2008 – Page 4 – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

Rebecca’s Reads: “An Adventure Young & Old will Love to Read”

ECLIPSED BY SHADOW is an adventure about the love of horses that young and old will love to read. The history of the horse is only part of the book. Meagan’s interaction with the people of each era is amazing to read. The intertwining of horse history with the fantasy of winged horses makes for a book you can enjoy and learn from at the same time.—Allison King, Rebecca’s Reads

The following is a new review of Eclipsed by Shadow by Allison King for Rebecca’s Reads.

Rebecca’s Reads | Allison King

John Royce brings to life the story of a young, horse-crazed teenager named Meagan and her horse named Promise. Even as the summer solstice brings happiness in the birth of Promise, mystery surrounds her from that day forward. People start coming around Meagan’s house asking questions about Promise and wanting to purchase her. An older lady in particular talks to Meagan and her mom about the history of the Great Horse. She feels that Promise may be that horse, but of the “dark” variety. The only way to know is for the owner to ride the horse. Meagan and her family don’t know whether to believe this woman or not, but one night some men try and steal Promise. Meagan takes it upon herself to save Promise, but the only way to do so is to ride her. You can only imagine the look on her face when Promise sprouts wings and takes Meagan on the ride of her life. This is where the story really begins.

Her adventure takes her from the time of the caveman to Ancient Rome to Genghis Khan to the Crusades. As time and history goes by, she sees how the horse has gone from something eaten for food to being used as weapons in attacks. She realizes that she must use her equestrian knowledge to help her survive these different periods in history. Each time, she waits for Promise to come back to take her home.

Eclipsed by Shadow is an adventure about the love of horses that young and old will love to read. The history of the horse is only part of the book. Meagan’s interaction with the people of each era is amazing to read. The intertwining of horse history with the fantasy of winged horses makes for a book you can enjoy and learn from at the same time. The book will pull you in to the darkness of history and not let you stop reading until you get to the end. I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the new fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, arriving this Summer with a fresh and original look at the colorful role of horses in civilization. The story follows the time-travel adventure of a modern horsewoman lost in history.

ReaderViews features “Eclipsed by Shadow”

This week the site ReadersViews is featuring Eclipsed by Shadow. (!) Their reviewers and writers did a great job, and interested readers can check out the review by Wendy Cleveland and also for a more in-depth talk about the book with Tyler Tichelaar.

How I started writing

An inability to type started this author on the road to writing. By mid-semester in high school typing class I was still too slow to appear on the progress chart, which began at at a ridiculously fast 40 words-per-minute. Happily, the teacher banished me to the school library instead of redoing the chart.

In the library I discovered the card catalog (part of a different era) and lots of old books. I was fascinated by the layers of history made available simply by the passage of time and recent cuts in education funding. The remainder of my typing term was spent among cavalry manuals and yellowing books filled with lithograph images. The idea for this story grew out of those quiet hours serving “detention.”

I gained several valuable skills that semester … though, not typing. I found that by reading something interesting and then looking up related stuff to read, and then reading that, I was doing “research.” And I learned that I loved it.

The horses? It was my sister who was originally interested in horses, and had actually obtained one with the help of my horse-loving mom and a wonderful horsewoman named Sally Lasater. We had land but no horse-sense, so we faced a long learning curve that I now realize vanishes into the mists of Olympus.

During my detention I looked to see if the card catalogs had anything to say about this giant pet we had acquired, this oddly-timid tank of a creature that ate grass and pooped fertilizer and destroyed lawns by the mere act of walking upon them. I looked horses up in the card catalog to see if there was anything written about them, and there was an entire amazing world…

Mission Control has a word with me

My blog is launched, but I had to put down the weeks of celebration that were just getting underway in order to attend to business. I was called into the august presence of my publisher, Micron Press, for a timely conference.

We find this blog is to be promoted from its obscure position within the “Reviews & Information” section of the book’s website, and privileged with a link from the main page. I am to email the new blog page after I’d finished (what?!) to be uploaded to a new subfolder. Did you hear that PEOPLE? An entirely new subfolder. The gesture humbles. Truly it does.

All righty then, here it is and I hope you like it. I took the daring opportunity to show pictures of … horses. Well, people and horses. The history of horsemanship is the history of man, so the different eras make an interesting timeline. I’ll change it around later, probably. And talk about it.

