Happy Thursday, y’all! My friend and fellow Arkansas ACFW member Jenny McLeod Carlisle is sharing the inspiration behind her work-in-progress Hope Takes the Reins. Check out her non-fiction book Turn, Turn, Turn!
Welcome, Jenny!
Speeding to Glory in an Arena Full of Dirt
How are you planning to spend your Labor Day weekend? Many of us will cook out, or even relax at the lake. We’ll enjoy kicking up our heels one last time before the heat of summer gives way to the cool dampness of autumn.
Some young friends of mine will be doing something quite different. They will don their best boots and saddle their mounts to show off their skills at the annual State horse show in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their families and friends will be there to cheer them on as months of hard work and dedication culminate in a ride that may only last a few seconds.
I grew up going to rodeos and bull-riding competitions as a part of county fairs and community celebrations. Most of the participants were tough looking cowboys, with a few rodeo queens thrown in to pretty things up a bit. But, when I first went to watch a family friend who was competing in a horse show, I saw how those cowboys, cowgirls and bull-riders got their start.
The events that are showcased on our State Fairgrounds are much like sports that other kids their age participate in. They involve hours of practice and dedication, and as an added bonus, learning to care for their “partners”, the four-footed focus of the whole competition.
I have long admired barrel racers, and if I had grown up a few miles further into the countryside, I might have been one of them. The courage it takes to get out there and try to control a huge animal while traveling at a high rate of speed around a dusty, twisty course amazes me. But, as a girl who has lived in small towns with not nearly enough room to raise a horse, I grew up to be only a spectator.
When I watched my first horse show, I saw events I had never dreamed about. Besides barrels, the riders learn to navigate a course full of poles without knocking them over, or navigate to one barrel pick up a flag and plant it in the last barrel. From the smallest riders on the tiniest ponies, to the experienced adults on strong, well-groomed horses, precision and persistence are the key. There is even an event called keyhole, which involves steering a horse into and out of a narrow chalk-lined design without stepping on any lines. Seriously? I don’t think I could do that on my own two feet!
The participants in these events have inspired me so much. It proves once again that comments about “the kids these day” are total hogwash. Hard working, dedicated young people are still out there, and I intend to write about them in my books. They have been raised right. Handling disappointment and setbacks with a congratulatory handshake to the winners, and the drive to keep their chins up and their eyes on the prize.
My current work in progress is all about a pair who are at the jumping off point between their childhood and their adult life. They are struggling with the expectations of their families, and circumstances that seem to be throwing wrenches into their dreams on a daily basis.
My heroine’s family owns a rodeo business. Her dad is the announcer, her sister is a champion barrel racer, and her brother is a bull-fighter and rodeo clown. Their over-the-back-fence neighbors have been raised around horses and rodeos as well. As they encounter troubles and trials, they learn that no-one has to navigate this course alone. True friends can be valuable, and God will always be there for every victory lap and every jolting crash into the dirt. Life can be messy, but folks who have grown up with the hard work of tending livestock know that with a little faith, it can be a very enjoyable ride.
Though I have published a non-fiction book, my dream is to be an author of Christian fiction. With the help of my Heavenly Father, and guided by experts who know how to get this done, maybe I’ll be taking my own lap around the arena soon.
About Jenny
Jenny McLeod Carlisle has been writing stories since she learned to hold a pencil. Growing up in a single parent home with her little sister, she filled the empty spot in her heart by writing letters to her Daddy. Her writing voice developed naturally, and if you had asked that little girl about her future plans, she would have said she wanted to write books. She studied English and journalism, but married before finishing college and helped her husband raise their three kids by working as a career State of Arkansas employee. Now that they are grown, she continues to learn the craft, and exercises her storytelling skills by writing a monthly column for Ouachita Life magazine, a free publication that reaches thousands in the southwest quadrant of Arkansas. Recently, her website has allowed more opportunities to reach out to her community of readers. She has served in several different offices of her favorite support group, American Christian Fiction Writers – Arkansas Chapter. She also hosts meetings for Heartfelt Friends, a ministry based on the Second Chapter of Titus that allows older Christian women to become mentors to young wives and mothers. Eight grand-children in three states prompt frequent trips with her favorite travel buddy, her husband of 43 years.
Blurb for Non-fiction book:
Turn, Turn, Turn is Jenny’s first book. A compilation of many of her past general interest columns, it contains short articles drawn from her joyful life. Part social commentary, part nostalgic look back, it offers quick moments of smiles, with a few tears mixed in to make them real. Her fans say it reminds them of sitting in their grandmother’s lap listening to her stories. She hopes it provides comfort and encouragement while inspiring readers to tell their own stories.
Blurb for Jenny’s first fiction project:
Tentatively titled: Hope Takes the Reins, Jenny plans to pitch this story to agents and publishers at the American Christian Fiction Writer’s national conference at the end of September. It is a contemporary women’s fiction book about a 19-year-old girl who has been forced to fill her mom’s role as the glue that holds the family rodeo business together. Since her mom’s recent death, Hope Caldwell is all about keeping things as normal as possible. O.D. Billings is a champion calf roper and delivery truck driver who is living in the shadow of his two more famous brothers. When both families start dealing with monumental changes, they dig deep to establish their own identities.
You go, Jenny! ACFW is just around the corner. 😊 I hope your book finds its home.
So glad you stopped by, Ann!