Interview With Allie Lynn

About Equine on the Mind

It began with a book at a friend’s house.

It was about horses and riding. Being the avid reader and animal lover I was, I checked it out.

Within five minutes I was hooked. Graciously, the friend allowed me to keep it. That was only the beginning of the many horse books that were to come. I could never stop having an “equine on the mind”.

Who knew that a simple kid’s book could spark a life-long obsession and love of horses!

The Mission of Equine on the Mind

Here’s what you can expect from this site.

A safe place online for even the youngest horse lover to learn about horses. While nothing is one hundred percent, I want to do everything in my power to make Equine on the Mind a place that parents can have peace of mind about. This is something I always wanted when I was younger, and now hope to provide for others.

A place for horse lovers of all ages to find quality educational and entertainment options to enjoy.

Last but not least, this is also where you can enter my world of writing. While I am not published yet, it’s a goal I am actively pursuing. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy snippets and sneak peeks of what’s to come.

From one horse-crazy girl to all those who can’t get horses off their minds, welcome.

~Allie Lynn

http://www.equineonthemind.com

My good friend Allie just launched her blog, and today we’re going to talk about it!

What was your main goal when starting Equine on the Mind?

I wanted to create a safe place for people to learn about horses without having to worry about weird online ads or online predators. When I was younger I wanted to check out online websites, but it was hard because so many of them were either bought out or they required you to be a certain age for “safety.” Now that goal has been modified slightly to add to my author career, and build up my brand of equine fiction.

How long have you been wanting to start a blog?

Since I was about ten. That was really when I began looking into equine websites. I couldn’t find anything safe for kids, so my mom asked me, “why don’t you start your own website?”. Unfortunately between health problems, moving, and getting resettled into a new home, it took a lot of time before I actually got EOTM up and going.

What/who was your main inspiration to write stories about equine characters?

It was actually my love of horses. I’ve been an avid reader from an early age, and there are a LOT of horse-related books. And then after reading, I wanted to write about them. Horse characters are just so interesting and can really reflect the human characters. I guess if I wasn’t horse crazy, I wouldn’t be a writer, and I can thank an old friend for giving me a horse book that began my horse crazy adventure.

What are you hoping the future of your blog will look like?

I’m hoping that it will give horse lovers of all ages a place that they could learn and grow from. I want parents of my younger viewers to have peace of mind that no one is going to hurt their kid when they’re on my website. I want to provide information on how to write equine-based fiction, without falling into any of the nasty old cliches that too many books and movies sink into (word of advice– NEVER use the city girl meets wild/abused  horse that she magically tames trope, unless you’re going to do something really spectacular that turns it on its head. It’s been overbaked so many times it’s carcinogenic charcoal).

You mentioned overused tropes, what are some other horse related tropes you encounter way too often in fiction?

The horse that is totally perfect in every way is another one that annoys me. No horse is born with the ability to charge into battle without blinking an eye. Nor are they able to gallop for hours on end. Because of the anatomy of the horse, the heart would actually explode if they galloped for as long as the movies insinuate. Racehorses sometimes get nosebleeds from blood vessels in their lungs breaking, and those flat courses aren’t over two miles. A horse galloping for hours over a set of rolling hills? Yeah good luck with that.

What are your top 5 tips for writing Equine characters well?

Funny you should mention that, because I actually have an article written about writing equine characters with five tips. I’ll give the bullet points here, but if you want to read more you’ll have to go to the article.

One, use the senses. As prey animals, horses are extremely sensory based, and see their world through all five senses.

The second is body language. While horses aren’t as verbal as, say, a cockatoo, they do have a vocal language. However being prey animals means that it’s safer for them to be silent. So they communicate mostly through body language.

The third are small details, because those really make your writing come to life. And the fourth and fifth are personality and research. Doing good research will really help you to avoid those possible reality blocks.

Do you have any other resources you recommend for fellow horse enthusiasts?

The first one at the top of my list would be Jessie Haas’s book, Horse Crazy! 1,001 Activities for Horse Crazy Kids. A friend loaned that to me and it is by far one of my favorite horse books. Close second would be Cherry Hill’s How to Think Like a Horse. Good magazines I recommend are Young Rider and Horse Illustrated (their websites are also excellent).

For horse breeding, I would recommend www.foalpatrol.com. While the website no longer features webcams of Thoroughbred broodmares, there is still a lot of excellent information (if you are interested in watching broodmares foal on webcam, check out Country Life breeding farms, on YouTube).

If I was to recommend all day, this interview would never be finished! However these are definitely the best that I have found.

What can you tell us about your latest project, Protectors Of Liberty City?

Well, it’s kind of a cross between Ninjago and Gillian Bronte Adams’ Fireborn Epic. It’s set in a world a little bit like America, a country founded on godly principles and individual rights, once led by a group of people called the Patroda Raida. They used to govern the country of Brieltas with wisdom, using their powers of the elements (controlled through their steeds, the Myarta) to make sure that Brieltas didn’t become like the country they had left behind.But now a new government has taken over and the Patroda Raida have been banished. To be known as a Raida means imprisonment or death.

Enter the main characters, the point of view being a teen girl named Jackie whose parents are the last of the Patroda Raida living as witnesses of God in Liberty City, Brieltas’s capital (and only) city. She’s forced to live on the streets with her little brother when her parents are arrested and then meets the Protectors, street orphans who descend from the Raida and want to take down the evil emperor and his government.

I’m not exactly sure what to call the genre yet, but it’s somewhere between cyberpunk, dystopian, and fantasy western, with some definite action-adventure. I’m hoping to focus on the theme of God’s sovereignty even in hard times and trusting in His Providence. I’m also releasing a lot of articles and character interviews on my website about it too, which your readers can find at The World of Brieltas Archives – Equine on the Mind.

Thank you so much, Allie!!

If you love horses or know someone who does, visit EOTM ASAP!

Until Next Time,

-Lori