Horse Charmer Blog Tour - Guest Post

Today I have the pleasure of featuring Angelia Almos, author of the YA Fantasy, Horse Charmer. She is busy this month participating in the Tasty Book Tour and has stopped by my blog to talk a little bit about her process of putting some of her horses into her stories. If you'd like to check out Angelia's other blog stops click here. Also, Angelia is giving away a $20 Amazon/B&N giftcard but in order to have a chance to win you must enter your name in the Rafflecopter at the end of this post. Goodluck!

Horsey Characters

One of the cool things about writing young adult fantasy and horsey fiction is getting to put some of my beloved horses into the stories I’m telling.

 Horse Charmer features my show horse from my teenage years. Kristy and I probably had the strongest relationship and bond out of all of the horses who have been a part of my life. I changed her name for the book and it took a long time to settle on the name Kali since the name had to be perfect. Kali looks and behaves exactly how I imagine Kristy would if she could talk as Kali in Horse Charmer can.

 When I started Unicorn Keep I wanted to include another one of the many horses who had touched my life. Ginger, my family’s Shetland pony, had been a part of my life off and on for as long as Kristy, and both of my daughters started riding on her before she passed away. I decided to put a spunky and sassy pony into Unicorn Keep in her honor. I made the fictional Ginger larger than her real true ten hands since my heroine was a teenager and needed to ride her through most of the book. She got to shoot up two hands to the average Welsh pony height. Ginger’s personality was always bigger than her size.  

 In my romantic suspense novel, Mafia Secret, under my Angie Derek pen name, I put in a cameo from the very first horse I took lessons on when I was five years old. Old Ben snuck into the book without me consciously choosing for him to be there, but once I remembered I had named him the same as that gentle bay gelding who started me on my path of horsiness, I knew the name was perfect. Made me want to give him a bigger part in the book.

Some of my favorite horse books growing up were the ones where the horses were just as much a main character as the hero/heroine. Battlecry in Battlecry Forever and Flame in the Island Stallion series come to mind when I think of a horse as being a major character. But horse stars aren’t limited to the printed page. The Black was popular enough to have two movies and a TV show made about him. Maximus from Tangled is probably one of the funniest horses on screen. I could go on and on naming horse after horse, but I’ll stop there.

Who are some of your favorite horse characters in print and on screen?

Now here's a little more about Angelia and her book Horse Charmer:

A gifted princess. A special horse. A quest for the truth.

At sixteen years old, Cassia would rather spend her days in the royal stables than in the royal court. But as the eldest child of King Robet and Queen Sarahann she obediently performs her duties as the Princess of Karah.
Her safe world changes forever when her father is murdered in the neighboring kingdom of Vespera. Cassia grapples with his loss as her mother prepares her for her new role as queen. Her first task - she must travel to Vespera to marry a prince she barely knows to fulfill the treaty her father signed just before his death.

Nothing is as simple as it seems with political intrigues and unusual powers shadowing Cassia on her search to find out who killed her father and why.
 

Angelia Almos' love affair with horses began when she was five years old and talked her parents into her first riding lesson. Horses have always been a huge part of her life. The initial idea behind Horse Charmer came to her when she was fourteen. The image of a teenage girl riding her horse through a meadow appeared. Who was this girl? Where was she going? What was she running from? Those questions led to the creation of Horse Charmer.

Author Links
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AngeliaAlmosAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AngeliaAlmos
Blog: http://angeliaalmos.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.angeliaalmos.com
Google+: https://plus.google.com/109925456863894987370
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1027877.Angelia_Almos

Book Links
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468801-horse-charmer
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051BOAMC
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/horse-charmer-angelia-almos/1101976975
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/horse-charmer/id442235188?mt=11

 
Thanks to Angelia!

Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win the $20 gift certificate!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Summer is Here!

It's summer! I should be happy, right? I get to wear my sandals, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and the birds are chirping. But I'm one of those people who doesn't enjoy much about the summer months. Living in Louisiana, I won't see temperatures under 90 degrees again until Sept/Oct. and I hate the heat.

I do love wearing my sandals though and love the flowers but that's about it. However, so many things have been happening in the world lately that have been negative so I refuse to let the summer get me down. I'm going to try my best to be happy for every minute of every day! Live is precious and we should all thank god that we are here to enjoy it.

I just got back from a trip to Virginia to visit my parents and siblings. I even got to attend a book signing with my sister and mom! This is NOT a good photo of any of us but here goes:

We had a wonderful visit together and that is a big part of why I've decided to appreciate life a little more. My father has Alzheimers and since I last saw him in November, he has gone downhill. The Dr's for some unknown reason took him off his Alzheimers meds by mistake. That caused him to

slip. We finally got him back on the meds but he is only 80% back to how he was before. Seeing him the way he is now... was hard. My dad was always the best person in the world at driving directions but now... he can't help at all because he is too confused. I won't go on and on about the things I saw because I want to stay positive, but it really makes you stop and realize you should enjoy every second you have with those you love! (The picture at left is a great photo of him and a funny story. He asked me for "underwear" for fathers day one year. Well since underwear is such an "unexciting" gift to send someone I decided to spice it up. A friend of mine told me to put the underwear in the shape of a rose but since my dad is very patriotic and a vet, I decided to dress them up with flags, and red,white,blue stuff. He got a real kick out of it!)

Good news though... while there my husband emailed me an article about a doctor that was experimenting with coconut oil on an Alzheimers patient. That patient was making remarkable progress so we ordered some immediately for my dad. The day that I left for home, my mom got the coconut oil and began giving it to my dad. That evening, she said my dad was really good and has been good ever since. Now it was too early to tell if it was the coconut oil or not, but we have hope!

Anyway, life is short. Too short in some instances. I pledge to be a better person, better writer, and more positive. It's going to be really hard for me because I do tend to be negative, but luckily I have a very positive friend/writer (Deborah Lynne) who will shake me up and put me in line!

How about you? Are you happy summer is finally here?