Angela Dorsey’s Blog

We all like horses of different breeds, colours, and genders. We like horses with different personalities and talents and quirks. We like horses that aren’t even horses, because some of us like mules or donkeys better.

So I was curious, what do you think the most important qualities are that a horse (or donkey or mule) can have?

Click here to answer the question. I can’t wait to hear your answers!

Check out the blurb for the new Whinnies book, due to come out this fall with PONY under What’s New.

So the horse won again in the strangest marathon I’ve ever heard of.

In 1980, a local landlord, a Mr. Green, overheard a discussion between two men in his pub. One man was saying that a man could run as fast as a horse over a long distance and the other was disagreeing, saying the horse would always be faster. Mr. Green decided that this could be tested and set up the first event, a 22 mile race between horse and human. And it wasn’t just any race; this was a cross country race, through fields and over hills and through creeks. Grueling!

Since that first race, they’ve held the race every year for a total of 31 races, and guess how many times humans have won…

Twice. Yes, believe it or not, humans are pretty fast too, over long distances anyway. The first human to win against horses on foot was Huw Lobb, who beat his closest horse competitor, Kay Bee Jay (ridden by Zoe White), by about two minutes. Then in 2007, Florian Holzinger beat the fastest horse, Lucy (ridden by Geoffry Allen), by a full eleven minutes!

This year however, horses triumphed yet again, for the 29th time. The winner was Sly Dai, ridden by Llinos Mair Jones. The picture of them below shows them mid-race.

Anyway, I thought the race was a pretty cool idea.

I was just interviewed by Jen Brubacher, a librarian, writer, and very nice person! If you want to read the interview, click HERE.

So gorgeous! I am truly amazed by Jennifer Bell’s work! Here is her cover art for the fourth Whinnies book:

So many of us love to write, and since I also love to read, I thought I’d put some fun short writing exercises as the Question of the Month for July.

I can’t wait to read what you send me!

What is your favourite horse movie?

Go here to answer the question!

The book that is called Sobekkare’s Revenge is coming out in German bookstores in August! It is called Ein Glücksstern für Amina, and here is a picture of the cover. I don’t know yet who did the art work, as I haven’t yet received my copies, but I’ll let you know when I know. Whoever did it, did a wonderful job!

So, I’ve been editing Winter of Sinking Waters and it’s been fun! Yes, I do like editing. This book has a lot of action and my main challenge has been to keep the writing pace fast while not losing touch with the characters or creating action overload (which is when there is so much action the reader just stops caring what happens). Most of the manuscript needs quite a bit of revising, but every now and then I come across a passage that I feel I got right the first time. Here’s one that will require only a minor bit of tweaking:

I got out of the truck and approached the cows’ gate. A hundred and twenty pairs of eyes watched me intently from the other side of the metal rails. Some of them leaned, making the gate push taut against the latch that held it shut. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the second I opened the gate, there would be a stampede toward the hay – and I would be between the herd and its object of desire.

“Just hit the latch and run!” Kestrel yelled from her open window.

No prob. Just hit the latch and run as if a stampeding herd of cattle wasn’t mere inches behind me with their sharp, cloven hooves and hungry eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I swatted the bit of metal that was holding the gate in place, turned, and ran!

Halfway to the truck, I noticed Kestrel’s laughing face through the windshield. I didn’t slow, but I turned my head. One hundred and twenty pairs of eyes looked at me with disappointment from behind metal bars. The latch hadn’t released. I tossed Kestrel an irritated friends-don’t-laugh-at-friends look and turned back.

I gathered my courage again as I retraced my steps, then kicked at the snow around the gate until I found what I needed, a nice sized rock. With the rock finally in hand, I took careful aim and whacked the metal latch with the rock.

The gate shot toward me like a big metal fist. I jumped back just in time to avoid being knocked down, only to face something far more scary. Heavy brown and white bodies jostled and shoved their way through the sudden opening, hay lust reflecting in their glazed eyes. I stumbled backward as they rumbled toward me like a living tidal wave on hooves, shouldering and mooing and bawling, then I turned tail and ran for the truck, praying like crazy that I wouldn’t slip, wouldn’t trip, and that for once, my clumsiness wouldn’t decide to intervene.

I love coming across passages like this!

Today, I finished the first draft of my fifth book in the Whinnies series! Very exciting – but the book isn’t even close to being finished. Now I have to switch from writer’s brain to editor’s brain, and REWRITE my book. Why is rewriting so important?

One reason – it is virtually impossible to get it right the first time. Experienced authors rewrite their books because they realize that the book doesn’t yet portray that which they have visualized. They realize that some parts need to be tightened, some parts given more description and weight. Some scenes need to be dropped and new paragraphs should be added. Characters need to be deleted or added, and sometimes (like what happened in the book of a friend of mine) two characters needed to be squished into one – a gross image for sure!

Also, each writer has his or her process. Some rewrite a dozen times, some less, some a lot more. Some first send it to an editor or trusted reader, and then start their rewrites. Some work with an editor later on. Some read aloud to themselves. Some tape their story and then listen to it. Most writers simply spend weeks sitting in front of a computer screen, reading, rethinking, revising. But however it’s done, almost all published books are different from their first draft, and the few exceptions are always written by very experienced writers.

Here is my rewriting process as it is right now: First, write the first draft. I do it from beginning to end, which is not the way that everyone writes a book. Many writers jump around and write whatever scene they feel inspired to write, then fit it all together later. But back to rewriting: during the first draft, I usually rewrite sections of the book.

Second, I go back to the beginning and work straight through the entire novel again.  

Third, I go back and rework the problem areas that I feel exist, until I get them right.

Fourth, I rewrite from beginning to end again.

Fifth, I send it to my wonderful editor, Ev Bishop, who is also a talented writer.

Sixth, I usually make all the changes she suggests, then I rewrite the book again from beginning to end.

Seventh, if I don’t feel confident about any part of the book, I go back and rewrite those parts. This usually isn’t a huge job as by this time, the story is pretty close to finished.

Eighth, one more time all the way through, and then I send it to my publisher. After the publisher gets it there are further edits of course, usually at least two. In fact, by the time a book is finally ready to be published, it’s safe to say that I’m pretty tired of reading that particular story!

For you writers, both young and young-at-heart, what is your rewriting process? I’m interested to hear!