I can so relate to this post! I too was horseless as a kid and read every horse centered book, I could get my hands on. I also watched many boring Westerns just to see the horses. I too fell in love with Arabian Horses because of books, but for me it was The Black Stallion Series. A kind elementary school librarian noticed I was always checking out horse books, so one day she took me by the hand and led me to The Black, who I am still in love with to this day! Librarians are the best!!! I came to the Jinny and Shantih books late in life and wish I had known about them early on. Jinny is definitely someone I would have related to!
This was gifted to me by my good friend, Sharon Miesen. It’s a first edition, printed in 1955. I love old books like this one. Love the way they smell, feel, and the way they make me feel. It’s books like this that remind me why I want to be a writer.
This book has seen a lot in its time. It’s been handled and read by many people over the years, mainly young girls most likely. Girls who dream of having their own wild Arabian stallion who loves them the way Flame loves Steve Duncan. I’ll bet this book has heard laughter, tears, and everything in between.
Books can take us to any time and place. Books like this helped me to continue to dream of possibilities in spite of the often-dark circumstances in which I found myself as a young girl. Hope truly is a powerful thing.
My very own Flame (gelding though). Dreams can come true!
Fyrestorm is Chanel’s plucky little sidekick in, Timmy the Lonely Pony. Real life Fyrestorm is also quite plucky, but she prefers to be called by her nickname, Honey or Honey Boo. Like Chanel, she is a daughter of the resident Franch black stallion, Spirit (AV Olympic Spirit). Honey Boo’s registered name is, Spirits Fyrestorm. Honey was a surprise because one day her mom, Fyrelite, had a little red baby by her side even though as far as anyone knew, she hadn’t been bred. After DNA testing, it turns out that Spirit is officially Honey’s sire, so like Chanel she is a pure Franch bred Arabian.
Baby Fyrestorm with her mom, Fyrelite Bynite:
Fyrestorm aka Honey Boo all grown up:
Honey and me:
AV Olympic Spirit aka Spirit (resident black stallion at The Franch and father of Chanel and Fyrestorm):
Fyrestorm and Chanel:
Don’t forget to check out these social media links for Veronica Stanley-Hooper, the wonderful illustrator who is making my dream a reality!
Chanel is a cute character with an attitude in, Timmy the Lonely Pony. Real life Chanel is a sweet Arabian horse owned by my good friend, Stephanie Young, who runs The Franch. It’s an over 200-acre horse paradise where all three characters in the story live very happy horsey lives. Chanel’s real name is, Spirits Chanel No V. Number V (five) because she’s the fifth offspring of the resident stallion, AV Olympic Spirit aka Spirit.
Baby Chanel with her mom, NH Hungary Eyes aka Sera:
“First Kiss”
More Baby Chanel Pics:
Stephanie with her love, Chanel:
AV Olympic Spirit aka Spirit (resident black stallion at The Franch and father of Chanel and Fyrestorm):
Lastly, Fyrestorm aka Honey, half-sister to Chanel and the third character in, Timmy the Lonely Pony (she’ll be featured in my next post):
Don’t forget to check out these social media links for Veronica Stanley-Hooper, the wonderful illustrator who is making my dream a reality!
Timmy the Lonely Pony is the first book in a series that features my rescue pony, Timmy. The real Timmy came into my life in 2014. It turns out that this cute little guy, who I thought I rescued, actually rescued me. He’s never been ridden and is just my little loveable pet. He lives on a 200-acre ranch affectionately known as, The Franch (Frances’s Ranch), along with many other happy horses, including my other rescue horse, Frisco. He has met the other stars of this little tale, but the fillies featured within its pages, Chanel and Fyrestorm, reside in the paddock with the pond which appears in the story.
I wrote this manuscript about two years ago and had pretty much given up on ever getting it published because it seems illustrators are difficult to come by. But then the extremely talented, Veronica Stanley-Hooper, came into my life and now my dream of publishing a picture book is about to become a reality!
Check out Veronica on social media:
Timmy is also featured in some middle grade stories I’ve written which can be found on the Timmy Tales page of this website. It’s so easy to come up with story ideas for this cute, little, golden pony!
The real Timmy:
Timmy and Frisco:
Timmy and me:
Timmy is my muse and his ability to inspire me has helped me begin to realize my dream of becoming a published writer. A dream that I first vocalized many years ago when I was in seventh grade. Click on the links below for more about Timmy and more about my writing journey.
Dreaming of Arabians 