Meet MG/PreTeen Author Christine Meunier

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcome Christine Meunier, author of the MG/PreTeen Free Rein Series. Can't think of any Middle Graders who don't love horses, can you?

First, a bit about Christine:

I am a Christian who loves horses and is addicted to learning as much as I can about them and passing this on to others. I love to write and consequently have combined my faith, love of horses, learning and writing into the Free Rein series, which is aimed at 8 – 12 year olds.

Why did you pick to write books for MG/PreTeens?

Many children go through a pony phase, and it’s at this age that they may be lucky enough to discover the joys of reading. I know I did! I love the idea of being able to reach this age group through my writing, and being able to teach them about horses at an age when they will devour every book they can get their hands on.

What types of books do you like to read?
 

Anything horse related. I also really enjoy novels by Lori Wick and am a huge fan of Elyne Mitchell’s Silver Brumby series.  The Bible is a must read for me on a regular basis, too.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Read, study, garden, play guitar and listen to music, and spend time with my husband.

Tell us about Free Reign, and how the story came to be.

Free Reign is the third book in the Free Rein series. The King family are now settled into Victoria after their move from South Australia. Young Jacqui King is having a ball learning to ride on a pony Matty that her parents have leased for her. The book is a follow on from New Beginnings and In Pursuit of a Horse and continues to explore a young rider’s love of horses, learning about them and growing in her faith.

Here's a peek at Free Reign:

 

Jacqui is having a ball with her two closest friends Geordie and Hannah. All three have ponies that they are keeping at Jacqui’s parents’ property Genesis. Over the school holidays they’re taking advantage of opportunities to spend as much time in the saddle as possible.

After a growth spurt, Jacqui is amazed to find that her teenage instructor Kara suggests that her pony Matty may be too small for her. Jacqui is devastated to think she may not be able to ride for much longer.

An unexpected announcement from her parents brings more bad news. Jacqui is sad and confused. Why would God have the family move interstate where they could set up a horse property and then take it all away?

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

As mentioned above, this is the third book in the series. New Beginnings is book one of the Free Rein series and introduces readers to a 10-year-old Jacqui King who is excited to be moving from South Australia to Victoria because of a job transfer for her father. Her excitement is purely because they are moving to a large property for lease and will be able to set up a horse business.

Prior to the Free Rein series, I released my debut novel Horse Country (www.horsecountrybook.com) which follows the lives of four young women working and studying in the horse industry. It is a large book that covers six years in the industry, enlightening the reader to what they can expect with regards to job roles, hours, travel overseas and number of horses the may be working with, if working with riding school horses, or breeding thoroughbreds. It is based on a lot of my experience over the past 10 years in the horse industry.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I aim to continue working on the Free Rein series to further develop the characters Jacqui, Geordie, and Hannah.  I am also working on a story where a young woman moves to a tropical island with her husband and considers the idea of importing horses and setting up a trail riding business on an island where horses don’t live, and she doesn’t speak the local language.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Be passionate about your work–the more passionate you are about sharing it with others, the more likely people will be to check out what you’ve done. Never stop networking or pursuing possible avenues of publicity. Generosity goes a long way too.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Horses are incredible animals. I love to write and hope that through doing so, I can introduce others to the joys of learning about horses. My books are written to inform as well as entertain–I hope they do so!

Where can readers find you and your books?

Head along to http://www.freereinseries.com/ for updates on the series and be sure to stop by at http://www.facebook.com/FreeReinSeries to like the series and read about updates and competitions from time to time.

The books can be purchased via the Free Rein site, or directly from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/christinemeunier.

Meet Colorado MG Author Margi Evans

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes fellow Colorado author Margi Evans and her newest story for MG readers North Mystic. Margi and I are both members of the Colorado Authors' League.

First, a bit about Margi:

I was born in Oregon and graduated from Oregon State University. I married my high school sweetheart and, together, we have raised five wonderful children. I am a life-long equestrian and, once I had time, combined my love for horses with my love for writing. I have published three equestrian trail guide books titled: Riding Colorado, Riding Colorado II, and Riding Colorado III. I also love fantasy and write for middle-grade readers under the pen name M.J. Evans.

Why did you pick to write books for Middle Grade?

