when it does, people get really, seriously, hurt in the process.

Like I said, no answers here. Just lots of thoughts and also a constant evaluation / re-evaluation of what I say, and write, and do. Me determining my own personal balance between mine and society’s freedoms as they relate to what I put out in the world.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this (just realized I wrote “Feel ‘free‘”)

My Other Backyard – AKA Parliament Hill

I was born in Ottawa, at the Grace Hospital, which no longer exists, but was down the road from the Civic Hospital, which is where my kids were born, and which is also where the victims of today’s shooting were taken.

The Civic is a large and rambling hospital. Parts of it are sinfully ugly, and parts of it retain a dignified beauty. It’s across the road from the Experimental Farm, which is where the hospital helipad is located, and during my extremely long labour with my first son, my husband passed the time by watching helicopters land and take off (land and take off) from that helipad.

So, the Civic is part of my backyard, but Parliament Hill is really much more so.

When you’re a kid in Ottawa your parents take you to The Hill on Canada Day. You get your face painted. You eat at the chip wagons that line Wellington. You watch the Hare Krishnas dance on Sparks Street. Parliament Hill is your playground.

When you’re a teenager in Ottawa, you take the bus downtown with your friends for Canada Day, and for New Year’s. Somebody might have something in a flask and some of you may drink some of it. The press of bodies is exciting. The fireworks are mesmerizing – especially if you’ve had something from the flask. Parliament Hill is your outdoor nightclub.

When you’re a university student / recent graduate in Ottawa, if you’re lucky, you may work on Parliament Hill. I did. I rode my bike to work every morning along the Ottawa River. Every day I found a place by the tourist centre to lock it up. I walked in every morning wearing a bike helmet and lycra shorts. I changed in a tiny bathroom with fixtures from the 1960s. I worked on a computer powered by a space bar also precariously loaded with plugs for the kettle, microwave, fan, and more. There was a smell to the place. Old wood, old paper, old carpets. It was quiet and peaceful.

When you’re a parent in Ottawa you will take your children to Parliament Hill. Every time you go something will swell in your soul. The beauty; it’s always surprising. The location; it will remind you this town was built on the river. Logging made us who we are. Your children will frolic on the lawn and you will think “we live in a city – in a country – where children can frolic on the front lawn of our Parliament.” You may think “My taxes are worth something – they are worth this – I am happy and lucky.”

Today somebody violated my backyard. Our backyard. Canada’s backyard.

My fear is huge. Not of men with guns, so much (although I don’t like them), but of no more casually strolling up to stare at the Peace Tower, of no more people with all kinds of opinions wearing signs and sandwich boards on the walk leading up to the Centre Block, of no more yoga on the lawn.

I don’t even like yoga, but seeing hundreds of people with their yoga mats at lunch on the Hill – well it does something to you.

God I hope there’s still yoga on that lawn.

We’ve lost too much today – please don’t let us lose that.

Here’s what yoga on Parliament Hill looks like.

To see one of my favourite posts I ever wrote, which just happens to be about Parliament Hill, click here.

This is just awesome …

I was going to start this post with “a long time ago,” but it wasn’t a long time ago – it was last March, as in still 2014. It just seems like a long time because of everything that’s happened since.

Anyway, in March 2014, I had the good fortune of partnering with the Trillium Hunter Jumper Association to run a March Break story writing contest.

This contest was what introduced me to a very talented writer and rider, Alyssa Schiller, and her extremely supportive mother Bonnie.

I haven’t yet been lucky enough to meet either Alyssa, or Bonnie, in person, but I can tell you, one hundred per cent, Bonnie is the kind of person you want on your side. In addition to being Alyssa’s number one fan, Bonnie has also become my number one fan. Bonnie’s always there with a supportive comment, or ready to buy a book (or two, or three).

And Alyssa – well, I had a chance to read another story she wrote, when I hosted the I Love Horses Writing Contest, and it confirmed to me that her first entry was no fluke. Alyssa has a way with words.

You can read Alyssa’s winning story here, and you can read all the winning stories here.

Bonnie recently let me know of some more good news about Alyssa’s story in this message she sent me:

I just wanted to say “thank you” again for your part in getting Alyssa’s story “The Return of Charlie Brown” printed in the THJA writing contest. It apparently has gained more attention than we could have imagined! Jump Canada has recently reprinted it in their September newsletter and it seems to have gained an immense response. John Taylor, the Chair of Jump Canada has contacted me and said that the response to her story in the newsletter has been amazing! Alyssa is so excited and completely floored by this and I would have to say that we owe you a huge debt of gratitude. You have greatly inspired and encouraged her and, for that, I will be forever grateful!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH and have a wonderful day.

