Since publishing The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon I've enjoyed connecting with other horse people around the Globe. Christine Meunier is an accomplished rider, trainer and author of horse books who lives in Australia. She was kind enough to give Cowgirl a 5-STAR REVIEW! I wanted to know more about her so I asked her a few pointed questions.
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| Christine Meunier |
Christine was introduced to the wonderful world of horses at the late age of 13 when her
parents agreed to lease a horse for her. She started experiencing horses
via books from a young age and continues to do so, but recognizes that horses
cannot be learnt solely from books.She has been studying horses from age
16, starting with the Certificate II in Horse Studies and is currently
undertaking her Bachelor of Equine Science via distance education.
Christine has worked at numerous
thoroughbred studs in Australia as well as overseas in Ireland for a breeding
season.
She then gained experience in a
couple of Melbourne based horse riding schools, instructing at a basic level
before heading off overseas again, this time to South Africa to spend hours in
the saddle of endurance and trail horses on the Wild Coast.
Particularly
passionate about the world of breeding horses, she writes a blog about equine
education which you can view at Equus Blog.
What inspired you to write your first
book?
I have a history of working in the horse
industry and loved to tell friends and family about events that occurred over
the years. My mother would often laugh
at some of the incredible moments and told me, “you should write this down!”
Over time, I did, and started to develop
an idea for Horse Country – A World of Horses, my
debut novel.
How much of the book is realistic?
A lot!
Horse Country focuses on 4 women working in the horse industry and their
daily working lives. The idea was to
introduce those wanting to work with horses, to the idea of what their working
life could look like.
It spans a 6 year period and covers the
seasons in Australia and in the UK. Two
of the women work with breeding thoroughbreds and the other two instruct horse
riding. It’s based a lot on my own
experiences and travels.
What books have most influenced your life?
My favorite book to read for a horsey
theme and enjoyment is the Silver Brumby. I think it truly developed my love of horses, reading and writing.
The most influential book in my life is
the Bible and it is something I read on a regular basis and over and
again. It’s practical, relevant and has
an awful lot of good advice!!
Are there any new authors that have
grasped your interest?
Many over the years! I am often asked to read and review horse
books on my Equus Blog and have come across many debut
writers that I have loved. They can be found
reviewed on my blog, or on Goodreads.
What are your current projects?
I have just recently published the fifth
book in my Free Rein series, titled A Dollar Goes a Long Way and am working on making this known.
I am also working on two adult novels
that are horse themed. One started writing
itself two months ago and focuses on a single mum who is employed to cook for a
trail riding business; the other is about a woman who moves to a tropical
island to live with her husband and decides to introduce horses to the island
and set up a trail riding business.
Do you see writing as a career?
I do!
Not just of novels, but of many things.
I love to write novels, horse courses, educational resources and about
horse careers. Each of these loves of
writing is generating a small income (at this stage!). I am working to increase it to a reliable
income.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I have always loved words. I love reading, writing and song lyrics. I think an interest in reading, particularly
horse books turned into an interest in writing some. I would get frustrated with horse books that
appeared unrealistic or had information in them that was just incorrect. I try to write books that are educational as
well as entertaining.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
I can!
This is a rough draft of a novel that decided to start writing
itself. I was rapt to get the first 50
pages in a couple of weeks.
***
It was a nice place where Ben
worked. Good physical work, great views
and accommodating bosses. He definitely
couldn’t complain. And to be honest, if
he could, it tended to be toward the end of the season when he’d had enough of
clients, but that didn’t matter – he was moving on in a short while by that
stage.
The business – Happy Trails – focused
on providing just that; trail rides that customers could truly enjoy and have a
good time on. It was seasonal work,
running through the spring and summer months with a break in February due to
the heat, then back on for the autumn months and slowing down over winter.
Generally this meant
one of two things for Ben – he did maintenance odds and ends in the early
mornings and late evenings of February and then went back to taking clients out
over autumn,
or he headed off for a break and a
scene change at another job an hour down the road until spring came around
again.
Ben enjoyed his work with Margaret
and Peter – the owners and managers of Happy Trails – but he also enjoyed that
he could go off and carry out another job for a spell before coming back to the
busy but laid back environment of trail rides.
He’d been working this way for the past five years and nothing had
changed much over that time.
Margaret and Peter worked hard to
keep any staff that they liked – encouraging them to travel and gain other
skills in the off season – but always maintaining that there was accommodation,
food and a job waiting for them when the riding season started again. Ben liked it that way. He knew where he stood, and he knew the people
he worked with.
There was one other regular trail
guide – Jake – and a handful of part timers who helped care for the horses and
occasionally came out on a trail ride with clients. As much as you had to be ready for anything
with horses – you never knew what the day would hold even though you could plan
what you would like it to include – Ben was averse to change.
He found he could handle random
events that occurred with his equine friends – a sudden lameness, a client
falling or a horse running away with him – but he wasn’t the same with
people. He liked them to be predictable
– and more often than not – he liked them to leave him alone.
Even though he dealt with strangers
six days a week, he felt no obligation toward them other than a safe and
enjoyable ride. He didn’t need to build
up an ongoing rapport with them or become their best friend. He could just answer questions; tell them
about the horse they were riding and point out the highlights of the
surrounding countryside.
That was enough for him. In fact at this point in time, it was all he
wanted. He couldn’t shake the feeling
that things were changing though. Ben
glanced up from the girth he was tightening on Red, a trusty chestnut gelding
often used in trail rides on the farm.
He’d noticed the female figure
flitting between the large vegetable garden and the main farm house a few times
over the past couple of days. He figured
she was a relative of Margaret and Peter’s, or something equally as boring. It didn’t really matter; she was just another
figure that was showing up from time to time and therefore a part of his
day. Granted, she appeared to have
something about her from a distance. But
what appeared good from far away often had faults that were obvious up close.
Red stamped his foot impatiently,
snorting at the stationary figure beside him.
“You’re right, mate. Stop sleeping on the job,” Ben said as he
slapped the horse affectionately on the shoulder and then said, “thanks for the
wakeup call. Let’s see if we can’t get
another few horses tacked up before Jake finally gets out here.”
Do you have to travel much concerning
your book(s)?
Not at all! The internet is great for any research that
is needed, but I have found that most of my ideas have come from traveling not
planned for books! Any trips I have
taken or moves I have made for work related reasons, have resulted in fodder
for writing!
Who designed the covers?
For Horse Country I got a professional
graphic designer in the form of Graphic Design City, although the photo
is one of mine from work. For the Free
Rein series, my husband and I decided to try designing and we’ve done this with
photos taken by Cait O’Pray.
Christine can be contacted via
christine@horsecountrybook.com and you can follow her on Twitter
@ChristineMeuni3 or check out her books at www.horsecountrybook.com and
www.freereinseries.com