The Publishing Contrarian: “Smart Dialogue and Jaw-Dropping Action”

History truly “comes alive” as Royce turns Meagan into a living, breathing participant among historically accurate depictions of events. The dialog feels real. (”Be you a Tatar? For the nones, say be not a Tatar!”) The action never ends. (Charioteers, rampaging Mongolians!) The fear is palpable. (I won’t give it away!) And always, there are the horses.—Lynne Scanlon, The Publishing Contrarian

The first pre-publication review of Eclipsed by Shadow was given by Lynne Scanlon, aka The Publishing Contrarian.

The Publishing Contrarian | Lynne Scanlon

Smart dialogue and jaw-dropping action make Eclipsed by Shadow a surprise page turner. Although it is a kind of road trip book, there is no clicking your heels together three times to get back to Kansas in this story. The journey Meagan, the 15-year-old heroine, takes is nothing akin to traveling the Yellow Brick Road in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first volume in a new trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse. Knowing that, the reader also knows there will be a cliff-hanger ending, and there is. The author, John Royce, who really knows his horses and his history has crafted an extremely erudite novel that pitches Meagan and the reader into the thick of events you remember reading about in History classes lo those many years ago.

This time history truly “comes alive” as Royce turns Meagan into a living, breathing participant among historically accurate depictions of events. The dialog feels real. (”Be you a Tatar? For the nones, say be not a Tatar!”) The action never ends. (Charioteers, rampaging Mongolians!) The fear is palpable. (I won’t give it away!) And always, there are the horses.

Reader Views: “Fascinating and Well-researched”

ECLIPSED BY SHADOW was a magical horse story that is suitable for both teenagers and adults alike. The equine and world history aspects were fascinating and well-researched by the author … The ending left me breathless wanting to find out what time period Promise was taking Meagan to next.—Wendy Cleveland, Reader Views

The following is a pre-publication review by Wendy Cleveland of Reader Views of Eclipsed by Shadow:

Reader Views | Wendy Cleveland

Eclipsed by Shadow centers around a teenager named Meagan Roberts who is a young equestrian. The story starts out in the present-day of the summer solstice, June 21, 2001, when a very unique horse is born. Meagan felt that a horse should name itself, so her foal became “Promise.” Everyone around town seemed to be interested in this special palomino, especially her neighbor Eleanor Bridgestone. Ms. Bridgestone tells Meagan the tales of “The Great Horse” throughout history and seems to think that her horse is the next in line. “The Great Traveler, with mysterious powers to bring darkness to the world. Of course, we wouldn’t be sure unless the Great Horse was actually ridden.”

Crooked horse trainers get wind of this discovery and try to steal Promise. This invokes Meagan to protect her. She gets on her horse’s back and tries to jump a fence to get away. When she does, Promise sprouts wings and turns into “The Great Horse.” She flies Meagan back in time for her to the see the way horses were used for work, war, sport, spectacle and even food.

Meagan’s adventure in this first book in a three book series goes from 20,000 B.C. (where the cavemen used horses for food) to 100 A.D. Rome (where horses were used for sport in Chariot fights), and 1240 Crusades (where horses were blindfolded and used in Jousting matches). In each time travel, Meagan uses her 21st century equine insight to try and help people understand the beauty and sole purpose of horses.

“Eclipsed by Shadow” was a magical horse story that is suitable for both teenagers and adults alike. The equine and world history aspects were fascinating and well-researched by the author. Some facts that I did not know were that horses existed back in 20,000 B.C. or when stirrups, saddles, and horseshoes were discovered. The ending left me breathless wanting to find out what time period Promise was taking Meagan to next.

Pre-Publication Review: Library Journal recommends “Eclipsed by Shadow”

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LIBRARY JOURNAL RECOMMENDS “ECLIPSED BY SHADOW”

MAY 15, 2008 | The following is a pre-publication review of Eclipsed by Shadow from Library Journal.

» See full Review

Publishing Date: Summer 2008
Reviewer: Jackie Cassada | Library Journal

“Belongs in most libraries’ adult and YA collections”

Veteran horseman Royce combines history and myth with action and adventure to create a fast-paced, well-informed tale of a flying horse and the young girl who loves her.

Following the birth of a palomino foal, 12-year-old Meagan names the young horse Promise, and an uncommon bond forms between the two. Told by an elderly woman that Promise is one of the legendary Great Horses, Meagan flees with Promise through time after she discovers that others want Promise for themselves.

This series opener should appeal to fans of equestrian novels as well as historic fantasy and belongs in most libraries’ adult and YA collections.