I’m so happy for Alyssa. It just goes to show how good writing touches people.

I talk quite a bit about goals when I’m discussing writing with people. What is your goal as a writer? What do you want to achieve? Are you in it for the money? I usually tell them I hope they’re not! Do you want to win awards? Or do you want to connect with readers?

I very much want to connect with readers, and would rather have heartfelt comments from a few readers who actually sought out, and bought my books, than some sort of more formal recognition from a panel.

That’s why, by sending me this message above, Bonnie has helped to make my dream come true.

I hope to meet many more great readers as I continue to write, and I will never forget the Schillers!

Horse Lovers Blog Tour – Kim Ablon Whitney

Maggie Dana, our author from yesterday’s post, asked Kim Ablon Whitney the following question:

Your YA and middle grade books revolve around the hunter/jumper world. How do you make sure the show details are correct?

My horse books are definitely a case of “write what you know.” I grew up competing on the show circuit. I showed in the large pony hunters at all the biggest shows and at Pony Finals, which helped me write BLUE RIBBONS. Then I went on to ride in the “big eq,” competing at the Medal / Maclay / USET Finals, which helped me create the characters and the show barn in THE PERFECT DISTANCE.

I’m not currently competing, but I’m a USEF ‘R’ judge in hunter / equitation / jumpers and I judge at some of the top shows in the country. This continues to help me get the details right and I often find myself taking notes after a day of judging!

I think it’s of the utmost importance to get the details just right when you’re writing horse books. It drives me crazy when I read a book set on the show circuit and the riders are warming up for a class without their trainer, or the Maclay class doesn’t have a flat phase. Even for people who don’t know every detail of the show world, I believe it’s still important to be accurate. Readers might be hoping to reach that level at some point and they should get the correct information. I don’t think you’d ever see a football novel that got all the details wrong like how many players are on the field at a time or how plays are run.

Every once in a while I will have a very small detail that I change to fit the plot or pacing of the book. For example, in BLUE RIBBONS the pony auction takes place on a different day of the week from when it usually takes place. I changed this because it fit with the timeline of events and I decided that it was a change that didn’t affect the integrity of the details. I also usually don’t use real horse show names if they aren’t major finals (Pony Finals, Maclay Finals etc.). In BLUE RIBBONS, the girls compete at West Salem, Fairlee and a few other shows that I created. Those shows are certainly based on real shows, but I wanted the flexibility in those instances so the shows didn’t have to be exactly like the actual shows.

Staying up to date is important, too. Things on the show circuit do change over time, like brands of clothing or veterinary treatments, and I try to stay on top of those changes. I also have a group of close friends who are training and competing on the show circuit and they are kind enough to be my first readers and give me feedback. I had a friend’s daughter who rode ponies read BLUE RIBBONS and a top equitation trainer read THE PERFECT DISTANCE.

I just finished a draft of my next horse book, SUMMER CIRCUIT, and my group of show friends are reading it right now. I’m going to get their feedback and then edit it to get every last detail spot on!

Email Kim for a chance to win an eBook copy of either THE PERFECT DISTANCE or BLUE RIBBONS.

www.kimablonwhitney.com

www.facebook.com/kimablonwhitneybooks

And that’s it! Our tour is done. Thank you for following, and reading, and please remember, if you read a book you like:

Horse Lovers Blog Tour – Maggie Dana

Today Maggie Dana answers her question asked by yesterday’s spotlight author, Karen Myers:

How old were you when you learned to ride? Where did you do that?

Back in the Dark Ages, when helmets weren’t required and we all rode in whatever outfits we could cobble together, my first riding lesson scared me so much that I didn’t try again for another three years. But all it took was the right instructor at the right stable, and I was hooked on horses for life.

Maggie and Smokey

 My new riding teacher, Tom Taylor, was strict, but he understood kids. He drilled us on the flat and over jumps, relentlessly, without reins and stirrups — we knew better than to complain — and when we flubbed up, Tom climbed onto our horses and showed us how it should be done. No matter how cranky our horses had been, they were complete angels with Tom.

A humbling experience.

On top of all that, Tom’s stable was slap bang in the middle of Pinewood Studios, England’s version of Hollywood (now home of the James Bond films, Superman, and several other blockbusters) …

… complete with gigantic sound stages, odd-looking props, and movie stars wandering about in full makeup and costume. Just imagine being eight years old, riding a scruffy pony, and seeing ALL THIS AMAZING STUFF as you trotted toward the paddock where your riding lessons were held.

