THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy | Blog
Eclipsed by Shadow • The Golden Spark • Into the Dark
Check out the Excerpt Series from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy!
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New excerpts are published each Thursday for Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1) … and also appear on the trilogy’s Facebook Page.
Beginning in October 2011, a new series of excerpts from The Golden Spark (Book #2) will begin.
The earliest beginnings of mankind echo through artistry preserved on rock walls, giving silent testimony to the creative impulse inherent in mankind … and evidence that our fascination with the horse is older than history.
What if the dream—Meagan sat up quickly and stared at her surroundings. She was still in her nightgown, perched on a rocky cliff over an expanse of prairie grassland. An empty landscape spread before her, basking in late afternoon sun. This is strange, Meagan thought, swallowing. Solid rock walls rose on either side of her, marbled with green moss and snaking black fissures. Nothing manmade was in sight… >> read more | see all Excerpts
Eclipsed by Shadow is the 1st book of ‘The Legend of the Great Horse‘ trilogy, an award-winning adventure through history — on horseback!
» “On the Rocks” – the Horse in Cave Art
» Man and the Prehistoric Horse
» Cave Art vs. Franz Marc paintings
» Leaving the Prehistoric World Behind
» The Cave of Chauvet Official site with interactive map
» The Lascaux Caves Metropolitan Museum of Art
» Lascaux Cave French Ministry of Culture site (3-D Map)
The Golden Spark by John Allen Royce has been named an Independent Publisher (IP) Highlighted Title for August 2011. The IP Highlighted Title designation honors newly-published books exhibiting superior levels of creativity, originality, and high standards of design and production quality.
The Golden Spark by John Allen Royce has been named an Independent Publisher Highlighted Title for August 2011. (see online)
The Independent Publisher (IP) Highlighted Title designation honors newly-published books exhibiting superior levels of creativity, originality, and high standards of design and production quality.
The honor is awarded each month to the top new US titles published in the USA by independent publishers, selecting the best of new independent books each month. Being chosen as an Independent Publisher Highlighted Title brings well-deserved attention to the book, author, and publisher.
The Golden Spark is Book 2 of an award-winning trilogy adventure into mankind’s past, The Legend of the Great Horse. A horse-loving teenager is lost in history with only her knowledge of horsemanship to help her survive. Sequel to Eclipsed by Shadow, winner of the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for YA Fiction.
‘Meagan turned back, deciding there was nothing more useless than a knight. Fairytales could talk about shining knights riding up on white steeds, but she was beginning to think their fabled rescues could do without the knight if one had the horse. If knights were not the only people with swords, she was sure no one would pay them the least attention.’ —excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of ‘The Legend of the Great Horse’ trilogy (p. 231)
No day can be good that begins in a tree, Meagan thought irritably, I need to remember that. The sun gave no indication of breaking through the overcast skies, and the night’s drizzle seemed a prelude to more rain.
Hungry, sore and sunburned, Meagan was annoyed by Henryk’s new habit of continual singing. She reached up to the wide bough on which
she had balanced through the night and retrieved Targa’s bridle. She struggled to tie her gown up so that she could ride. Her ankle-length garment seemed designed to inhibit motion, and she wished again she had not let the Abbey take away her comfortable Mongolian trousers …
Henryk slipped down from the tree and stretched luxuriously. His new horse lifted his enormous head, nudging the young knight and pushing him off his feet. Henryk gritted his teeth as the horse used him for a scratching post. “Chouchou, no,” he said mildly, pushing the horse’s head away and accepting its immediate return.
“Chouchou? Is that what you named him?”
“Tak, Chouchou! You enjoy?” Henryk murmured something in his horse’s huge, floppy ear. Chouchou—the name meant “teacher’s pet” in French, Meagan was to learn—delicately sniffed in Targa’s direction. The pony flattened her ears and snapped. “Visqueux!” Henryk sniffed, and gently soothed his mammoth horse’s supposedly-hurt feelings.
Meagan rode out into the muddy field, leaving Henryk to follow. The German horsetrader had promised the nearby road led to a castle, and she was determined to find it in the rain if necessary. She turned back and saw Henryk hopping up and down beside Chouchou.
Oh, yes, she remembered crossly. Henryk could not mount his elephant without a leg up. Meagan turned back, deciding there was nothing more useless than a knight. Fairytales could talk about shining knights riding up on white steeds, but she was beginning to think their fabled rescues could do without the knight if one had the horse. If knights were not the only people with swords, she was sure no one would pay them the least attention.
Copyright © 2008 John Royce
The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is an adventure through history … each section is about a different time period.
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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Quick Links:
» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.
» Read the 1st Chapter online.
» Check out Book #2 of the trilogy: The Golden Spark.
» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.
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