1) What made you decide to write a novel? Were you inspired by someone?

My ideas for A Horse to Remember began as a child when my sister and I would play with model horses, known as Breyers. The Breyers had many accessories, most of which we made, but also things like riders and saddles. With them we made up many scenarios to form our play around, one of which inspired me to write my novel. I wanted to preserve our childhood game, along with our many fond memories together, and, although the ideas are all my own, I would have never written this book without my sister.

2) When did you write it? I understand you were 14?

Yes, I was in 8th grade and I wrote it during the winter (January-March) of 2004.

3) When did you decide to get it published?

I think that everyone hopes right from the beginning that the book they've begun will one day be published. It was always in the back of my mind at least. The decision to actually pursue finding a publisher came of course after I'd finished writing. However there was a lot that still had to be done.

3) Tell us what the process was like? You're 17 now so we know it wasn't easy. What kinds of things did you encounter?

Oh my! It was by no means an easy or quick process. After writing the manuscript it sat on my desk for a year because I didn't know how to go about finding an editor; the first process on my to-do-list. But every time I picked up the pages and read through what I'd written, I became motivated once again to get on it. The following winter my work really began. I started looking for editors on my own, instead of hoping that someone would magically come along and save the day. After a couple of months I found a company, Five Star Publications, and had them edit it. After editing for about two months I went onto the next step which was to find a literary agent. This was the second big challenge as very few of the agents accepted unsolicited manuscripts. Finally I found a company and signed a contract with them in April of 2005. I was with them through fall but I began to grow impatient during the summer months. I had enough confidence in my story that I knew it could find a publisher. And since my work was done over the internet I had no way of knowing how hard they were trying to publicize my book. So I went onto my third challenge--the most difficult dilemma: Finding a publisher on my own. Again, unsolicited manuscripts weren't accepted by most companies and those that did accept them were too busy to read my manuscript. I looked at self-publishing when I began to get really discouraged but I didn't want to go that route. After nearly five months two companies said that they would read my manuscript--the only two companies who read it. Each accepted it for publication and after more research on each, I signed with Raven Publishing, Inc, on December 6 of 2005. The work did not end there. For all of 2006 we worked on more editing and designing for the actual book, along with page layout and word count.

4) Is it true that your sister, Isabelle, took the photographs inside the book as well as on the cover?

Yes! We did many photo shoots, me with the horses on our farm, hoping that one day when I did get it published we could use them. Raven liked them a lot and agreed to use our photographs.

5) What advice would you give to other aspiring novelists? What did you learn from this experience?

Don't give up. It can be really discouraging through the early stages, but if you stay persistent and determined you really will get there. Dreams do come true! I learned so much about writing and about life, through the wonderful people I have met along the way, and worked so closely with.

6) What message can readers gain from your novel?

The same message I described above. The book follows two characters in which no one believes in, but through their determination they triumph together in the end. They never gave up on their dream.