Final draft

Thank goodness I had enough ink.

Here it is: the final draft. Over two years of writing and research--in the homestretch for publication.

My editor is gonna have some fun now! *smile*

Riding a beloved UConn legend....

Here I am with UC Ovation, aka "Mama O."

I had the distinct honor of riding her this past June.

She is a lovely, patient mare, and she gave me wonderful ride. She is in her 20s now, and some gray has sprouted on her beautiful face, proudly displaying her nobility and wisdom.

She is absolutely gorgeous.

I must admit I had a few shivers of awe when I swung a leg over and landed on her back. I thought of all the students she taught, all the hearts she touched. This mare was loved by so many.

Wow. How lucky am I? (And, I get to ride her again!)

Thank you, UC Ovation.

Rewrites....

Some of the early chapters needed fine-tuning, as they lacked the flow of later chapters.
Chapter One reads a A LOT different than chapter 47. Makes sense, doesn't it? So, I tweaked and fixed and revised--much better.

The timetable for completion has also been tweaked, I hope to have the book ready by the Holidays. I don't want to rush to get it ready by fall, there's still more editing to do.

A few have asked me why I ultimately decided to go with Createspace instead of sending out a mountain of manuscripts to publishers.

1. I don't want a mountain of rejection letters.  I need to be realistic--I am a first-time author trying to get published in the middle of an economic recession. Plus, my name isn't Snooki, so I am not a 'sure bet.' (Snooki from Jersey Shore has a BESTSELLER. Wrap your heads around that for a minute.)

2. I want to retain total control over the finished product. This book is a labor of love for me, it's 'my baby.' I like that Creatspace allows for the ever-elusive creative freedom. The reins are in my hands.

3. I love the UConn Morgans and I want their stories published. They deserve that honor.

Enjoy your summer with a good book! I just finished Crazy Good by Charles Leerhsen. It's the incredible true story of the famous pacer, Dan Patch. Highly recommended.

And get thee to your local bookstore and look around. You may find something that speaks to you!

Thanks for your support of me and My Horse, My Heart. I would not have gotten this far without all of you cheering me on!

Getting on with it....

Hello dear weekend--let's go to work!
I get a lot done in the morning-- that seems to be when my creative mojo is in high gear. By afternoon, I can be like a piece of toast that is slightly charred. Dry, crumbly and happy to have lots of butter. But, I digress. But, not really--I love butter. Julia Child was right about the stuff.

Speaking of butter, I bought a big, succulent artichoke yesterday. You're hearing me!

Now that all of this talk of butter is out of the way, how about a book update? Well, okay then!

I added a new chapter on the current junior stallions UC Domination, UC Doc Sanchez and UC Mastermind.

I added a wonderful memory to the Mentor chapter.

I gave my editor the UC Taffy chapter, as I forgot to give it to her for the first go-around.

I finished, maybe, the illustrations. One of them is pictured above--that's the gorgeous UC Lyric. I say maybe because I am always drawing and I may have more. My husband commented that he really liked the quick, loose and expressive quality of the drawings and that perhaps I should just let them be. I agree, and I think the drawings show how much fun I had capturing these incredible horses on paper. So, I decided to keep the illustrations in pencil.

I scanned all the archives from UConn's Animal Science Department. Thanks to Jennifer Simionello for hooking me up with some wonderful history!

Then, I have to tackle the index and the sources page. This may take a little while...

We're still on track! I hope all of you can have the book in your hands by fall or early winter.

Thanks again for all of your support. This is a lot of work, but it never stops being fun and exciting.

Hope you are enjoying your summer.

Helen
 

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
It's a sunny summer day

and did I get a parking ticket? NO WAY!

Hey, it worked! Just when I thought UConn's parking services had no heart. Thanks, whoever you are.

UConn's Junior Stallions

There is one final chapter I must write...

I must include in my book the stories of UConn's current junior stallions UC Doc Sanchez, UC Domination and UC Mastermind. They have the distinct honor of carrying on the incredible UConn Morgan lines.

Sanchez and Domination are sons of the incredible Doc Daniels (the book's cover boy) and Mastermind is a son of the mighty Ringmaster.

Sanchez and Domination already have a few Championship titles to their names. Young, handsome AND brilliant--just doesn't get any better than that!

Updates!

Getting all the photos (and the permission to use them)organized is HARD FREAKIN' WORK (but I love this stuff--so this is NOT a complaint)! AND my designer threw some techno-jargon at me that sounds like "high res" "jay pegs" and "300 dpi." Something about "pixies" and print quality. *wink*

Okay, I am NOT that techno-ignorant, but some of this designer talk does make my head spin. So glad he's dealing with all of that--leaving it to the pro.

Speaking of pros, I have the Big Meeting with my ultra-swell  editor on Friday. She tells me my book is "fabulous." Okay, anyone who uses the term "fabulous" with me gets a gold star. Fabulous! I love it!

Here's a new pencil illustration, it's titled "Calling to the Mares."