Danny January: Blog

I'm working to get all 12 chapters of Tourist Season published by the end of the week. Policies regarding the type story we can publish are a bit uncertain and I want to get this episode published ASAP, just in case.

Horses. As I've written the chronicles, I tried to do a couple of things besides just tell the story. I've tried to spark a bit of nostalgia for things past. I've used music as much as anything else to do that. I've tried to share some personal lessons learned, whether that was how to operate an excavator, clear land, or deal with strange and unusual people. I've also tried to introduce some local color, through description, weather, recipes, and attitudes. So many stories on SOL could happen in anytown, USA. That's fine but I've really tried to showcase the unique appeal of the Lowcountry.

Every teen has surprises in their life. Things that weren't important, suddenly are. A surprise for me was horses. There's an entire world of people, places, and events I wouldn't know anything about if it weren't for the introduction of horse into my life.

I think the majority of SOL readers are male. The majority of equestrians are female. If you're a single male and you want to meet strong, independent, capable, good looking women, learn to ride a horse. Beware though. Cowgirls have stepped in shit, shoveled shit, and fallen in shit, so they're not going to take any shit from you. Trust me on this.

Horses are truly amazing animals. They really can hear your heartbeat from 5 feet away and they will pick up on your mood from a pasture away. Every single one of them has a distinct and unique personality. I've changed a lot of names (most) in this story but not Maveric. The name captures so much of who he was that I couldn't bring myself to do it.

A horse will walk past the same puddle of water M-TH, but on Friday, they won't, because there is obviously a horse-eating shark, lurking in the depths. Horse people know that horses will only spook at two things - those things that move and those that don't. If you have a temperature drop and a windy day, it's probable best to wait a day to go for a ride.

Horses are herd animals (clan animals, technically) and when you separate one from their herd, you become the other member of their small herd. The most important thing you can bring to that relationship is confidence. I was riding two days ago when my horse spotted a fox, long before I did. Ears went up and he stopped cold, staring at this little dog-sized animal. Unbeknownst to me (but obvious to my horse) was that this was a giant horse-eating fox and we should pic a different direction. We picked a different direction. It's a fun dynamic.

I'm not expecting a bunch of my readers to show up at the next Bureau of Land Management horse auction and buy one of their own. I do hope you're enjoying this aspect of the story. It was really important to me, and Jack. I'll try not to overdo it.

As always, I invite comments and emails.

From the forum:
We found a new hosting facility that will allow us more freedom.

It will be few days until we move servers again, but as of now, don't worry about your stories.

I will be posting Tourist Season Chapter 8, later today.

Chapter 5 is in the queue to be published. Chapter 6 has serious spoilers for the Beach House stories. If you haven't read them yet, now would be the time.

Writing these stories has been a fun challenge for me. Some of the challenges probably aren't so obvious to my readers. The Christmas chapter from Feasting with a Silver Spoon was very difficult to write. The entire Summertime and the Living is Easy was a challenge of a different type. I included a lot of Spanish. I wanted to capture the flavor without bogging things down for my readers. That was tough to do but I didn't get any complaints. Trying to capture the voice of Timex - serious challenge.
I just submitted chapter 3 of Tourist Season. Writing that chapter was probably the most fun I've had writing since I started. Hope you enjoy it, too.

If you've been reading the Jack Pierce Chronicles and have not read the Beach House stories, be aware that there will be a terrible spoiler in "Tourist Season". If you intend on reading Beach House, A Week with the Musketeers, and subsequent stories, I recommend you do that before continuing with "Tourist Season." I'll begin publishing chapters of Tourist Season shortly so be forewarned.