Heather Hamel's Blog, page 16

Summer’s Arrived

Summer’s here and I’m not sure how I feel about it.  We never really had spring – well, there was this one day that was REALLY nice, so I’m sure that was it!

The calendar says it’s the end of May, but I’m feeling a little like Rip Van Winkle and think I slept until August.

The bugs are so bad that I’m already doing the ‘Elkton Wave’ anytime I’m outside and today’s temperatures wouldn’t be too bad in the upper 80′s, but with the humidity also being in the upper 80′s, it doesn’t make for a pleasant outside experience.

I’m typically the first one to admit I love living in Florida (except for August), but if this is going to start being the norm for May I need to reconsider my love affair with the Sunshine State!

 

Athletes & Laterals

I know there are some people out there who don’t think riding horses is exercise (for the human) nor do they see the riders as athletes.

To those people – I just have to say that until you have a 900 lb beast under you, who would much rather be eating that working, and Ashley as a trainer, driving you and your horse to be the best you can be – don’t talk to me!

Kobi did pretty well today.  We started slow (literally) but after he made me work harder than he did for about 15 minutes, he put it in high gear (again, literally).  Our transitions are looking really good and he’s much more receptive to my cues than he was during our last lesson.

It could’ve been the almost new $20 saddle Les got at a garage sale or maybe our hard work is finally starting to show!

Before the lesson was over, we started to work on our laterals (something I’ve dreamed of doing for years).  Moving from left to right, he’s responsive and does beautifully.  From right to left, he’s a different horse and had NO CLUE what I was asking. So he responded by stopping and backing up.

We tried everything: putting him against the fence so he could back up (he just backed in an ‘L’ pattern – which is spectacular in its own right, but only when I ask for it), we tried it from the ground, we tried with Ashley on the ground and me in the saddle, and finally with her in the saddle, which was the most successful with 2 cross-overs, but needless to say we have our work cut out for us moving to the left.

With a month to practice until our next lesson – I’m going to pop a couple of aspirin and keep working my athlete until we reach perfection!

 

Busy Time at Triple H Ranch & Another Finalist

It has been a busy week here at the Ranch.  After my relaxing visit to Lake Wales to celebrate Mother’s Day, it was time to get back to work.

Yesterday I gave a talk to a group of 100+ middle school students on the Civil War at Gamble Rogers Middle School as well as talked up Murder of Crows, which drew in not only a ghostly murder mystery, but my research into the book tied in with their unit of the Civil War & also mentioned Gamble Rogers in a personal ghostly experience! I did find the kids were WAY more interested in ghosts and murders than history itself – I’m positive I was too at their age!

Last night when I finally made it back home, I had an e-mail congratulating me on Kobi’s story becoming a finalist in the 2014 Indie Book Awards!  The winner will be announced by the end of this month, so keep your fingers crossed and I’ll keep you posted!

And it’s only Wednesday – so much more potential in this week!

If anyone is in the area and looking for something great to do with your kids (or by yourself), the talented artist Jean Drayovitch, who did the artwork for Kobi, and I will be at The Red Sable downtown St. Augustine this Saturday from 11:30-1:30.  I’ll be talking about Kobi’s story and Jean will demonstrating her artwork!  Come by and visit!

Mother’s Day

I want to wish a wonderful Mother’s Day to anyone who has ever put the care and well-being of another living creature before their own.  After all, isn’t it that loving, nurturing spirit what we’re really celebrating?

It doesn’t matter whether or not you care for an actual human child, or an animal, who without your love and care, wouldn’t survive.  Love is still love!

So Happy Mother’s Day to everyone – it’s appreciated!

Perspectives

While I was riding Kobi yesterday, I was amazed by the similarities between  working with horses and teaching children.  Now please keep in mind all of my teaching experience is with children with learning disabilities – so that’s where my background put me, but I’m sure it parallels most children!

1. It doesn’t matter how long or through you’ve been working on a task (whether it’s laterals and lead changes for horses or the differences between the letter /b/ and /d/ for my students – EACH DAY IS A NEW DAY and you must meet the horse or child where they are for the day.  This typically requires a complete revision of the days plans, but everyone is happier and less frustrated for it.