In addition to horses and ponies, the stable boasted a Jersey cow, two belligerent sheep, and a gigantic pig that had one litter after another. Added to this mix were numerous chickens, ducks, and turkeys that pecked at your feet if you weren’t super careful.

Us kids – the stable rats – took care of them all. To pay for our riding lessons, we also mucked stalls, groomed horses, stacked hay bales, helped beginners tack up and mount, and made sure the animals didn’t escape.

So, of course, they did.

Mother pig and her ten piglets got gloriously loose among tea roses, herbacious borders, and topiary trees at Pinewood’s most prestigious garden party.

Picture starlets with flowery hats and six-inch heels. Imagine film producers in tuxedos, sporting gold chains and Rolex watches, glad-handing gossip columnists and wealthy investors. Think about starched waiters circling with trays of chilled champagne. Then conjure up Mama Pig and her exuberant offspring zooming among designer-clad legs, upending buffet tables, and disappearing into the well-ordered shrubbery … all pursued by us delighted stable rats.

We made it last as long as we could. The final piglet wasn’t captured until well after supper.

But my best memory is of Maud, the Jersey cow, when I was put in charge of leading her from the stable and onto the set of a war film that involved rescuing a valuable cow from the German-occupied Channel Islands.

Only one problem.

The story (based on a best-selling book) called for a Guernsey cow — brown with white patches — and Maud was a Jersey (think Exmoor pony for color, as in beige). Now, this was a black-and-white film. The shade of brown wasn’t crucial, but the white patches were. So the film crew got to work with brushes and buckets of white paint while I held the cow … and it took rather a long time.

All this was heady stuff, especially for me — an awkward eleven-year-old — and I was beginning to relax when Maud ruined her moment in the spotlight by relieving herself all over the sound stage’s concrete floor.

A cow plop would’ve been bad enough, but this was urine.

Oh, horrors.

It splashed, it ran everywhere. I thought I would die of embarrassment. Everyone doubled up with laughter, even the tight-lipped director. David Niven, the movie’s star, collapsed into his canvas folding chair and insisted the scene be written into the script.

It wasn’t, thank goodness.

A few years later, when I wound up working at the studios for Richard Attenborough and Jack Hawkins, I worried that someone would bring up the Maud incident, but nobody did.

Footnote: One of the men I worked for at Pinewood back in the day was Bryan Forbes who produced and directed INTERNATIONAL VELVET in 1978, starring Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins, and Tatum O’Neal. She did all her own riding … and she’s good, really good. No stunt doubles, no fake horses. Definitely worth watching.

* * *

Maggie Dana is the author of Timber Ridge Riders, a series for young horse lovers, available in ebook and print from Amazon B&N, iTunes, Kobo, and your favorite bookstores. The first book in the series, KEEPING SECRETS, will be FREE as an ebook on Amazon from October 11 to 12. It’s also available FREE via Kindle Unlimited until the end of December.

Maggie will be signing her books at Taborton Books, at this year’s Equine Affaire in Springfield, Massachusetts, from November 13 – 16 (booth “A” in The Better Living Center, at the end of aisle 900). Her middle-grade/tween novel, TURNING ON A DIME (about horses, time travel, and the Civil War) is currently free on Amazon via Kindle Unlimited.

Join us tomorrow when Kim Ablon Whitney writes about getting the show details right in her writing, and also gives away an ecopy of one of her books.

Horse Lovers Blog Tour – Karen Myers

 

Today’s question is from me to Karen Myers. Here we go:

How did you come up with the idea of a foxhunter from the modern world leading the mythological Wild Hunt?

I recently lived for several years in Northern Virginia, and joined several foxhunts as a follower, a non-riding member. I recorded the hunting life as a photographer, and you can see the results here: http://www.KLMImages.com/virginiahuntingdiary .

In this role I was able to see much of the backstage activity of foxhunts – the kennel maintenance, the pack training, the social events that honor the landowners – as well as the wonderful fun of riding out on a glorious fall morning in pursuit of the traditional quarry, fox or (recently) coyote. Foxhunting isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life from the little kids on ponies to the professional huntsmen.  The intrepid sportsmen who are no longer able to ride go on to hunt rabbits on foot with packs of beagles or bassets over the same territory that the foxhunts use.

