Heroes and Horses

by Kit Ehrman

The protagonist or hero of a story is one of the most important elements a fiction author must deal with, one that deserves a great deal of forethought and consideration.

When I set out to write my first mystery, AT RISK, on July 22, 1996 (yes, I actually remember the date) I already had the opening scene in mind. What I needed was a character to tell the story. A hero.



First off, I decided that my hero would be a guy, in part, because I like guys and, secondly, because much of the fiction that I’d been reading featured male protagonists. I grew up reading Sherlock Holmes and George Bagby, and later, I fell in love with Dick Francis’s equine novels. And my perception at the time, flawed as it may have been, was that guys had a lot more freedom, took more chances, and were more exciting than . . . well, me.

Then there was the fact that I wanted a lot of freedom writing this character. I didn’t want him to resemble me too closely because I suspected I might feel inhibited if I thought the reader was thinking: this is who the author is.

So, I took a chance, bucked the tradition of women writing female protagonists, and developed barn manager and amateur sleuth Steve Cline. Without realizing it, I bucked another tradition by writing a very young protagonist at a time when older sleuths were the norm. His youth (he’s 21 in AT RISK) was actually trickier than nailing the guy thing.

While I was working through the first drafts of AT RISK and the opening chapters of DEAD MAN’S TOUCH, I took two writing courses offered by Writers’ Digest magazine’s Novel Writing Workshop. Both times, I requested a male instructor and was lucky to be paired with Steven Havill and William G. Tapply. Havill writes a police procedural series set in New Mexico, featuring Undersheriff Bill Gastner, and Tapply’s series features Boston estate attorney Brady Coyne. Both men, along with my husband, were a tremendous help and quick to point out when I got it wrong!

So, who is Steve? To make him more complex and interesting and real for the reader, I gave him personal issues to deal with along with the story problem. He grew up in a wealthy but emotionally distant family with two older siblings. He attended a private school and spent many of his summers “at camp” because his parents were too busy to parent. Despite the excessive wealth, his relationship with them was damaging, and eventually Steve becomes estranged from them when he leaves college to work in the horse industry. Many of the choices he makes, including his penchant for risk-taking, are linked to his strained relationship with his father and a subconscious need to prove himself.

Steve has been so much fun to write. He’s young, reckless, flawed, but also principled. At times, he seems real.

Speaking about real, many of the horses I’ve known and loved, or have just worked with, have found themselves in the pages of my books. A troubled horse in AT RISK, Cut to the Chase, a.k.a. Chase, is modeled after a horse who used to be boarded at a hunter/jumper farm where I worked. The real Chase, whose official name escapes me, was an open jumper: a huge seventeen hand, coppery chestnut gelding with a lot of white on his legs. The barn crew used to affectionately call him “Jaws” because he loved to nip his handlers. What fascinated me about the real Chase was the fact that, though ornery when handled from the ground, he was a sweetheart under saddle. He was a gorgeous, fluid mover and a truly gifted jumper.

What has surprised me most about my fictional horses is the way they magically come to life, seemingly on their own. One of my favorites is Russian Roulette. He’s a character in DEAD MAN’S TOUCH and TRIPLE CROSS.



I didn’t intentionally model him after any horse from my past, but he came to life nonetheless. Here’s a brief excerpt from TRIPLE CROSS when Steve is getting ready to go talk to the police and wondering whether he'll be free to leave once he meets them:

I gathered my trash together, left it sitting on the tack trunk, and walked over to Ruskie’s stall. He poked his head over the stall guard before curling his neck around to nuzzle my waist. I hooked my arm across his neck and smoothed my hand down his face. Resting my forehead against his mane, I breathed deeply, inhaling the indescribable blended odors: his skin, his sleek chestnut coat, the sweet smell of his breath, all combined with the mix of straw and hay, and I was reminded of the generations of horses who had passed through this barn. Derby runners, most of them.

Ruskie was uncharacteristically still, and I wondered if he sensed the tension fizzing in my nerves and pressing against my skull like a bad headache.

I had no guarantee I’d be here tomorrow. None at all.

He lipped the thin belt keeper at my waist, then smoothed his muscular lips along my belt. Knowing that a nip was likely next on his agenda, I straightened.

I stopped at Storm’s stall and patted him, told him to be a good boy, and when I turned around, Jay said, “What? No hug for me?”

I grinned and told him to wish me luck.

-----------

Here are a couple photos of the actual Derby Barn at Churchill Downs that I took while researching TRIPLE CROSS:


This is the Derby Barn. Note the press. They are everywhere.





