Eclipsed by Shadow • The Golden Spark • Into the Dark
I am very grateful for Reader Views and its founder, the late Irene Watson. The group not only created an accessible and honorable independent awards, it helped to pioneer new ways of serving authors online that are still being developed.
The Reader Views Literary Award review was given by Danelle Drake:
“The places you visit in Eclipsed by Shadow were really times in our great history. The Legend of the Great Horse series will have you wishing the tales were never-ending…” (see review)
We live in a strange new era during which authors are being required to ‘market’ their own work … though no one actually WANTS authors to market to them, and every book venue expressly forbids it. This market-driven change not a good thing, but there is no choice.
Help from readers is most important now … I made a special page for readers willing to help spread the word by leaving a review comment or rating the work online.
If you have a moment and would like to help share the trilogy, please consider offering your thoughts for others.
It is very important to the success of the trilogy … Thank You!
The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy has been invited to take part in the 2015 EQUUS Film Festival!
Founded and directed by Lisa Diersen, the Festival is an annual showcase of film and other equestrian-themed artwork. I’m excited to announce the Legend of the Great Horse trilogy will take part this year … the event is being held in New York City from November 19-22.
This is the first time a literary section has been added to the EQUUS Film Festival as it grows–I’m proud to be one of 20 authors with work being presented this year.
I’m also happy to support such a positive and innovative new horse event! Horses are one of mankind’s original art subjects and their beauty and nobility still inspire us. In our machine age we need them even more than ever.
There will be more information as the event approaches!
A new page has been created to display all the bookcover artwork! The artwork series offers a journey through history.
Marti Adrian Gregory is the trilogy’s artist and creator of all the original historical figures from the story … each of the Great Horses can be seen together, now that the work is complete.
To support the launch of the finished book covers by Marti Adrian this fall, there is supposed to be ‘marketing’ going on. That hardly makes sense because it’s my book. Instead I’d like to refresh the trilogy’s awards … something I’ve wanted to do because they were rushed together at the time.
The first award for Eclipsed by Shadow was the Reader Views Literary Awards, winning second in the Historical Fiction category in 2009.
Absolutely it was exciting, and also because the honor showed the story engaged with people who didn’t especially know or even like horses.
It was my hope to engage people with no particular interest in horses, yet who might enjoy them and don’t know it.
The horse’s human story deserves to be remembered–and as many horse-lovers know, it is a joyful experience to share.
TheGreatHorse.com website was recently updated to deliver a better user experience on mobile devices.
Some site functionality had to be scrapped, and the change process is somewhat ongoing. Thank you in advance for your patience with any areas that haven’t yet been completed!
Please contact us with questions or comments.
“Henryk looked up with a new light in his eyes. Meagan softened. Perhaps, she thought charitably, the horse’s lop ears did not hang out of laziness. Perhaps the white blaze across his forehead made him look simpler than he really was.” —excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of ‘The Legend of the Great Horse’ trilogy (p. 230)
Medieval Horsetrading c. 1240 AD…
The man seemed to be having difficulty waking his enormous horse, and finally resorted to kneeing him in the side. The horse grunted and raised his head. “Ach, see! Much the calm horse!” Gathering that Meagan was still unimpressed, the trader bore his attention down on the young knight. Great gestures accompanied an inventory of the horse’s virtues, given while Henryk ran a hand down each of the horse’s stovepipe legs and nodded appreciatively.
“Henryk,” Meagan complained, “this horse would be much too slow.”
The trader wagged a finger. “Fraulein, bitte! Of course, knight he needs such horse. How so he conquest Tournament St. John and no horse?”
Henryk looked up with a new light in his eyes. Meagan softened. Perhaps, she thought charitably, the horse’s lop ears did not hang out of laziness. Perhaps the white blaze across his forehead made him look simpler than he really was.
“Ach! Der holzkopf!” the trader screamed as the huge animal settled on his foot. After being slapped repeatedly, the horse removed his hoof reluctantly, as if being deprived of a soft place to stand. The trader recovered and patted the horse’s shoulder as if nothing had happened. Tears stood in his eyes.
Henryk crossed his arms, still nodding in approval.
“Henryk,” she pleaded, “remember we have no money.”
“Fraulein, bitte. Pleasing.” The trader spread his arms. “Knights need horse.”
Meagan walked around the huge beast. The horse’s eyes were small in his coarse, heavy head. His throatlatch was undefined and the upright “mutton” shoulders meant he would offer an uncomfortable, jarring trot. “No Henryk, I think you can do better.”
“The horse from this finest bloodlines!” the trader insisted with a flourish. “His fathers have sweep this infidel from Holies Lands! Ach! See the chest, it is large—so! This animal can carry too much weight. He stop at nothing.”
“He is about to fall over asleep. Henryk, please warn the man about the Tatars, and we should go.”
But Henryk was stroking the horse’s nose with growing confidence. The animal’s eyes were half-closed and he was beginning to doze. Seeing the knight’s interest, the trader dismissed Meagan. “Now we set price,” the man said firmly. The trader’s eyes alighted greedily upon Henryk’s garment of chain mail, and the two began negotiating in earnest…
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.
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.
__________
» 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!