How I featured my horses in Dancing With Fate

As a horse lover, I had to include a couple of horses in Dancing with Fate. One is Harri, my black Welsh cob and the other is my much loved little endurance mare Sal, who sadly passed away three years ago at the grand old age of 34.

A fellow Muse Author Masha Holl made this lovely picture of Terpsichore and Sal.  I have another horse, T'pau, who I will probably feature in another book under her pet name of 'TipTop'.

How about another excerpt? I hear you ask - OK, here it is:  This actually takes place before the first excerpt I posted, and has a little bit of interaction with Merddyn and Harri, before he comes upon Terpsichore.

EXCERPT #2 From DANCING WITH FATE

Myrddin glanced around; unable to shake off the feeling he was not alone. Far above the outstretched arms of the nearby forest, beneath the slate cliff, a red kite hovered, its haunting cry sounding eerie and forlorn. He raised his arm in greeting. "Good afternoon, my friend, would that I could join you."

Mist drifted across the valley and the rays of the afternoon sun stained the sky in vivid shades of vermilion and orange. A doe, her fawn at her heels, touched his hand with her nose and a family of squirrels played around his feet. He moved forward slowly, gathering twigs for his fire pit, and glanced around every few moments. He must have imagined it, this sense of someone nearby. No sound disturbed the silence except the twittering of the birds, and the buzzing of tiny insects. 

He turned to the doe. "Time to take your baby home now, little one. You too, squirrels." The doe gave him one last affectionate nuzzle, then trotted into the forest, and the squirrels scampered up a nearby oak.

Myrddin walked over to his horse, a sturdy beast, black as a starless, moonless night; its long mane fell in waves, nearly to its knees. Surely, Harri would know if a stranger was nearby, and would have warned him? The handsome horse snorted, nodding his head, and pawed the ground. 

"Do you sense danger—has someone followed us?" 

The horse merely gazed at him, with large, dark brown eyes. 

"Well, you're don't seem worried, but I suppose you're hungry," he said aloud. "Then we'd better both have something to eat. This will be a good place to camp for the night. I think I must be in need of food and rest, myself, for I seem to be imagining things." 

Myrddin put down his bundle of twigs and slipped a halter over the animal's head. He led him into the clearing where lush grass grew green and tender, before turning him loose. Returning to his fire, he checked it was not burning too fiercely and then rummaged under a small crop of rocks. His saddle and meager possessions lay in a hollow. He removed a tightly woven bag, from which he produced two fat trout. He made short work of preparing and gutting them. Next, he looked around for some large, flat leaves. Before long, he had the two fish tightly wrapped into a neat package, which he laid on the glowing embers. Then he carefully added the twigs to build the fire over them. 

When he was sure the trout would cook through without burning, he removed his bow and quiver from his saddle pommel. The feeling he was not alone still troubled him. While his supper cooked, it would not do any harm to take a look around. He followed the stream that flowed through the little clearing. The area was new to him and he proceeded with some caution. Myrddin loved and respected all the creatures of the forests and mountains; he knew their ways and feared none of them. Likewise, no terrain, however difficult, caused him concern. Nothing in nature held any fears for him; people posed far more danger. There was someone close, a stranger. What were they doing here in the wilderness? Perhaps one of Madog's men lay in wait. 

He had not walked far when he heard the sound of rushing water. Rounding the rocky promontory, he came upon a vast wall of water spilling down the cliff, feeding a deep pool of sparkling water below.

It was not that, however, which made him stop and stare in amazement.