You can read the interview first, then read some info about the book.:)
1. What or who inspired you to write this book?
I started imagining this story about six years ago, after quite a few tragic natural disasters occurred all over the world (hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, dust storms, extreme weather) and I wondered what would happen if most everything we knew was actually wiped out. Could humans forget some of the things they knew? Could they actually forget horses? I've always been passionate about horses, and I had recently completed a college research project on women and their obsession with horses. Both of these things came together and inspired this story.
2. What is your favorite part of the book?
I have a couple of favorite parts, and both occur near the end of the book. They both have to do with remembering and no, I won't give them away. *grin*
3. Did anyone helped you developing the ideas you first had for a book?
I wrote about half of this book originally and took it to my critique group for their input. Because the story was so different, I was unsure what they would think. But they loved it and encouraged me to finish. But the story is solely mine.
One of the hardest things for me in writing this book was imagining how the world might be several generations in the future, after an apocalyptic event when the weather changed abruptly and there were only a few people left on earth. So I read quite a bit of non-fiction about this, to get some ideas of things that had happened in the past, and might happen again.
4. What are your favorite books?
I read all kinds of things. I read young adult, middle grade, picture books, and adult fiction. My favorite books have to do with animals, because I love all kinds of animals.
5. What to expect from you in the future? Maybe some new project?
I have another young adult novel called SIX DEGREES OF LOST scheduled for release in June 2012, also from Musa Publishing. It's about a boy and a girl from different backgrounds who cross paths because of lost dog, and end up taking an unexpected journey together.
6. What would you recommend to the readers of our blog?
For YA horse books, I'd have to recommend Alison Hart's Shadow Horse and the sequel Whirlwind, The Outside of a Horse by Ginny Rorby, and War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo. All of these are wonderful.
And for YA dystopian fiction, I loved Shipbreaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi.
THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES by Linda Benson
In a world that has forgotten the ancient bond between horses and humans, can one girl’s dreams make people remember?
Several generations into the future, Sahara travels with her clan in a barren environment where recyclables are bartered for sustenance, and few remember horses or their connection to humans. But Sahara has recurring visions of riding astride on magnificent animals that run like the wind.
With the help of Evan, a young herder from the Gardener's Camp, Sahara discovers a crumbling book containing pictures of humans riding horses and learns her visions are real. Confronting a group of hunters led by hot-headed Dojo, Sahara rescues a wounded horse, but the animal escapes before it can be tamed.
Sahara is labeled a foolish dreamer and almost gives up her quest. Following horse tracks into a remote ravine, she finds wild dogs attacking a dying mare, and must drive them off in order to save the foal. Now she must attempt to raise the young animal, finally convince her clan of the ancient bond between horses and humans, and learn the secret of her true identity.
Several generations into the future, Sahara travels with her clan in a barren environment where recyclables are bartered for sustenance, and few remember horses or their connection to humans. But Sahara has recurring visions of riding astride on magnificent animals that run like the wind.
With the help of Evan, a young herder from the Gardener's Camp, Sahara discovers a crumbling book containing pictures of humans riding horses and learns her visions are real. Confronting a group of hunters led by hot-headed Dojo, Sahara rescues a wounded horse, but the animal escapes before it can be tamed.
Sahara is labeled a foolish dreamer and almost gives up her quest. Following horse tracks into a remote ravine, she finds wild dogs attacking a dying mare, and must drive them off in order to save the foal. Now she must attempt to raise the young animal, finally convince her clan of the ancient bond between horses and humans, and learn the secret of her true identity.
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