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Hello, and welcome to the Faith through Horse Fiction Podcast. I’m Hilary Walker, horse owner and writer of Christian fiction, aspiring to spread God’s word in an entertaining way in my novels.
Today I’d like to share insights with you about ‘Friday’s Folly,’ the upcoming third novel in the Sinclair Island Romance series which will be officially released on July 29th .
If you’re interested in receiving an advance review copy of the book, please shoot me an email at Rubesca4@gmail.com. I’d be happy to send you one.
So, what’s the book about?
Max is desperate to get off Sinclair Island and away from his dead-end bookstore job. When he meets Camille, who loves the island, he knows he has to keep his emotional distance. Otherwise he can kiss goodbye to any hopes of starting a new life on the mainland.
Camille has rescued a racehorse, Friday’s Folly, and Max helps her retrain him. While he is immediately aware of his feelings for her, she’s much slower to realize just how strongly she feels about him.
Hanging over their relationship is the constant threat of Max leaving, and his irreverent attitude towards God.
Will Camille be able to change his mind – about both?
The Idea for the Book Came from …
An experience I had checking out an OTTB aka Off Track Thoroughbred. My horse Cruz Bay and I were going through a terrible phase. He’d reared and dumped me at a major dressage show and it seemed we were not destined to get on.
Looking for his replacement, I went to see a beautiful little Thoroughbred mare in Pennsylvania and was shocked at the conditions in the racing barn where she lived.
After I got home, I was consumed by the need to get her out of there. The way Camille comes to acquire Friday’s Folly is identical to the logic I used to persuade the bay mare’s owner to let me take her away.
(You can read the full account in the short story “How Not to Rescue a Racehorse.”)
I took her to Kimberly Godwin Clark’s farm near where I lived at the time. She is the lady who wrote the brilliant book “New Track, New Life,” that Camille uses as her guide when retraining Friday’s Folly. I knew she’d do a fantastic job with the mare, whom she renamed Class, and she didn’t disappoint. I later received a wonderful email from her new owner saying how thrilled she was with her new horse. A happy ending for the ex-racer.
In the meantime, I realized that Cruz Bay and I are meant for each other, and we’re still together as he turns twenty this year. 😊
What Part Do the Horses Play in this Book?
Horses are integral to the overall plot and provide the opportunity for the Christian heroine to broach the subject of God to the non-Christian hero.
Max’s black gelding, Winston, is the means by which he and Camille first meet. Later on, the horse is the reason for Max spending a great deal of time with her, and having lively debates about science and religion.
Camille works hard trying to overcome Max’s cynical attitude to God, and Winston inadvertently assists her arguments.
Her own horse, Friday’s Folly is a project that brings them together. But he also becomes the cause of friction between them.
Then both their geldings are suddenly in grave danger and the pair have their work cut out for them!
Soon afterwards some other horses require even more urgent help – from Max and his father, whom he wants to get away from.
You can see that the horses are vital to the novel.
Does the Book Have a Christian Message?
Max believes that science explains everything, leaving no room for God. Camille challenges his arguments against a Creator in a logical and hard-to-refute way.
I hope she encourages any non-Christian readers to check out the book she uses to back up her reasoning, and that believers find a useful source for countering the typical viewpoint of today, that science and Christianity are at odds, if not downright war, with each other.
The book I refer to is ‘Gunning for God: Why the New Atheists Are Missing the Target,’ by John C Lennox, a brilliant Oxford mathematician and committed Christian. Another book of his well worth reading on the topic is ‘Can Science Explain Everything?’
Are the Characters Based on Real People?
No. I never model them on any specific person, but I do take characteristics from different individuals and use them in my fictional world.
However, the names I use are often those of very dear friends, even though the character who carries it is nothing like them. Otherwise, I scour baby names online.
When it comes to the horses, I often have a certain animal in mind when I create them. It’s a fun way of immortalizing the equines I’ve owned in my life, but I use fictitious names.
I tried for days to come up with a good name for Camille’s title Thoroughbred – you only have to look at my notebook to appreciate the mental effort and anguish that went into it! Then, as has happened with all the romances, the name came to me when I wasn’t searching for it and has no connection to any of my copious scribblings.
Do We Revisit Any of Previous Characters?
Sinclair Island is only 7 miles square with one riding barn, so you’ll meet all the main characters from the earlier books, including ‘Ivan’s Choice,’ as it turns out that Bryce McCloud is closely connected to Max.
Emma and Fulton, Dinny and Grant, Bryce and Pippa – they all play major roles in ‘Friday’s Folly.’
How Long Did ‘Friday’s Folly’ Take to Write?
As soon as I published ‘Dinny’s Challenge,’ I parked my rear end in its writing position and proceeded to map out the next sequel.
Most authors, I suspect, will tell you that the best way to stop worrying about the reception of your current novel is to dive straight into another one.
This third Sinclair Island Romance will be out exactly five months after ‘Dinny’s Challenge.’ I usually write faster, but had a lot of trouble with the first chapter of ‘Friday’s Folly:’ I didn’t know where to start the book and wrote it out at least three times.
I’m now working on the fourth novel in the series and am a long way through mapping out the plot.
For the curious, the heroine is an atheist this time!
What’s My Writing Process?
I have a dear author friend who can create a detailed synopsis in her head (I wish I had that talent!). The problem is, once she knows how the book ends, she’s no longer interested in writing it.
Apparently, Stephen King has some scathing words about writers who plan their novels in great detail. In which case, he’d highly disapprove of my method.
While I’m willing to go in a new direction if a main character absolutely insists on it – you’d be surprised what bullies these fictional personalities can be! – I am most definitely a ‘plotter’ rather than a ‘pantser,’ someone who flies by the seat of their trousers, as we would call them in England.
Did I Know the Ending Before I Began Plotting?
I usually have no idea exactly how the book will end when I start out on the planning journey. Obviously, it has to be a HEA, or Happily Ever After, or people will want their money back, but I only figure out what form that takes when I’ve arrived at the point where the hero and heroine have to get together or I scrap the book.
Was Anyone Else Involved in Creating the Book?
Friday’s Folly became a fun collaboration when I asked both my subscribers and my Facebook friends to help me find the name of the bookstore on Sinclair Island. It was heartwarming to receive so many wonderful ideas!
The same happened with the tagline: I got many great suggestions and I’ve noted them all for use in creating the banners for ‘Friday’s Folly.’
My Facebook pals also helped with the book’s title. I was torn between “Friday’s Folly” and “Annie’s Folly” until one person pointed out that “Annie’s Folly” made the heroine sound rather silly. Case closed.
(In case you’re wondering, the heroine’s name was originally Annie, then a friend complained that I have too many characters’ names ending in the ‘ie’ sound.)
Together with a few dedicated friends, I have a fantastic group of Launch Team members among my subscribers, who read Advance Review Copies of my books and post very generous reviews online. Their help has made each of the novels in the series an Amazon best seller.
I am also blessed to have my other subscribers, who are incredibly supportive of my writing and have contributed heavily to my success as a writer.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking behind the scenes of ‘Friday’s Folly,’ the next Sinclair Island Romance novel.
Look out for it on 29th July! It will be available in all the major ebook outlets, including, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iBooks.
Don’t forget to email me at Rubesca4@gmail.com if you’d like an ARC! Everyone who posts a positive review will be included in the acknowledgements of the final version.
Hilary Walker Books 