Writing for Horses: Heading to Japan

When did I start to write about horses? From the moment I was able to write complete sentences as a second grader. My history with horse stories went back to when I was four years old. When I fell in love with horses I could not get enough stories about them. Looking back now, it is as if my younger self had innocently planned out the rest of my life.

I was a voracious reader. I would read anything as long as it had horses in it. My favorite time in school was when we went to the library. I went to the horse section in the library in a sort of delirium. I still do this  as an adult.

In sixth grade my English teacher, Mr. Meehan, gave my class a writing assignment. We had to write an adventure story. Already a loner and outsider due to shyness I looked forward to this assignment. My novella consisted of three teenagers looking for one of the girl's stolen horse. They discover the horse had been stolen by a psychotic adult who had planned on killing and dismembering the horse. I thought to myself that the story could have been better. My teacher was excited though for I had produced the longest and most intricate piece out of the class. He gave me a 110% and wrote on the cover page "You have the talent to become an author". That's when I started to believe I could become a writer. 

As a teenager I wrote and read about horses and Tudor England. My fantasy novels were inspired by the culture of Japan and its native Shinto religion. In high school I signed up for every writing elective I could take. Much to one of my teacher's dismay, I enrolled at the community college with a major in Early Childhood Education. 

One day the thought finally came. What was I doing?  I loved kids and enjoyed working with them but that was not my true passion. Horses and writing were. This thought led me to Southern New Hampshire University where I completed my BA in Creative Writing. Through my years with the school I was told by three professors that when I wrote about horses my writing took on a higher quality. These remarks led me to pursue an MFA at SNHU and begin my first true novel.

Nearly all of my life has been spent with horses. Even when I was not physically with them my mind and heart were consumed by them. I wanted a horse. I dreamed of horses. My horse Skye is my dream in the flesh.

Still, my heart wouldn't settle. There was something more I needed to know about horses. I realized I wanted to know about horses in Japan. What is the story of the horse there? I want to know. So that's where I am going. It is hard to express the emotions I feel when I think about learning and writing about horses in this country. 

I do not question this attraction though. I just pursue it.