Inspiration: Guest Post by Hollie Anne Marsh
Inspiration; Guest Post by Hollie Anne Marsh
Hi All!
Today is my stop on the Sweetbriars blog tour and I’m here today with a guest post by the author: Hollie Anne Marsh
About the Book
A Tale of Sweetbriars.
Welcome to the yard! Come and meet the girls… Cate, Tabby and Violet and their beautiful horses.
Cate is uprooted from life as she has known it. Along with her family and her gorgeous palomino show horse Odette, she moves to a charming farm deep in the English countryside.
Cate is torn. Upon moving to horse heaven, she had to leave behind her best friend Beth and her beloved horse-riding instructor Bridget. On the other hand, she has fallen in love with Sweetbriars, the farm her family has bought to make their dreams come true.
Setting up an equestrian centre at Sweetbriars is fun to Cate, but settling into a new school and having a stern Pony Club riding instructor that teaches dressage is less so. At school, Cate makes friends with Violet, who is confident and wacky, and through Pony Club she gets to know Tabby, who is sweet and popular, but hides a family secret. When the eccentric neighbour Sophia becomes a regular ‘drop in’ to the farm, Cate begins to learn about acceptance and what friendships really mean. The girls’ lives will be intertwined in ways they could never have imagined thanks to their shared passion for horses and Cate’s determination to make Sweetbriars a success.
Will Cate ever settle into living in the countryside?
Sweetbriars is a proud supporter of The Riding for The Disabled (RDA) and for every book sold, a percentage of the book sale will be donated to this wonderful charity.
Inspiration
My inspiration to write Sweetbriars, came from wanting to create a more premium equestrian series that would be a bit addictive… like the successful Saddle Club or Babysitters Club series. Also to create a book series that would teach young readers about horses… as so many children, particularly girls of middle grade age adore horses!
I loved these kinds of books and read them all. I would trade books with my friends and we would discuss each one for hours. I didn’t feel like there were any books quite like that on the market these days, and the story came together based on my experience growing up around horses. My life revolved around my pony! Going to Pony Club, competing in gymkhanas… going on trail rides, hanging out in the stables grooming and plaiting our poor horses over and over. Since releasing my book, many readers, including people not knowledgeable about horses have said how much they enjoyed the story… and that it taught them a lot about horses, so that is really nice to hear.
About the Author
>Hollie is an Australian author who lives in Barcelona, Spain with her partner, baby boy, and Oldenburg mare, Frieda. After having a professional career, including creating the equestrian online shop Equiporium (since sold), working for many large multinational companies, and having a baby, Hollie reconnected with her passion of writing and finished the manuscript she wrote many years ago.
Hollie has been riding since she was a little girl, enjoying activities such as Pony Club, showjumping, eventing, and trail-riding in the great Australian bush. Hollie lived in England for almost ten years where she had two horses and trained them for dressage.
The Sweetbriars series is inspired by all the special moments Hollie spent with horses… good, funny, and challenging moments!
In creating the new Sweetbriars series, Hollie hopes that readers will not only find the books fun to read, but they will also inspire readers to learn more about horses.
Will you be reading this book?
