Counting down to Release Day!

 Less than a week to go until publication day - I'm getting excited!

These little kitties can hardly wait to get their paws on THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE

 'Haha', says Choccy. He's already got his copy! (It's available for pre-order but copies won't go out until after publication day. He must have contacts somewhere!) 😄  Wait ... I wonder where my author copy is?

PRE-ORDER LINK

Since quite a lot of the story is set at a horse training stables, I thought I'd list a few horsy terms for anyone who isn't familiar with them.

COLOURS (They can be a bit confusing)

WHITE - a white horse is technically a grey - evcn if it looks pure white. However, if it has pink skin and pale eyes it's an Albino. All foals born to a grey mare are born bay, chestnut or black. The coat lightens with age and the adult horse or pony can be any shade of grey from white to dark dappled grey.

CHESTNUT - not the colour of a horse chestnut as you might suppose, but 'red' ranging from a golden orange colour to dark almost mahogany red - with a light coloured or self coloured mane and tail, 'Star' the mare in THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE is chestnut. 

BAY - Red-brown, golden brown or chocolate brown with a black mane and tail and often black legs as well. (These are known as 'points') A really dark bay which can be nearly black, is known as 'brown'!

PALOMINO - traditionally the colour of a 'newly minted gold coin with a silver mane and tail'. This is a colour, not a breed, but horses and ponies can be bred to get this colour. a palomino crossed with

another palomino will usually, but not always, produce a palomino, and a chestnut crossed with a palomino will also usually produce a palomino. The body colour should be a lovely golden colour for preference,  but can range from pale gold to almost chestnut, but the mane and tail should be as close to silvery white as possible. Any dark or yellowish colouring in the mane and tail is frowned on.

PIEBALD - Black with white patches.

SKEWBALD - Any colour with white patches, except black.

In America both skewbald and piebald are called 'paints' which I think is a much nice term. Tobiano refers to a 'paint' that looks as if the white paint has been poured over its back, whereas an Overo refers to one that looks as if it's been turned upside down and had white paint poured over!

There are many other colours and variations, and some breeds, like the Suffolk Punch, are always chestnut, and the Exmoor pony, which is always varying shades of brown, black and bay, with a lighter fawn coloured muzzle and fawn patches around the eyes.   I hope you found this brief explanation of a few of the colours interesting.

RELEASE DATE 5th May 2025