The Wild Hunt, on the other hand, is a mythological spectacle common to northern Europe. It’s always an object of terror, loosed once a year (or more frequently) to pursue evildoers (or innocent bystanders) and carry their souls to hell. Or perhaps the pack (the Hounds of Hell) is made up of damned souls – accounts vary. It charges through the sky (or on land) with a hair-raising furor, in the charge of Herne the Hunter, or Gabriel, or the Devil himself. Whoever it is, you don’t want to catch their attention.

So, one day my husband and I were driving along the beautiful Paris valley in Virginia, on our way to a hunting meet. I was fretting over the economy, and wondered out loud how we could ever afford to quit working. My husband cheerfully replied, “We should just retire to Elfland.  Think of the hunting and fishing! And I’m sure they must have books.”

This notion tickled my fancy, and in a few minutes the basic plot of To Carry the Horn, the first book in the series The Hounds of Annwn, was formed.  My hero, George Talbot Traherne would be a modern foxhunter, a man in his thirties, unsatisfied with his professional non-hunting life. He would find himself crossing into an otherworld hidden from our own, a parallel Elfland on the same physical territory, where the local ruler, the prince of Annwn, was the Master of Hounds for his own pack – the Hounds of Hell.  Their huntsman has just been murdered, and the Wild Hunt must take place in two weeks, on All Hallows Eve, or else ruin will come to the kingdom, and worse.

Will George find the courage, honor, and loyalty he will need to take the huntsman’s place and survive the threats that will be aimed at him and those around him? And would he be able to make a home for himself, a place to live and build a family?

It’s a lot of fun writing the books in this series, showing hunting with hounds on horseback to fantasy readers who are unfamiliar with how that’s done, and for my riding fans who have never read fantasy before, showing them just what is meant by “Elfland” and uncanny powers.

These books are available as trade paperbacks and ebooks, and are suitable for teens and older. You can find a complete list of titles and retailers here: http://perkunaspress.com/wp/fiction/the-hounds-of-annwn/ , and you can follow my writing blog here: http://hollowlands.com/.

GIVEAWAY – 10 CHANCES FOR A FREE NOVEL

If you sign up for my newsletter from either of the above sites (on the top right-hand side of any page) from October 6 through October 12, 2014, you will be entered into a drawing for a free ebook of To Carry the Horn, book 1 of The Hounds of Annwn (normally $5.99).  I’ll contact the ten winners after October 12, and you can then tell me what format (non-DRM) you would like (epub, mobi, pdf). Available worldwide.

Be sure to drop by tomorrow when Maggie Dana talks about how she got started in riding, and tells you how to get a free copy of Book One of her Popular Timber Ridge Series!

Horse Lovers Blog Tour – Tudor Robins

Today I’m answering a question from yesterday’s author, Natalie Keller Reinert (did I mention how much I enjoyed reading her book, Ambition?). Here it is:

We all have those special “ heart” horses, the ones that we connect with deeply and never forget. Have any of the horses in your past made their way into your novels?

Great question, Natalie. I would say I had a “turnaround” horse. Her name was Lass and she was a small liver chestnut Quarter Horse mare – almost as far as you can get from my dream horse who, in my mind, was 16.2hh (minimum), bay, thoroughbred, and a gelding.

Lass grabbed me, though. I wouldn’t even say she stole my heart, because I didn’t feel like I was in love with her, but I was compelled to work with her.

Anyone who’s read my first book, Objects in Mirror*, knows it’s about a rider struggling with anorexia and an important point in the story is when several horses arrive at the stable where she works. All have been neglected and are underweight, all need rehabilitation, and one in particular catches her attention.

Well, Objects isn’t an autobiography, but that part did happen. Lass arrived skinny and skittish and, for some reason, I was determined to ride her, and for months I put attention and patience into working with her. I spent whatever allowance money I had on a new halter and new brushes for her, and I did push my anorexia into abeyance while she gained weight and condition.

See how skinny I was? And those white rubber boots! Lass was definitely the looker out of the two of us.

The reason I call Lass my turnaround horse was because working with her was what took me from a girl who showed up once a week for lessons, and then rode in shows on the weekend, to a girl who begged, cajoled, and connived for drives to the barn. I made friends with other riders older than me who had their drivers licenses. If all else failed, I rode my bike along highways and dirt roads from my nearly downtown neighbourhood to the barn way out in the country.

And because I was there so much, I had to make myself useful. Mucking stalls, sweeping aisles, pulling manes, cleaning tack, and hauling hay - if you were doing those things nobody could kick you out. And being around helped me absorb information about vet and farrier visits, keeping fences mended, shooting groundhogs (although I didn’t like knowing about that) and general barn maintenance.

