THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy | Blog
Eclipsed by Shadow • The Golden Spark • Into the Dark
“Her grandfather had a saying: sometimes you can trust a horse and sometimes you can’t—The 4th Great Horse Meagan meets in history is a no-nonsense Mongolian warpony she dubs ‘Targa’ … the two bond together in an era when a good horse could make the difference between life and death.
This miniature artwork by Marti Adrian Gregory captures the close partnership the pair develop as they try to outrun the Mongol army and survive medieval life in Europe.
“An eruption of applause broke the spell, swelling as the Imperial team galloped onto the arena floor.”
This striking and highly-detailed miniature artwork by Marti Adrian Gregory shows the personality of each chariot horse from the story! The 3rd Great Horse in history is part of the Emperor’s Quadriga (4-horse chariot).
The team is intentionally made of stallions, according to the custom of the times. The horse on the right, the iguales, is a fleet-footed, skittish stallion of early Arabian blood named Saxon … eager Ajax and trusty Helios are teamed to the yoke … and the terror of the Circus and source of the Emperor’s trouble is the leftmost horse, the popular funales called Cerberus.
The 2nd historic Great Horse wore a headdress according to Scythian custom, but Meagan (and readers) never know him: the animal was sacrificed with a tombful of horses and human attendants to be an escort for a Scythian chieftain in the after-world.
The first historic Great Horse from the trilogy is a gentle prehistoric mare. At first, Meagan doesn’t know she is dealing with a ‘cave’ horse–equine nature has not changed in many thousands of millennia. It is humans who have changed.
The unusual thing about the first Great Horse Meagan meets in history is that it isn’t unusual at all. Meagan doesn’t realize at first that she has traveled time or that she is dealing with a prehistoric herd of horses.
Humans could have tamed horses tens of thousands of years earlier than actually occurred, because horses evolved much earlier than modern man. There was no inner difference between a horse Meagan would have encountered in 20,000 BC and a horse today: it is humans that have changed.
“Poor thing, no one’s taking care of you.” Meagan’s voice was loud in this quiet place and many small eyes were quickly upon her. She decided to rinse off her coating of dust and grime, and knelt in the cool water to gently splash her arms. She inhaled deeply, drawing in rich scents of animals and earth.
Warm breath smelling of cut lawn blew on her neck. Meagan blinked in surprise but did not move. She thought of something else her grandfather used to say: “Horses are as unpredictable as people, only they have more sense.”
Meagan let the flutter of horse nostrils explore her hair as she reached slowly for the mare’s shaggy withers. The small gray horse half-closed her eyes as Meagan scratched gently to imitate the nuzzling greeting of equines. “A horse got me into this,” she told the mare softly. “Maybe you could get me out…”
Excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow, the award-winning 1st volume of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy.
Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.
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Links:
» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.
» Read the 1st Chapter online.
» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.
Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!
Promise had grown into glossy youth and looked every inch a thoroughbred. Her slender neck swiveled as she eyed the crowd, velvet nostrils flared. The air around the delicate filly seemed to quiver.―Eclipsed by Shadow
The popular equine artist painted the special “miniatures” for the 1st and 3rd books of the Legend of the Great Horse trilogy with the plan of finishing–we anticipate new Adrian artwork soon!
The news is an inspiration to launch a series about all the Great Horses from the story … starting with the main horse, Promise, who takes to more than the air with the greatest of ease.
Promise is the main character Meagan’s horse, born at the beginning of the trilogy as a palomino foal.
She is an American Thoroughbred–a remarkable breed, one with inner fire and superhuman abilities to contain her spirit.
Meagan loved and took care of Promise from her beginnings as an orphan foal, but knew to respect her strength as the filly grew into a mare.
It is only unfortunate such love led Meagan to expect too much from Promise, so she forgot her horsemanship … much to her discomfort.
2012 saw the publication of Into the Dark, the final book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy. The 3rd volume concludes with a time-traveling adventure through increasingly modern eras.
2012 saw the publication of Into the Dark, the final book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy. The 3rd volume concludes with a time-traveling adventure through modern times.
Book #2 of the trilogy, The Golden Spark, won the 2012 Written Arts Awards sponsored by Rebecca’s Reads.
The trilogy continues to find new readers interested in history and/or horses … or just looking for a fun, worthwhile read. There’s a lot coming in 2013:
Stories are how we learn about the world … The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy takes a journey through history as it happened–with horses, our partner through it all.
I invite new readers on a flight of fantasy into ancient realities … read the 1st chapter online to check it out!
More information is available at TheGreatHorse.com!
Cool new postcard includes ordering information for all 3 books of the trilogy …
The postcard can be printed out to give to your local library/bookstore for ordering: The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy postcard
A Great new postcard includes ordering information for all 3 books of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy …
The new postcard can be printed out to give to your local library/bookstore!
eclipsed by shadow
the golden spark
wings rider
back
into the dark
eclipsed by shadow
the golden spark
wings rider
back
into the dark