“The horse: friendship without envy, beauty without vanity, nobility without conceit, a willing partner, yet, no slave.” ~ Anon

Cheers,
Kit
www.kitehrman.com

My First Horse Story

I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer, or to be around horses. However, I do remember when I combined the two for the first time. I was ten-years-old and my dad had bought me a two-year-old mare for my birthday. Now, normally I was not the kid who got a "pony" for her birthday. It just so happened that my dad was talking to a guy who had an Apaloosa from great bloodlines who he needed to get rid of. My dad should have known when the guy told him that he could have her for a hundred bucks that this could signify a problem. But Dad said that he'd take her based on her breeding.

When the trailed rolled up to the house I grew up in and the man unloaded my birthday present, I can remember the gasp my dad let out and the words he said were, "That is the ugliest damn horse I've ever seen." My dad wasn't thinking at the moment because I was standing right there and I immediately jumped to her defense and said, "No she isn't. She's beautiful." Frankly, I was ten and any horse was beautiful. My daughter's instructor says that I still think that way.

I loved that mare and I named her Dandashell and called her Dandy. I combined my nickname of Shell with Dandy. She didn't have the pretty spotted blanket so many Appies do. She was a roan with about two spots on her rear, and she was gangly and gawky. But she actually grew into herself and was over sixteen hands high. Even my dad to this day will tell people that she was an ugly duckling who became a swan. I don't know that she actually ever became a swan, but she was a great horse, who was also the fastest horse I've ever ridden. I used to ride with a group of little girls growing up, and we called ourselves "The Billy Dal Gang," (another story for a future blog), and my friend Stacey owned this little Arab named Zelle. When my dad wasn't with us, we'd take those horses down to the river bottom and our friend Renee would clock them. We always wound up in arguments over who was the fastest horse. To this day, i think Stacey and I would still argue that, but I know that Dandy was the fastest. LOL.

Dandy was also the inspiration for my first horse story. I wrote a story for a magazine about my favorite horse. It was all about how my dad called her an ugly duckling and how I thought she was beautiful. I went on like little girls do about my pretty horse and then I submitted it to the magazine. I can't remember the magazine, but I think it was called Horse of Course. Does anyone remember that magazine? There was a section for kids in it with stories about their horses. I checked every month for about a year and my story was never published, but I didn't care (not too much anyway). I still had my swan of a big roan mare. I had Dandy until she passed away, just like Charlie and Ivan in my previous post. I swear my parents' place could be full of equine ghosts at night. There are six horses buried out there and quite a few dogs too. I have nothing but great memories from my swan. She was smooth and even-tempered. She was trust worthy and willing--she was simply a great horse to grow up with. She never was much to look at in hindsight, but that didn't matter to me, because I always thought she was the most beautiful horse in the world. Little girls and horses--sigh--perfect fit. Dandy happened to be the perfect fit for me, and I finally am "publishing" her story (thirty years or so later than expected).

How about any of you? I think all of us here at Equestrian Ink would love to hear your "favorite" horse story. That's what we're here for--to share the love of our animals and our writing. Feel free to share yours.

Happy Trails,
Michele
www.michelescott.com
www.cozychicks.com

Welcome to Equestrian Ink

I'd like to welcome you to Equestrian Ink. Our main goal is to promote horse fiction. We're very excited to have this opportunity to do so.

A little about me:

I was born loving horses. I can't remember a time when I didn't love horses. I think that's true for a lot of people. You get the bug and you either outgrow it, or it's with you for life. My mother was afraid of horses and prayed I'd outgrow it. That didn't happen.

I didn't get my first horse until I was almost 18. I bought her with my own money and kept her at a friend's. She was the most barn sour thing I've ever seen. If I couldn't get someone to ride with me, I wouldn't be able to leave the barn unless I led her miles down the road and road her home. Needless to say, I didn't keep her long. During my college years, I got my horse fix by taking dressage and jumping lessons once a week. While I dabbled over the years in western pleasure and jumping, dressage was and still is my passion.

My other passion is writing. I've been writing since I was old enough to string words together. I still have a book in my attic written and illustrated when I was about 6 years old called "Wildfire," about a horse, of course. Many years later (too many to mention) I decided to try my hand at writing professionally. Just this year, I sold two books to Siren Publishing. The first one, "Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed," will be out this summer. The second, "The Dance." will be out in the fall. In "Who's" horses make a cameo appearance, but "The Dance" features an Andalusian with a sense of humor. The book I'm currently working on is titled, "The Gift Horse."

