The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy ~ Blog http://thegreathorse.com/blog Eclipsed by Shadow • The Golden Spark • Into the Dark Fri, 11 May 2012 15:53:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Review: The Golden Spark – “Great Epic!” http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/05/review-the-golden-spark-great-epic/ http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/05/review-the-golden-spark-great-epic/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 15:43:59 +0000 Admin2 http://thegreathorse.com/blog/?p=8008 New review of The Golden Spark | Book #2 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy … given by Billy Burgess of the book blog, “Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer” (see original review online).

Review Excerpt:

The Legend of the Great Horse series is unlike any other horse series written for young adults. Just like book one, the author has gone to great lengths to add historical accuracies to this fantasy tale.

Young readers will find the time traveling horse to be interesting, but there is so much more to young Meagan’s quest. You will learn about the hardships that horses went through in each period that Meagan visits. In addition, you will learn fun fact about historical figures like Louis XIV and Hernan Cortés.

There are some scenes of violence in The Golden Spark especially during the Spaniards’ battle with the Aztecs, that some horse lovers may not care for, but as I said, the author is going for historical accuracies. I would have to say my favorite part of the book was the amazing descriptions of the foxhunt during Meagan’s visit to England. Both fantasy and history readers will enjoy reading about The Great Horse. I recommend it to everyone.

Read the full review on TheGreatHorse.com …

]]> http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/05/review-the-golden-spark-great-epic/feed/ 0 The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy concludes this Summer! http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/04/the-legend-of-the-great-horse-trilogy-concludes-this-summer/ http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/04/the-legend-of-the-great-horse-trilogy-concludes-this-summer/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:12:16 +0000 Admin2 http://thegreathorse.com/blog/?p=7972 Into the Dark (bookcover)The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is concluding this Summer with Book #3: Into the Dark.

Publication is on June 20, 2012. The date is the Summer Solstice, which is part of the story’s legend. The opening volume was  released on the Summer Solstice in 2008.

The story  is about  modern rider carried back through history. Book #1, Eclipsed by Shadow,  won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

The series is award-winning fiction for ages teen to adult. Information is available on the website: TheGreatHorse.com

]]> http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/04/the-legend-of-the-great-horse-trilogy-concludes-this-summer/feed/ 0 New Website for “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy! http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/03/new-website-for-the-legend-of-the-great-horse-trilogy/ http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/03/new-website-for-the-legend-of-the-great-horse-trilogy/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:35:35 +0000 Admin2 http://thegreathorse.com/blog/?p=7966 Great announcement … there’s a new website design coming for “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy.

Launch date:  Wednesday April 4, 2012!

UPDATE:  The new website is scheduled to go live @ 4::30 pm EST …

]]> http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/03/new-website-for-the-legend-of-the-great-horse-trilogy/feed/ 1 The Golden Spark wins 1st Place in 2012 Written Arts Awards! http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/02/the-golden-spark-wins-1st-place-in-2012-written-arts-awards/ http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/02/the-golden-spark-wins-1st-place-in-2012-written-arts-awards/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:01:14 +0000 Admin2 http://thegreathorse.com/blog/?p=7847 The Golden Spark has won in a 2012 Written Arts Award, placing 1st in Science Fiction/Fantasy!]]> The Golden Spark bookcover;The Golden Spark" bookcover (2011)The Golden Spark by John Royce won a 2012 Written Arts Award, placing 1st in Science Fiction/Fantasy!
(see Award Winners)

The Written Arts Awards are an annual literary awards program hosted by Rebecca’s Reads. The awards were founded to pay tribute to authors who are independently published.

RebeccasReads reviewers conducted the initial evaluation of title entries, followed by a final round held by jury of judges.

The Golden Spark Award Review:2012 Written Arts Awards

So begins “The Golden Spark,” John Royce’s 2nd book in “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the 1st book in the series, “Eclipsed by Shadow” as the author provides a special note to those who haven’t in the beginning of the book. He gives a brief summary and then reprints the last chapter of the first book so that those who are unfamiliar with the tale can get caught up. I found this to be a nice touch.

Another helpful addition is the seven page glossary at the end of the novel. Being that the story is set in time periods long ago there are many unfamiliar terms used throughout the book. The glossary is extremely helpful in deciphering the meaning of these words that are not used often today.

“The Golden Spark” is a tale that will appeal to young readers of fantasy and particularly readers interested in horsemanship. The story is magical and enchanting and the writing moves along at a nice pace as we follow Meagan on her journey through history. I think that it could easily be turned into a movie. I look forward to the continuation of Meagan’s story in Book 3. — Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads

Book II: The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an intriguing and fun time-travel adventure through history — on horseback.

Book I: Eclipsed by Shadow won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the 2010 Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

]]> http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/02/the-golden-spark-wins-1st-place-in-2012-written-arts-awards/feed/ 0 LibraryThing eBook Giveaway http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/02/librarything-ebook-giveaway-of-%e2%80%9ceclipsed-by-shadow%e2%80%9d/ http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/02/librarything-ebook-giveaway-of-%e2%80%9ceclipsed-by-shadow%e2%80%9d/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:03:30 +0000 Admin2 http://thegreathorse.com/blog/?p=7859 Eclipsed by Shadow by John Allen Royce ... eBook Giveaway on LibraryThing (Giveaway ends Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]]> Eclipsed by Shadow eBook Giveaway
Eclipsed by Shadow (bookcover)
Book I: Eclipsed by Shadow

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy

by John Allen Royce

Giveaway ends Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Description: Format: Open, non-DRM file. Winners may receive their copy in one of multiple formats, including Kindle, PDF, and ePub (via Smashwords).
]]> http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/02/librarything-ebook-giveaway-of-%e2%80%9ceclipsed-by-shadow%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 The Golden Spark nominated for the “Written Arts Award” http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/01/the-golden-spark-nominated-for-written-arts-award/ http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/01/the-golden-spark-nominated-for-written-arts-award/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:53:00 +0000 Admin2 http://thegreathorse.com/blog/?p=7802 - Kam Aures for RebeccasReads]]> The Golden Spark has been nominated for the Written Arts Award, and was given the following review on Rebecca’s Reads:

“The floor rolled sharply and Meagan fell hard against a wall. A tide of cold water sloshed over her feet. All around in the darkness were piercing screams of horses and the thudding concussion of hooves. The floor rolled the other way and Meagan felt herself sliding. She leaned to stay against the wall…”

So begins “The Golden Spark,” John Royce’s 2nd book in “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the 1st book in the series, “Eclipsed by Shadow” as the author provides a special note to those who haven’t in the beginning of the book. He gives a brief summary and then reprints the last chapter of the first book so that those who are unfamiliar with the tale can get caught up. I found this to be a nice touch.

Another helpful addition is the seven page glossary at the end of the novel. Being that the story is set in time periods long ago there are many unfamiliar terms used throughout the book. The glossary is extremely helpful in deciphering the meaning of these words that are not used often today.

“The Golden Spark” is a tale that will appeal to young readers of fantasy and particularly readers interested in horsemanship. The story is magical and enchanting and the writing moves along at a nice pace as we follow Meagan on her journey through history. I think that it could easily be turned into a movie. I look forward to the continuation of Meagan’s story in Book 3. — Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads

The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an intriguing and fun time-travel adventure through history — on horseback. (Published Spring 2011)

Book I: Eclipsed by Shadow won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the 2010 Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

]]> http://thegreathorse.com/blog/2012/01/the-golden-spark-nominated-for-written-arts-award/feed/ 0