I never did own my own horse, and my desire to show dropped off, but I never lost my interest in horses, and how they’re cared for. I think this shows through in my books, which are different from some other horse books, in that the focus isn’t on competing, but more on the day-to-day being with the horses and in the country.

I love books about competing – they’re exciting and naturally come with their own built-in conflict – and I even sneak a few shows into my stories, but that’s one way my books are different from many others and I guess, I can really trace it all back to Lass.

Connect with me!

Connecting with readers is one of my favourite things. In fact, after this blog tour is over, I’m going to have a story on the blog about a young reader / writer / rider I’m privileged to have connected with through my writing. So, please follow me on Facebook, or Twitter, and if you sign up for my NEWSLETTER you’ll be the first to know about new releases, and will get free extra material, like chapters deleted from my books.

Free Books!

Today my novel, Appaloosa Summer, and my short story Hide & Seek are free on Kindle! Appaloosa Summer is the first in my Island Trilogy. I’m working on book two right now, so this is a good time to read the first book so you’ll be ready when the second one comes out.

Make sure to drop by tomorrow when Karen Myers talks about her art (writing and photography) inspired by foxhunting.

 

* At this moment, Objects in Mirror is only available as a print book, or as an eBook on Kobo. I’m working to bring it to Kindle, and if that happens, my newsletter subscribers will be the first to know!

Horse Lovers Blog Tour – Natalie Keller Reinert

Today we have a question posed by yesterday’s spotlight author, Barbara Morgenroth to Natalie Keller Reinert:

What did you learn about life and horses from the experiences you had at the racetrack and how does it impact your writing?

I came to the racetrack relatively late in my equestrian career. I had already worked in the racing business – I’d started babies at training centers, worked in breeding and at the bloodstock sales. And of course before that I’d brushed against the racing industry throughout my years in showing and eventing. But it was never more than a glimpse into another world.

It was always meant to be something so different from our show barns and our sport horses. Racing was another planet when I was a child. It was as if racehorses were another species, which somehow converted when they left the alien environs of the racetrack into green-broke youngsters that we could restart and turn into real horses. We had no idea who had trained them or what they had known before, besides running in circles. We joked about horses who only knew how to turn left, without knowing that they did a flying lead change in every turn.

Living in Ocala was my first taste of an equestrian community where racing people and show people coexisted. Ocala’s training centers were the site of my first tentative steps inside the racing world. But later on, I realized that I had never gotten the true racetrack experience. I needed to get inside that bubble. I needed to visit that alien planet. I took an opportunity when it was presented, and boy did I get that experience.

And thank goodness, because every horse and every human and every setting in my novels has been influenced by my personal experiences. That made my racing novels possible. A book like Other People’s Horses never could have happened if I hadn’t actually worked on the backside at Saratoga.

I found that the horses there weren’t another species. They were just really young, really fit horses. The real revelation was the people.

I met amazing people at the racetrack, and, one by one, they inspired my resolution to tell the story of the racetrack the way it really is. To tell readers about the good people I have met there, who give everything to their horses. Those devoted horsemen and horsewomen who wake up at four o’clock in the morning, winter, spring, summer, and fall — they do it because they are passionate about horses, just like the dressage trainers and the eventing riders and the broodmare managers up at dawn every morning. Just like the amateur rider who rides before work every morning.

In Ambition I went back to sporthorses, and writing about the sporthorse life isn’t very different from writing about the racetrack life. It’s just as hard a life, it’s just as heartbreaking and it’s just as rewarding, and it’s all done because we love our horses and we can’t imagine living any other way.

Racing isn’t another planet. Racing is horse-people and horses. I want more people to see that it’s all the same — breeding and racing and showing and sports and pleasure — because we’re all the same. We’re all horse-people. And learning that lesson has been the single greatest impact that my racetrack experience has had on my writing.

For more on my equestrian novels, including Ambition, which is set in Ocala’s Eventing community, visit my website at NatalieKReinert.com. You can also keep in touch on Facebook or on Twitter: @NatalieKReinert.

And come see me this November at Equine Affaire! I’m looking forward to talking horses with readers and signing copies of my books, thanks to Taborton Equine Books. See you there!

Here’s a picture of Natalie and her husband, taken at Del Mar, to help you recognize her if you go to Equine Affaire:

Tomorrow Tudor Robins will offer both her novel, Appaloosa Summer, and short story, Hide & Seek, free on Kindle, and her post will talk about the horse that changed the direction of her riding.