2. We don’t have to like each other every day.  Emotions run high in all types of animals and ‘liking’ one another is never a requirement, but WE MUST ALWAYS SHOW RESPECT for each other.  For the horses, it’s a matter of safety – I’m smaller and much more fragile.  For my students, I am an adult and their teacher.  Respect is a two-way street, and I will always show respect while I’m getting it – if I’m not, I take it as a teachable moment and address it (see comparison #1).

3. REMAIN PRESENT AND IN THE MOMENT. While it goes back to #2 and respect, I have found if I’m not mentally present while riding, one of us is going to get hurt.  If I’m not present while working with my students, I can’t give them what they need educationally or emotionally.

And finally, 4.  LOVE WHAT YOU DO.  It’s not fair to the horses or the kids if you don’t love the vast majority of time you spend with them.  You don’t have to love every minute (see #2), but you have to enter the relationship with that goal in mind.

 

 

Reviews

Working at an elementary school has its benefits when writing for a Middle Grade target audience.  I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to speak to almost all of the 3rd through 5th grade classes, share my books, and get their feedback.

The students at my school are amazing.  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of being stopped in the hallway to hear “Ms. Hamel!  I’m reading your book and I love it!”  I always ask them which one they are reading and where they are in it so we can discuss it.  I also ask each of them to tell me when they are done and what they thought of it.

A couple of teachers took it one step farther and had their students write reviews for me.  They are so touching.  I’ll be updating my website later today to share some of the actual letters, but here are some blurbs in the meantime (these are all for Kobi: Memoirs of a Mustang):

- I really loved Kobe because it was so wonderful and I love books that are written from the animals point of view because you never know what an animal is thinking.

-A touching and cozy book for animal lovers to curl up with on the couch.  Watch Kobi go from colt to mustang on this wild, wild ride!

- Kobi is much more than you think he is.  He will blow you away.

and my favorite…

- Kobi was just a wild horse but now he is the most coolest champion and I want to give all my prayers to the beloved friend of Kobi, Jake, and I hope he rests in peace in heaven.

Check out my website later today for more!

Jake

Three years ago, today, Jake left us to go and frolic with the horse angels in the great big pasture in the sky.  While he was not the easiest horse to live with, he was afraid of almost everything, he had a pure spirit and loved with his whole heart.

So, Jake, I raise my glass to you & look forward to when I see you again!

Kobi’s first fan visit

This past weekend, Kobi had his first visit from a fan of his book.  Bella, a 9-year-old from Philadelphia, was down in Florida for her Spring Break visiting a family friend, Linda, who also happens to be a friend of mine.

Linda asked if Bella could come and meet Kobi, since she read (and loved) his book.  Of course I said yes!

Bella was sweet and very quiet, so at first I had a difficult time seeing if she enjoyed her visit – but the pictures say it all! (My favorite is Bella’s expression in the second picture.)

I think Kobi enjoyed all of the attention (I know he loved all the treats), but I won’t let it all go to his head – that’s big enough already!

And in case anyone noticed Kobi’s hair loss above his mouth – his allergies are flaring up again.

 

Apologies

I know it’s been awhile since my last post, but there’s been some drama at the Triple H Ranch.

In the past two weeks my computer accounts (both financial and social) have been violated, so with that goes a flurry of emotion (Why did they target me?  What have I ever done to them?), along with jumping into action to change passwords to every account I’ve ever used.

If you were one of the 400+ tweets that I sent that didn’t sound ‘quite right’, ignore them without opening, please.

Once I feel I can come back up for air though, I will have a great story to share of Kobi getting to meet his first fan, a young girl visiting from PA who has read his book – and never met a horse up close and personal before!  A great time was had by all, especially the animals who ate their fill on cookies!

But in the meantime, change all your passwords to all of your accounts.  Hopefully you’ll never know you needed to do it since you won’t get hacked!

Book Tour Phase 2 – Complete!

 

After leaving Madeira Beach, Florida on Saturday I drove to my parents in Lake Wales, Florida to talk to the residents of Saddlebag Lake Resort and set up to do a book signing.

It was so much fun! I spoke to an audience of about 200 people for about ten minutes. I explained who I am, why I started writing, and gave a brief overview of Murder of Crows and Kobi: Memoirs of a Mustang.  It was well received!

I started with over one hundred books and sold out – every author’s dream!  I can’t wait until my next book tour!