Which brings me to my next topic. "The Gift Horse" is inspired by my own Hanoverian mare, Gailey. I bought Gailey when she was a barely broke 3-year-old. Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking. A year before, I'd broken my collarbone in two places and two ribs after being dumped from a horse I'd only owned for three days. After that I'd only ride my safe, geriatric Morgan/Quarter Horse, having lost my nerve.

My trainer convinced me to try out this mare. He said he wanted the horse in his barn and if I didn't buy her, he'd have to. Well, after a month of convincing, I agreed to try the horse. She wasn't really advertised for sale yet, but the owner (also the breeder) had mentioned to my trainer that she might sell her. Well, even green-broke and going around with her head in the air, Gailey was heaven. It was like driving a Mercedes after spending your life in Chevy Vega. I knew I'd never be the same.

After months of agonizing, I bought the mare. This started a journey that has been full of ups and downs, countless thousands of dollars spent on natural horsemanship and dressage trainers, and three horse trailers (because she has a major trailering phobia). She grew from 16-2 at three years old to over 17 hands of massive warmblood. Once we got past the rocky part of our relationship, she's become a dependable partner (if not a little quirky and a bit of drama queen at times). She's a charmer and has a fan club. She's such a couch to ride that everyone who's ever ridden her asks if she's for sale as soon as they dismount.

We are currently showing 2nd/3rd-level dressage and hoping to do a little 4th level later this year. I'll keep you up-to-date on us and tell you a little bit more about my journey with my first warmblood.

Anyway, welcome to Equestrian Ink. We hope you'll return often and let us know what you think via the Comments section. We'll have a new post by one of our writers or guest bloggers every 2-3 days, along with contests and freebies

Keeping the Dream Alive

Welcome to Equestrian Ink, a circle of women with two things on their minds: horses and writing. We come from different places and different states of mind, but our writing spans a wide range of genre within that special niche called "horse fiction." And each of us came to that niche for our own unique reasons.

From the fourth grade on, I'd yearned for a horse. That dream became especially painful when my best friend received a wonderful old Quarter Horse gelding for her eleventh birthday. From then on, I began begging my parents, promising to do anything if I could have a horse of my own. My stern father grew tired of my pleas and announced that the subject was closed--I could not have a horse.

On family outings, I'd lean my head against the car window and gaze at the magnificent rolling foothills of the Cascade Mountains, drumming a galloping beat with my fingers and picturing myself racing across the fields, leaning into my steed's whipping mane. At home, I'd curl up in the window seat with my horse books. King of the Wind. The Black Stallion. National Velvet. Keeping the dream alive. And I began to write fantastical stories about "my horses."

By the time I turned thirteen, I'd given up hope that my dream would ever come true--I was destined to watch from the sidelines. My friend had joined the local 4-H club and, occasionally, I'd be allowed to go with her. It was my only chance to be near the creatures that made my heart thump and my breath come in tiny puffs. The club leader was a wise old horseman who enjoyed being surrounded by horse-crazed kids, and he always made me feel like I belonged to that elite group.

One Saturday, he took me aside. A friend of his had a horse that needed a good home. Was I interested?

Hope and sorrow--what a combination. I could barely speak the words to tell him I'd been forbidden to bring up the subject at home. He gazed at me for a minute, then smiled. He'd take care of it. And he did. Two weeks later, Sonny backed out of a horse trailer and swung around to survey his new home.

Undoubtedly the homeliest horse ever foaled, the rangy 16-hand Tennessee Walker had lop ears, rafter hips, and a nose that must have been the model for Roman. But in the eyes of a horse crazy fourteen-year-old girl, he was as magnificent as Black Beauty or the Godolphin Arabian.

From the day Sonny stepped off the trailer, I was determined to convince my father that letting me have a horse had not been a mistake. Twenty years later, he shook his head in amazement as he watched my small band of Arabian mares grazing on the hill.

"I guess you were serious."

Yes, I was.

I haven't owned horses for many years now, but back when I was mucking stalls and carrying water and sleeping in the hay during foal-watch, my imagination was still astride a galloping horse racing across the hills. It was only a matter of time before I had to put those imaginary rides on paper, give them plots and people and loves and troubles.

Thanks to those dreams, I always have a horse in my heart and a story in my head.

Enjoy the ride while you're here!

Toni

Toni Leland
http://www.tonileland.com
Women's Fiction with Kick
at Romancing the Horse

On Loving Horses

Hello everyone,

I’m so excited to be part of Equestrian Ink. I have never been able to resist a good novel about the horse world and I’m delighted to be in the company of the incredibly talented writers who create these stories!