After teaching young teenagers and pre-teens in the public schools for five years and raising five children of my own, I realized how very important developing a love of reading is, not only for educational success but also to experience the joy of a life-long hobby. I realized that my love of horse stories and fantasy could be combined in such a way to make reading fun for this age group. I also wanted to write wholesome, values-laden books that enrich lives. After completing The Mist Trilogy, which could be subtitled “The Horse-Lover’s Fantasy,” I decided to write a parody of the Revolutionary War with trolls and leprechauns. The result was North Mystic. While there is not a horse in it, I still had a lot of fun writing this new book.

What types of books do you like to read?

I read a huge variety of books from fantasy to political commentary, from historical fiction to spiritual/scriptural analysis.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

When I am not writing, you will find me on the back of one of my horses or teaching riding lessons.

Tell us about North Mystic and how the story came to be.

As I mentioned, it is a parody of the Revolutionary war. In this fun story, three children who are being raised in a condition of opulent neglect, follow a magical pathway to the leprechaun village of North Mystic. To their surprise, the leprechauns had been awaiting their arrival for hundreds of years. The tiny species had been promised that one day, three children would come to help them fight for their freedom from the trolls that come every fall to tax them of all their gold that they grow in the roots of their shamrock gardens. And so, the adventure begins!

Here's a peek at North Mystic:

Leprechauns in running shoes, trolls who are afraid of the sunlight and three children unwittingly prepared to lead a revolution…

A small assemblage of Leprechauns makes their home in a land they name North Mystic. The tiny species are the descendants of immigrants who escaped from Ireland during the siege of Viking pirates in the 900’s by stealing away in one of the Vikings’ own longships.

For several years, they live in peace and prosperity, harvesting their gold from the roots of their shamrock fields. But, alas, all does not remain so idyllic. A band of Vikings crosses the treacherous North Sea and arrives at their shores. The big brutes kidnap their children and demand a tax of all their gold, promising to return the next year with their children if the ransom of the next year’s crop of gold is paid to them.

Meanwhile, living in a condition of opulent neglect, the three Callahan children are, unsuspectingly, preparing to perform a great work. While their parents carry on their busy lives without them, the children are raised under the careful supervision of cameras, microphones and computer screens. On an otherwise ordinary day, the eldest child, Evelynd, discovers a trap door in the floor of the linen closet. Curiosity leads the adolescent and her two younger siblings, Avery and Drew, on an amazing adventure to North Mystic where their arrival had been foretold for hundreds of years.

Will the three children be able to help the Leprechauns secure their freedom?

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

As I mentioned earlier, I began my professional writing career writing equestrian trail guide books for Colorado. What fun doing all the research was! By “research” I mean that I had to ride all of those trails myself! I have also written the three books of The Mist Trilogy: Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and The Rising Mist (to be released soon.) These books tell the story of the noble and great horses that are chosen to become members of the Legion of the Unicorn when they die. In the first book, the reader meets the boy who eventually becomes the first unicorn rider when his horse is chosen to receive the training necessary to earn a unicorn horn. Meanwhile, one of the unicorns has become power hungry and desires to conquer and rule the world.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?
Riding Colorado III-Over-Night Trips With Your Horse was just published this past spring. Now I'm working hard on a young adult novel titled In the Heart of a Mustang. I am excited about this new book which targets an older age group than my other fiction titles. You will notice that I returned to my love of horses for the subject matter of this book!

What advice do you have for other authors?

I have learned several tricks during my ten year career of writing professionally.

First: It takes a lot of work to get a book written and published. While the publishing process is arduous, you can’t even begin that process until your manuscript is finished. Most people don’t discipline themselves enough to get the book done in the first place. So, if you want to write a book, you will have to set aside the time, daily, to write. Write the whole book and don’t look back! Once the book is done, set it aside for a while. Give it a rest! Then, go back and reread it. Do you like it? Hate it? Are you willing to make changes and revisions? Now is the time to make edits and revisions, not as you are writing initially.

Second: If you are interrupted during your writing time, or your allotted time is up, NEVER stop at the end of a chapter. Stop in the middle of a paragraph or even in the middle of a sentence. That way, when you come back, you already have a start!

Anything else you want readers to know?

I love to talk to aspiring authors about what they are working on. I am willing to try to help in the process!

Where can readers find you and your books?

My fantasies and Riding Colorado III can be found on my website The Writings of M.J. Evans.

I also write a blog for horse lovers: Behind The Mist. You can sign up to follow it.

I love to hear from readers and friends on Facebook under Behind the Mist  - book  and North Mystic. Go to the sites and “Like” them.

