Today's guest blogger is Jennifer Walker, author of Bubba Goes National, Bubba to the Rescue, and others. She also sets up virtual book tours for clients, and if I recall, that's how we first met - we bumped in to each other somehow while we were both promoting authors, and we made Internet friends. I imagine we'd also be pretty decent real-life friends, too, if we ever got to meet. That would be way fun.I have two rules that all of my books must obey:
1. I don't write anything I wouldn't let my mother or my daughter read.
2. I never want a reader to come up to me and say, "There's no way such-and-such could ever happen."
The first is important to me because I want to be able to share my work with my family and friends without blushing, which is the easy part. The second is important because I hate reading books that are so far out there (barring appropriate suspension of belief) that I can't read for all the eye rolling I'm doing. This rule takes a little more effort to follow. I want my books to be real, so a lot of the subject matter comes from real life.
I have been a horse lover all my life. I haven't always had a horse (I do right now), but I have ridden them for much of it. I have also worked in the industry and spent many, many hours caring for, grooming, riding, and showing. I guess what I'm trying to say is, while I may not be a professional horsewoman, I know a little bit about that world. Therefore, when I decided I should write a book, it was pretty clear what it should be about: horses. Write what you know, right?
In my books, the main character, Leslie, works for a horse trainer to pay for her lessons and because she wants to be a trainer herself one day. She's a lot like what I wish I was when I was her age. It's pretty cool, because Leslie gets to do a lot more than I ever did, so I can live vicariously through her. She's even a better rider than I am, which is totally unfair.
Some of the things in Leslie's life come from real scenes from my own life, some are simply inspired by real events, and others are completely made up. In any case, I try really hard to make sure everything is accurate. There was a lot of veterinary care in Bubba to the Rescue, the second book in the Green Meadow Series that just came out, so I had my vet, Linda Lauper of HAPPEE Horses, Inc., look through it to make sure I had it all right.
If you know nothing about horses, I hope you read my books and learn a little something. If you are a lifelong horse lover, I hope you enjoy the realism that is absent in so many horse books. In any case, I invite you to give them a read and enjoy some good old-fashioned fun you won't be ashamed to share with your mother...or daughter.
Bubba Goes National: When 13-year-old Leslie Clark finds an Arabian horse at a livestock auction, she never dreams he'll soon take her to the national championships.
Bubba to the Rescue: After an abandoned horse follows Leslie home during a terrifying forest fire, Leslie tends his wounds and soon falls in love with him...but does she have the strength to give him up when his true owner turns up?
The Green Meadow Series is available on www.TwinTrinityBooks.com, Amazon.com, smashwords.com, and other online retailers.
1 comment:
I think those are great rules to write books by. I don't follow the first one, per se. I've let my kids read some stuff I've written that I honestly wouldn't have let them read if another writer had written it... but then, I write thrillers and crime and suspense, and sometimes, to make #2 work, #1 has to sort go out the window.
Anyway, Jennifer's books are awesome! I'm a grown woman and I enjoyed reading them. They are light and easy reading, but they tackle some tough teen stuff in a very appropriate way. I highly recommend them!
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