Horses in The Seven-Petaled Shield

Scythian gold comb

The stories that gave rise to The Seven-Petaled Shield began with my love of horses and a special exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County of the art of the nomads of the Eurasian steppe. I marveled at the beautiful gold artifacts of the Scythians, depicting horses, elk, and snow leopards, and the lives and adventures of these people. The Greek historian Herodotus described the Scythians as “invincible and inaccessible,” and Thucydides asserted, “there is none which can make a stand against the Scythians if they all act in concert.” This world, its people, and its marvelous horses practically begged for stories to be written about them.

The Scythians were only one of many nomadic horse-faring peoples who roamed the Central Asian steppe from the beginning of the first millennium before the Common Era into the 20^th Century. Sarmatians, Cimmerians, Massagetae, Alani, and many others were followed by such groups as the Hun, Kazars, Uzbeks, Bulgars, and Magyars. Although these peoples differed in culture, language, religion, and place of origin, they shared the characteristics of nomadic horse folk. They were highly mobile, superb archers, and their survival depended on their horses.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: The Heir of Khored

The third book in The Seven-Petaled Shield trilogy came out in early June, and I have a box of author's copies sitting here begging to be sent to good homes. I'm happy to oblige them, but I make certain assumptions:

You've read the first two books (The Seven-Petaled Shield, Shannivar) and
You've liked them well enough to want to know how the story ends.

So here's the deal. Write a review of one or both of the earlier volumes and then post a comment here. You don't have to divulge where you put up the review -- online booksellers, your own blog, your town newspaper, social media sites, whatever -- I'll take it on faith that you did. That way, you can say what you thought without the apprehension of the author peering anxiously over your shoulder.

On  August 4, I'll choose 5 names at random from the commenters (so the cutoff time will be 9 am Pacific Time). I'll pay media rate postage within the US, although donations are as always welcome. For outside the US, we'll negotiate, maybe splitting the postage.

Hope you enjoy the books, have fun with the reviews, and let the commenting begin!

A Community of Love

 Horse people form extraordinary, loyal, and sometimes contentious communities. The same is true for readers (and writers!) of science fiction and fantasy. (And for martial artists, and musicians, and . . .) When two or more of these interests coincide, the results can be magical.

The second volume of The Seven-Petaled Shield, titled Shannivar, touches many of the areas of passion in my life. A strong woman hero, a martial artist, a horsewoman, her wonderful horses, a love story (me being a romantic at heart), a quest . . . One of the people I’ve shared a love of horses and adventure with is my friend Bonnie, about whom I’ve written in the last few posts.

Bonnie and I became fast friends over folk dancing and wild adventures during our college student days in the 1960s. Later, when she fulfilled her dream of owning horses, she carried me back to my own high school years, when I rode my own horse over the golden hills. When I’d visit, we’d ride together, clean stalls together, talk endlessly about horse temperaments and training, and swap tall tales “in the saddle.”