One-Liners

April 10, 2013 By 4 Comments

One of my virtual friends, Charlie Bray, began a new series featuring one-liners from novels.

http://theindietribe.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/10-one-liners-from-10-novels-collection-one/

I’m pleased to announce that Charlie chose a one-liner from “Believing In Horses” as one of the top ten in the first collection.

“Ten pairs of eyes in various stages of fear, desperation, and sadness, all watching Sadie, seemingly pleading for her to do something”

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BELIEVING IN HORSES by Valerie Ormond

I don’t know Charlie personally, but via the worldwide web.  He works tirelessly to help independent and aspiring authors through efforts such as this.  He has a huge following…just check out the blogroll.

But I found Charlie’s contest fun for more reasons than the win.  You see, I had to pick the one-liner to enter.  For you writers out there…what line would you choose from your novel, story, or work in progress?  Try it…it won’t be as easy as you think.

Filed Under: books, Events, horses, motivation, writing, writing tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

For You. For Your Horse. From Love.

February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Today I’d like to bring you a guest post by Nick McFarland from the United Kingdom who explains to us how he became involved in the horse industry. Nick is the owner of HM Equestrian, a retailer: “For You. For Your Horse.” Please join me in welcoming Nick and hearing his story.

In November 2012, I started HM Equestrian, a business built on a family love of horses. But people frequently ask, how did we get here?

Two of Nick McFarland’s horses. McFarland’s love of animals and his family helped drive his business decision.

Well, I first got into all things equestrian through the love of animals and a desire to spend time with my daughter. As a single father, I wanted a common hobby, so we could have a reason to spend time together.With this in mind, and no previous experience of horse ownership, we went out and bought our first horse…who turned out to be pregnant! So after only five months of horse ownership, our first foal was born. Suffice to say this was a very steep learning curve for the entire family. But those first few months of looking after a foal and his mum taught us a huge amount about horses and the way they think. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Guest Posts, horses, life lessons, motivation, work Tagged With: , , , ,

Horses and Writers

October 4, 2012 By 13 Comments
Valerie Ormond and Color Me Lucky - a writer and a horse with much in common

Valerie Ormond consults her horse, Color Me Lucky, on the similarity between horses and writers.

I spend the majority of my time riding horses or writing stories.  Since I know so many equine authors, it dawned on me there might be some kind of connection between horses and writers.  In honor of World Animal Day, here’s a few ways I considered that horses are like writers (or writers are like horses):

  1.  Horses know riders get better with more time in the saddle; writers know writers get better with more time in the chair.
  2.  Not all horses ride the same; not all writers think the same.
  3.  Horses flee; writers procrastinate.
  4.  Horses mirror the soul; writers mirror the soul.
  5.  Horses CAN be led to water; writers CAN be led to write. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Blogging, books, Guest Posts, horses, life lessons, writing, writing tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

What Are Your Chances of Being an Olympian?

August 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

An equestrian enthusiast and fan of this blog, Jenn Bohman, sent me this graphic I’m about to share with you. Jenn thought you, my readers, particularly the equestrians in the crowd, might be interested.  I hope you are, and if you normally visit my blog to read about writing, well, take a break from writing and catch some Olympic spirit in the final days.

I, like many, have been caught up in serious Olympic fever over these past few weeks. I get so emotional watching athletes in all sports compete like they never have before to proudly represent their countries. So many highlights, and such class, demonstrated over and over again by both rookie and seasoned athletes. I get very emotional, cry a lot, and stay up way past my bedtime. But have you ever wondered what the odds for an athlete to actually reach the Olympic Games? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Events, fans, goals, Horse competition, motivation, work Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Real Good Story

June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I last posted about “Keeping It Real” in writing and mentioned how some people responded to my book, Believing In Horses, turning fiction into reality. Last week, some local children made a significant donation to local rescues in their “Kids Can Do BIG Things, Too!” campaign. Please welcome my guest blogger, Kristy Alvarez, founder of Desire Ministries and the leader of this campaign, who tells the story in her words. 

As many of you know, or may not know, through Desire Ministries, we have been running an after-school Horse Club program since 2006.  We meet with the students of Cornerstone Christian Academy on a weekly basis so that the students who participate can learn the basics of horseback riding and horsemanship at Loftmar Stables in Bowie, Md.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: books, characters, Events, fans, goals, Guest Posts, heroes, horses, horses, life lessons, Maryland, motivation, volunteers, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Keeping It Real at the Annapolis Book Festival

June 5, 2012 By 3 Comments

This year, the Annapolis Book Festival included a panel, “Young Adult Books: Keeping It Real.” The title alone fascinated me, and I was thrilled to be part of it. The Key School in Annapolis created the Annapolis Book Festival 10 years ago when a group of dedicated parents decided to bring a world class event promoting reading and writing to Annapolis, Md. Once involved with the event, I quickly recognized why the Annapolis Book Festival holds the reputation as one of the finest book festivals in the region. With over 40 authors and 25 panels, The Key School saw to every detail and ensured both authors and audiences enjoyed the event.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: books, characters, Events, goals, horses, life lessons, Maryland, military, motivation, veterans, volunteers, work, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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