Phantom Stallion E-Newsletter April 2011
Dear Readers,
Daffodils are pushing their yellow petaled faces through the snowy Nevada earth, aching for sunshine and Terri is following their example, headed for sunny Texas!
Terri loved her writing residency in Boise, Idaho! She spoke in gyms and auditoriums, worked side-by-side with teachers and
students in classrooms and ended the week in the amazing Boise Young Writers Conference! At a community booksigning, she
met lots of talented young reader/writer/riders!
No April Fool's joke: April 7 -12 Terri's in in Texas!!!
Thursday, April 7
Friday, April 8
Bloomburg School presentation: Hooked on Horses!
Sunday April 10, 2 pm FREE
http://www.artandseek.org/event.php?id=26833
Allen Public Library
300 North Allen Drive
Allen, TX 75013
Phone: 214.509.4911
Then, on May 12, Terri's on the road again, doing her very first ever booksigning in CANADA! Stay alert for updates!
You can also follow Terri on Twitter (@Terri_Farley),
and TerriFarley.com has had a makeover. While you're looking around sign up to get almost daily letters from her
if you subscribe to her blog
|
PHANTOM STALLION trivia contest Quick! Which of Terri's books begins with Sam and Jen playing dead? Search the newsletter for two hints. Then, email your answer to farleyterri@aol.com!If you are the first OR seventeenth reader to give the correct answer, you will win a free autographed copy of that book! |
Even Fiction Can Tell the Truth
Now, onto more serious stuff.
Japan's terrible earthquake and tsunami have made kids and adults aware of how little we know about the WHY of natural forces.
For instance, there was lots of talk about March 19's Super Moon triggering earthquakes.
I grew up in California, and those of you who've read GIFT HORSE, probably figured out I'm no fan of earthquakes.
Hawaii has earthquakes and more. While researching my WILD HORSE ISLAND series I learned about the earthquake-tsunami-disease cycle.
It's part of the islands' history and the reason, most believe, that wild horses live in Waipi'o Valley, model for my fictional
Crimson Vale.
If you want to read a fictional account of what happens, take a look at SEA SHADOW. I did my best to show how a tsunami
impacts the natural world of wild horses and the people who care about them. It's not pretty, but experts helped me make it
pretty accurate.
To see one possible tsunami aftermath, read WATER LILY, book #8, which follows a domestic horse sickened by contamination of wild waters.
Hint #1: in this book, we find out where Blaze has been going at night
| Just for fun: See a beautiful dancing palomino & enjoy a crazy cowboy song dedicated to "A Four-Legged Friend": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkg2C_EIea0 |
This just in . . .
Red Horse Nation
Remember the Paiute mustangs Terri told you about in her last newsletter?
Those horses arrived in their new homes and the bunch bound for Texas have been adopted into a very cool program called Red Horse Nation.
Red Horse Nation helps young Native Americans learn about their connection to Mother Earth, and tribal values. Kids learn through tribal songs, dances, stories, ceremonies, art and HORSES with the guidance of Native horse trainers and Elders
Blackfeet, Navajo, Laguna Pueblo and other tribes have found that working with wild horses can inspire growth, healing and leadership. Communicating with a wild horse can people find their own voice.
Many readers have asked Terri if Jake Ely's relationship with horses could be "real." Jake is half-Shoshone and Terri wrote his actions and attitude to show that his skills are real, she is not Native American and so she turned to members of Red Horse Nation for answers.
When Terri talked to Suzi Landolphi of Red Horse Nation, if she thought Native American youth could have a natural affinity for horses, especially wild ones, Suzi explained that many young people in the program have a gradual "I know how to do this" experience and then she described one.
As part of the cultural/spiritual part of the program, a group of native kids were told to play traditional drums in a pasture of wild horses. Of course the sound caught the horses' attention, but no one expected what happened next.
The horses came to the drummers. Running back and forth, the horses showed their excitement, but then they formed a semi-circle in front of the drummers like this and sttood watching and listening until the drumming stopped.
Why would a herd of wild horses do that?
Observers speculated that just as tribes have passed down horse knowledge, horses could have passed down a kind of knowing, too.
Red Horse Nation nurtures a way of being in the world, a way which sees the value and kinship of everyone and everything in our world.
"It's not about power and control, "Suzi said, "It's recognizing we all have the same value."
So what about Jake? Could his relationship with horses be real? Terri says "yes." She wrote Jake as a strong young man who doesn't use his strength to dominate others, especially animals. He does more listening than talking and watches rather than barging in and taking charge before he knows what's up.
Here are some photos of young people and horses brought together by Red Horse Nation.
As leaders with Red Horse Nation, the Rondeaux family -- Rachael and Rod and their daughter Cheyenne -- photograph and share their lives with wild horses.
You can see them here.
Rod Rondeaux, called a "wild horse warrior" by some kids, comes to a wild 25 year old Kiger stallion not as a "show him who's boss" horse breaker, but as an equal.
Hint #2: in this book, Sam and Jen meet a boy named Nicholas
Some of you will remember a friend describing Terri's first moments with the real Phantom Stallion, as "a meeting of two nations." This is the kind of non-dominant relationship Red Horse Nation fosters, and the Phantom tried to teach it to Terri with his level look and dignified bearing.
See more by visiting Redhorsenation.com
My heart goes crazy every time I think of it. It's been six hours, at least, and I don't know if I've thought about anything else. I'm home and I've had dinner, so I must've thought about how to lift my fork, but I should be doing homework, and I can't.
Where is Terri Farley?
April 7, 2011
The Diamond Club at Rangers Ballpark
1090 Ballpark Way
Arlington, TX 760911
817-436-5933
April 8, 2011
Bloomburg School Presentation: Hooked on Horses!
Sunday April 10 2 pm FREE
http://www.artandseek.org/event.php?id=26833
Allen Public Library
300 North Allen Drive
Allen, TX 75013
Phone: 214.509.4911
Buy Phantom Stallion
Terri's books are available for KINDLE!
Phantom Stallion books are available
at your local bookstore and online at
Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.org