Established in 1876, Library Journal is the largest trade publication for American libraries, and gives selected pre-publication reviews of upcoming books published each month.

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Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the new trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, arriving this Summer 2008 with a fresh and original look at the colorful role of horses in civilization.

Further information about this entertaining and educational novel can be found at www.TheGreatHorse.com. For questions or other requests, please contact:

Robert Hall
R_Hall@MicronPress.com
Micron Press | Marketing Director

“Eclipsed by Shadow” Early Reader Comments

I had a very hard time putting this book down once I started reading it … With its interesting plot, good character development, descriptive nature, and educational qualities, I would highly recommend this book to anyone.—Cayce V, Early Reader

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The equestrian site HorseGroomingSupplies.com opened its forums to offer their members an Advance Review Copy of Eclipsed by Shadow.

Comments came back from readers all around the United States and Canada.

The equestrian’s version of the Harry Potter series

I think I made record time in finishing the book… I couldn’t pull myself away, once Meagan got to Rome I was stuck in the book.

The character is someone most horse women will be able to identify with, whether they are the character’s age or long past I believe we all dreamed of equine adventures like hers, being able to be strong, yet compassionate.

What really surprised me was the equine and historical accuracy; the author must be a horseman since he managed to avoid a lot of the misconceptions that a lot of books/tv shows/movies fall for. I really can’t wait for the next book in the series and will be recommending it to others. To me this is the equestrian’s version of the Harry Potter series; I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens to our young equestrian dreamer.

Sabrina, California

Up front I want to say that I loved the book

For anyone that loves horses and love to read, it is an excellent well written story and I look forward to reading books II and III.

The descriptions of places, things, people and horses is great. There is not ‘too much’ or too little. I think there are many authors who try to go into too much description, and thus lose the reader to them instead of keeping on track with the story. That is not the case here, but there is enough description to paint a picture of everything, and the interactions and words spoken by the characters helps to paint that picture.

I love the different times. The author did a wonderful job of doing research into the eras mentioned to include daily life and the culture. The characters from each of these times contributes to the era through their actions and words and helps the reader to understand that era better.

The end of the book is a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the next book. It is a great way to lead readers into wanting to read the next book to find out what happens to Meagan. I look forward to reading Book II. Thank you for allowing me to be a Pioneer Reader, and if you have any specific answer you want as to my thoughts on the book, please write back!

Thank you,

Crystal, Camp Ramadi

The perfect reading experience

Eclipsed By Shadow is definitely one of the best horse books I have ever read. The research was impeccable, and told the truth, not just the romantic, nice parts about it. It was nice to finally find a book that wasn’t too fast or too slow. I often find myself rushed throughout a story, as if I can’t catch up, or bogged down with the details. This book was the perfect reading experience, that provided a strong image of exactly what was going on. I was never lost, or confused, nor did I have to go back and re-read parts that I didn’t understand.

I couldn’t put the book down from start to finish, and nearly died when I read that the next installments wouldn’t come out until later. Definitely a page turner, with a suspenseful ending that left me pining for the next one.

Thank you so much for this awesome experience!

Anika, Georgia

Take a chance; pick it up and read it – you won’t regret it!

I can honestly say that Eclipsed by Shadow is one of the most amazing books I have come across in my lifetime.

I am an avid reader of horse books, and always have been, but I can’t say that I have ever been terribly interested in history. For the author, John Royce, to combine history with horses was an absolutely brilliant idea and the outcome is incredible. Not only did I get to enjoy reading about horses but I also learned a whole lot about the history of our world and how things once were. The author seemed to capture the essence of the horses in the story, which I think is a big part of what makes it such a fantastic book.

I had a very hard time putting this book down once I started reading it and I am positive it will be the same with the next two! With its interesting plot, good character development, descriptive nature, and educational qualities, I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I don’t think I can put into words how much I enjoyed this book, so you will have to check it out yourself. Take a chance; pick it up and read it – you won’t regret it!”

Cayce V | BC, Canada
Miniature Horse Breeder

From start to finish I did NOT want to put it down

I have just finished with Eclipsed by Shadow and I have to say it has been one of the most well written horse stories I’ve read in a long, long time. From start to finish I did NOT want to put it down. I was riveted from the first page to the last, and I was very saddened that the next book will not be out until next fall.

I am very grateful that I was able to get an advanced review copy, and would do it again in a heartbeat. I have recommended this book to all my horsey friends.

The writing was incredible!

– Jessica P, North Carolina