When I began writing fiction, the advice I kept hearing was write what you love. For me, the choice was crystal clear. As a child I spent every possible moment at our local hunter/equitation barn. I took two lessons a week and in between mucked stalls, tacked and untacked, fed, and did anything else I could think of just to be around horses.

While I was in graduate school I was finally able to buy my own horse, Spencer. He was an equitation horse who had competed in Medal Maclay and was retired when his owner went to college. A barn near my school bought him and tried to use him in a lesson program, but after being turned out for three years he was taking the students on some pretty wild rides!

With the confidence of a young woman who had only ridden calm lesson horses and knew not what she was getting into, I decided to buy him. I spent the next six months landing in the dust & getting right back on. He even spooked at a large yellow butterfly flitting by his nose.

One day, I asked my husband to put up a small vertical for me in the indoor ring. Being new to horses, he didn’t know what I meant by small and put the rail up well over three feet. Spencer’s ears perked up like radar and he was off and running. We sailed over the jump, out the open door of the ring and across the road before I stopped him. At this point, I concluded I needed help and got a good trainer to work with us. After some reschooling, Spencer’s talent began to shine again.

Eventually, my beloved Spencer taught me to ride well and kindly. When he was too old to compete and I tried to give him well deserved retirement, he went into an equine depression and we had to put him back to work! He spent the next few years happily teaching beginner riders and took many of them to their first shows. He trotted around the ring in short stirrup classes with his head arched and tail flowing like he was still on the A circuit.

When not in the saddle I spent years in medical research and public health, which involved quite a lot of scientific writing, but I always had a secret yen to write fiction. I wrote my first novel, an equestrian romantic mystery titled A Dangerous Dream, while on bed rest with twins.I may not have been too mobile but my characters were having adventure, mystery, and excitement on the Grand Prix show jumping circuit. In A Dangerous Dream my heroine, Melissa, has a dream job working at a world class equestrian facility specializing in hunters, equitation, and show jumping, but her future is threatened when an attempted murder takes place at the farm. She must decide who she can trust and if her long-held dream is worth the risk of her life. I’m currently happily at work on my second book, a story about a beautiful horse trainer who also happens to be a witch. She is being hunted by a murderer and must decide if she will be honest about her legacy with the man determined to help her.

The horse world comes alive in the pages of my books because of the wonderful education I’ve received from some very patient trainers and my good fortune in being able to ride amazing, talented horses. Whether I’m writing romantic mystery or contemporary fantasy, horses inevitably wind their way through my imagination and into the lives of the characters I create.

I’m glad you stopped by Equestrian Ink and hope you’ll come back and visit us often!

Cheers,

Mary

Mary Paine
www.marypaine.com

A Chance Discovery

by Kit Ehrman

Welcome to Equestrian Ink, your place on the web for exploring what's new and exciting in the world of equestrian fiction. I'm thrilled and honored to be here with these talented writers and to be a part of this ground-breaking endeavor.

Actually, my journey in becoming a "horse person" and a writer happened because of a work of equestrian fiction.

I was twenty-three at the time, and working for the government, when I took a week off to stay at my parents' house while they were on vacation. My husband was out of town for a training seminar, and I was bored, so I looked around the house for something to read and found a Readers' Digest Condensed Book edition of Dick Francis's IN THE FRAME. The main character was an equine artist, and I got enough of a feel for the horse world to know that I wanted to read more of Francis's work, not to mention that fact that the man writes an excellent mystery, to say the least. Afterwards, I tracked down every title that Francis had written at that time and was hooked. Titles that I read soon after I read IN THE FRAME, and two of my favorites were: DEAD CERT and FOR KICKS. I fell in love with the fictional horse world he portrayed and decided I wanted to experience it for real.

I quit the government job, exaggerated my experience (none) to get a job working on a hunter/jumper show farm, and ended up working in the horse industry for twenty-five years. My first horse was a six-year-old Quarter horse Arabian cross. A big, fat, flea-bitten gray with black points and a black mane that stuck straight up after the previous owner had roached it. He reminded me of an ancient war horse from the Middle Ages, so I named him Stonehenge (barn name "Stoney). I've also had the privilege of owning several thoroughbreds who've retired from the track and an adorable Appendix Quarter horse mare named Flare:



Over the years, I've worked a variety of horse jobs. I worked briefly at the racetrack. I've worked as a barn manager, groom, vet tech, and I delivered foals on the night shift. That was my all-time favorite job. I've shown over fences, did some low level eventing, and eventually switched to dressage. Though I enjoyed riding, barn chores and caring for the horses interested me more.

