As I mentioned in my last post, this blog is to update the readers about how Wild Ones, my soon-to-be-released young adult novel came to be written. Today’s post will talk about the inspiration for the Double-T Ranch where Breeze Jordan, the 16-year-old protagonist, is sent to live.

About eight years ago my partner David and I took possession of a retired cow horse named Sunny. Sunny was a very large, big-boned Quarter Horse/Morgan cross. He was a character in the true sense of the word. The kind of horse anyone could jump on and ride. The only negative side was that he had extremely high withers, which not only made saddle fitting difficult, it also meant that bareback riding was best left to female riders, if you get my drift.

If you chose not to use a bridle Sunny would just amble off at a walk and if that direction was where you wanted to go, great. If it wasn’t, eventually he’d wander back to where you wanted to be or you could bale. It didn’t matter to Sunny.

Sunny’s previous owner was told that he came from somewhere in the southwest and was a working cattle horse. She never investigated any further, but I was intrigued by the brand on his near-side (left haunch): a diamond with a bar underneath. Unfortunately, the picture below is of Sunny’s off-side. If I find a pic of his brand I will post it.

Sadly we had to put Sunny down last winter due to advanced age (26 or 27) and the fact that he was going blind. But he will always be remembered with love and smiles. From my research I’m pretty sure Sunny was one of the last horses off the Diamond Bar Ranch in New Mexico, a place with a lot of ‘story’ in itself, and the inspiration for the Double-T.

And now I’m going to stop on this thread or there will be plot spoilers. In my next post I will talk about the inspiration for the character Emily Thompson, Breeze’s new foster mom.