My books are available in stores such as Tattered Cover and Barnes & Noble as well as on all the online sources and ebook format. My trail guide books are available in Tack and Feed stores in the Denver/Colorado Springs area.

Meet Author K. L. Pickett

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes K.L. Pickett and her Middle Grade novel Maybe It's Magic! Karen is a fellow Muse author.

First some interesting tidbits about her:

I was born and raised in Southern California. My first job was collecting eggs on an egg ranch. Since then I’ve been a preschool teacher, real estate salesperson, loan officer, and agricultural biologist. Why so many careers? I think because I get bored and love learning new things. Currently I teach 4th grade in a rural Arizona school.

Animals have always been a big part of my life. I’ve rescued many birds in my life including a pelican, a pheasant, and several crows. I do volunteer work for the Tombstone Small Animal Shelter by making their pet posters and writing their public radio ads.

I’ve been writing for many years. Dozens of my stories have appeared in national magazines such as Boys’ Life, Highlights for Children, and Ladybug under the name Karen Troncale. My first middle-grade eBook Seventh Grade (Alien!) Hero came in 2013.

Today I live in Tombstone, Arizona (the town too tough to die), with my husband, my dog, and my mule. When I’m not writing, teaching, or reading, I’m riding my mule Tonya (Tombstone’s celebrity mule) along the same trails that Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday rode upon.

Why do you write middle-grade books?

The middle-school years were my favorite childhood years. We called it junior high school back then. I loved those years. Friends were a big part of my life. That’s when I got my horse. I learned to love reading and writing in those years and won the eighth grade essay contest, so I got to read my essay at our graduation ceremony. Those years were so much fun; that’s why I like to write for middle-grade kids.

What types of books do you like to read?

I still love reading middle-grade books. They aren’t as dark and heavy as so much of young adult books these days. Fantasy and science fiction are my true loves. One of my favorite science fiction books is The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. Currently I’m rereading The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. And of course, I love all of the Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowling is a genius.

Tell us about Maybe It’s Magic! and how the story came to be.

As a young girl, there was only one thing I wanted in the entire world – a horse. The book is about ten-year-old Pippy who desperately wants a horse. So the story is rooted in my own childhood dream. Pippy’s emotions and longings are the same as mine were all those years ago. The day my dad called me and told me he’d bought me a horse was the happiest day of my eleven-year-old life.

Here's a peek at Maybe It's Magic:

Ten-year-old Pippy wants a horse more than anything in the world. Plan One, begging her mom for one, doesn’t work. Plan Two, performing her own made-up magic spell, conjures up a tiny glass horse statue. Pippy’s disappointed; she wanted a real horse. But then she thinks: Maybe it’s magic! If it is, she can use its powers to get a real one.

With the magic of Little Horse, her life changes. She meets Mrs. Sunnyvale, an old and grouchy ranch owner, who buys a horse although she hasn’t owned one for years. She lets Pippy groom, saddle, and ride it. Pippy begins to think of Mrs. Sunnyvale as the grandmother she never knew.

Then bad things begin to happen. Why? Is Little Horse running out of magic?

Mrs. Sunnyvale falls ill and Pippy knows the magic is almost gone. If she doesn’t get more magic soon, she could lose her horse. Even worse, Mrs. Sunnyvale could lose her life.

You mentioned another book – Seventh Grade (Alien!) Hero – tell us a bit about it.

Many years ago I read a short story about a tiny alien ship that flew in a young boy’s window. That story stayed with me for a long time. It made me think that alien spaceships don’t have to be big. My book grew out of that thought. The main character, seventh-grader Dustin Cotter, sees a meteor crash-land on Earth. When he discovers it is really a tiny alien ship, he captures it. But he’s not the only one who saw it land. And that other person wants it…and will stop at nothing to get it.

Are you working on a new story?

Yes, my newest story involves a friendless bully, a girl with a lisp, and a boy whose mother has cancer. It is another middle-grade science fiction novel involving more space aliens and an ocelot. 

What advice do you have for other authors?

There is an awful lot of advice out there for authors online and in books. I’m afraid I don’t have much advice. I write because that’s what I do. Even if I never sold a story, I’d still write.

Anything else you’d like reader to know?

Yes! My website features a free short story and a fun kids’ activity, a different one every month. So even if you’re not interested in my current books, stop by and visit!

Where can readers find you and your books?

Please visit my website at: www.klpickett.weebly.com . You will find links to order my books there.