I've always been a mystery fan, and when I decided to try my hand at writing, it was only natural that I would combine both loves: horses and mystery. There are currently four novels in my equine-oriented mystery series featuring barn manager and amateur sleuth Steve Cline. (Check out Steve's Myspace page at www.myspace.com/stephen_cline.)

The stories are traditional mysteries with a touch of romance, highly suspenseful, and fully entrenched in the horse world. The books have been well reviewed in The New York Times, Denver Post, Chicago Tribune, etc., and have collected multiple awards. The latest release, TRIPLE CROSS, takes place in Louisville and on the backside of Churchill Downs during the Kentucky Derby.



I've been lucky. Lucky that a chance discovery of a work by the master, Dick Francis, came at a time in my life when I was young enough, and naïve enough, to drop one career for another, riskier one. And I've been lucky that I've met with such success now that I've switched careers again, by trading in a set of reins for a pen.

As any horse enthusiast knows, we horse lovers are constantly on the lookout for fiction set in the horse world. Here at Equestrian Ink, I'm looking forward to discovering new authors, learning about equine-related fiction that I've somehow overlooked, and discussing books that I've read and loved. Plus, we're going to have some exciting guests, too. Bookmark us and drop by often.

Cheers,
Kit
www.kitehrman.com

Passions

Hi Everyone,

I'm really excited to be a part of this great group of writers. I think horse fiction is something readers want, and to me being a part of this group makes me feel like we are on the cusp of some really great things to come in horse related fiction.

So, who am I, and how did I start writing about the world of horses? I'm Michele Scott. I am a writer, wife, mother, daughter, friend, and horse woman (might not be in that order--but you get it). I started riding horses when I was six-years-old, and I started writing when I was about nine. Both of these passions run deep in my soul. I knew from the time I was a kid that I wanted to write, and there has never been a time since I was little that horses have not in some way been a part of my life. My first horse was a huge seventeen hand half draft, half Quarter horse named Ivanhoe. We called him Ivan. This guy was LARGE, but was a total gentle giant. He was the kind of horse you could put any beginner on and totally trust him to do what he was supposed to, or you could put an experienced rider on him and he'd also do what he needed to. Thing was, my dad decided he was too big for me, and he went out and bought a pony. I know what you're thinking. He did what? Now there are some wonderful ponies out there--Charlie was not one of them. Sure he was sweet when I wasn't on him, and he was gorgeous. He was a Shetland--sorrel in color, and mane down past his neck. He may have been a pretty boy, but ornery. And, Charlie took it upon himself to buck me off pretty much on a daily basis for about a year until I got my seat and wouldn't take it any longer. Now my dad likes to say that he does not kow if buying that pony was the stupidest thing he ever did, or the smartest--because I did learn to ride that little sucker, and maybe it was that kind of determination that has helped me as a writer. Becoming a published author has not been easy, but I love what I do and I again was determined. I wrote for twelve years and finished several manuscripts, worked a day job and had two kids (now three) while trying to sell a book. I have had many rejections over the years, but just like getting back up on that pony, I was not about to give up. I stayed loyal to my dream. I also stayed loyal to my horses. We had Charlie and Ivan until they passed on. They are buried, along with three other horses that I grew up with at my parents' place. Horses in my family come to stay for a lifetime.

How did I start writing horse mysteries? Well, my other series is a wine lover's mystery series, and it was sold as a series back in 2003. I wrote all three books before the first one hit the shelves (that was part of the deal), and then there was a waiting period to see how they would do. I am happy to say that I am now writing book 5 in that series. But a writer always needs to be prepared to write something new, if they want to keep selling, and I knew that I wanted to do something with the horse world. So, I pitched a mystery series about nine months after selling the wine series. I wanted to base the stories on a horse trainer (a reining and working cow horse gal) and my agent liked it, so did my editor and there you have it. They picked up three of those. All of them are currently available, and I am again in a holding pattern to see if there will be more in that series. Fingers crossed because I really love writing my heroine Michaela Bancroft. In the most recent book out, Michaela has the misfortune of being involved with the murder of a polo player. (She didn't do it, but it looks like it to the cops).

That's a bit about my writing, my life, and my passion for the horse. There is truly no other animal like the horse. They are majestic and in my opinion soulful creatures.

I hope you enjoy our blog and will visit reguarly. Please look for upcoming contests and announcements as we will be having some great guest bloggers as well in the future. And, of course--please pick up our books and support horse fiction.

Happy Trails!

Michele Scott
http://www.michelescott.com/