Like many novels, Appaloosa Summer started with a kernel of truth, or fact, and grew from there. I started horseback riding as soon as my parents would let me; I was eight years old when I took my first lesson, and I loved it right away.
Riding, for me, was something done seriously and carefully. There were many safety, and etiquette rules to follow. I wanted to learn, to please my coach, and to win ribbons.
Then my family started spending part of our summers in a cottage on an island in the St. Lawrence River, and I got to ride in an entirely new way.
Our cottage was surrounded by a huge farm, with many horses, and kids about my age. In the morning I’d take a path through the trees to their barn, and everybody would grab a horse. Sometimes I’d end up with a huge Belgian, with feet the size of Frisbees, sometimes with a pony so small my legs almost dragged on the ground, and one summer I rode a mare whose foal followed us everywhere we went.
There were no rules, other than having fun, and no etiquette either. We galloped across fields, swam the horses in the river, took them on a small ferry to another island and, when we were thirsty, knocked on the closest door and asked for lemonade, since the farm kids were related to pretty much everybody around.
It was eye-opening for me, and I loved every minute of it.
The question for me, when writing Appaloosa Summer, was what would happen if a girl from the city came to a rural island for the whole summer? What if she became part of the community?
So, while the story is fiction, it’s based on that very personal experience of mine, and it grew from those “what if?” questions.
As to publishing it, this was a very special book to me, so I wanted to make sure it was accessible to as many readers as possible.
After publishing my first novel, Objects in Mirror, with a publishing house, I came to believe self-publishing Appaloosa Summer was the best way to make sure it was available all over the world, at an affordable price. I also felt it would give me the best chance to reach readers directly.
So far, that’s been my exact experience. Readers have been intelligent, thoughtful, and creative with their reviews of the book. It’s been a pleasure to read what they have to say, and to have a chance to connect with many of them, and I look forward to self-publishing the follow-up to Appaloosa Summer – Book Two of my Island Trilogy, tentatively titled Again, Someday.
About The Book:
Sixteen-year-old Meg Traherne has never known loss. Until the beautiful, talented horse she trained herself, drops dead underneath her in the show ring. Jared Strickland has been living with loss ever since his father died in a tragic farming accident. Meg escapes from her grief by changing everything about her life; moving away from home to spend her summer living on an island in the St. Lawrence River, scrubbing toilets and waiting on guests at a B&B. Once there, she meets Jared; doing his best to keep anything else in his life from changing. When Jared offers Meg a scruffy appaloosa mare out of a friend’s back field, it’s the beginning of a journey that will change both of them by summer’s end.
Appaloosa Summer can be compared to Heartland TV show - /http://www.cbc.ca/heartland/
For More Information:
Tudor Robins is an Ottawa-based young adult author whose first novel, Objects in Mirror, was named a Best Book for Kids and Teens by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
She gathered publishing-related experience in her roles as a magazine editor and publishing sales representative, as well as working in offset and digital printing. Tudor currently teaches writing workshops for adults and children, as well as developing writing contests and programming to motivate young writers.
Tudor loves reading, writing, and horseback riding, and spending time with her husband and two sons.
Appaloosa Summer is now available in paperback through Amazon, and can also be purchased in the Kindle store.
Receiving messages from readers is one of Tudor’s favorite things, so please feel free to visit her website and connect with her on Facebook.
Connect with Tudor Robins:
Author Website
Goodreads
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