Latest / Arroe Collins Like It's Live / Big Guy A School Horse Story From YA Author Celia Ryker

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Big Guy A School Horse Story From YA Author Celia Ryker · Arroe Collins Like It's Live

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  Speaker 1: Hey, there's a podcast network I want you to check out.
• 0:02
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• 0:08
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• 0:11
  Speaker 1: trying to put your head in the right place, you know,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: those mental doctors. So why not just create a podcast
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  Speaker 1: for those different levels of play? It's on arrow.net, A-R-R-O-E.net.
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  Speaker 1: Enjoy your exploration.
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  Speaker 2: Hello.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about your book because you've got something
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  Speaker 1: here we need to be putting underneath Christmas trees and
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  Speaker 1: stuffing into stockings for people.
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  Speaker 2: I would love that.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, my God. What you're doing here, I would love
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  Speaker 1: to know where you learned the art of the power
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  Speaker 1: of the writing instrument.
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  Speaker 2: Pardon me?
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  Speaker 1: The power of the writing history. That's what I, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: that's an author talking to an author. I mean, it's like,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we'll sit here, we'll say, you know, that
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  Speaker 1: once living tree that was once a seed that now
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  Speaker 1: becomes a sheet of paper. We speak in such an
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  Speaker 1: oddball language that is even a writer will go, what?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there you go. Yes. I, I, this, this story
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  Speaker 2: followed me around for a long time. My sister and
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  Speaker 2: I used to imagine that. Looking out at the horses
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  Speaker 2: and go, I wonder what Shorty would sound like if
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  Speaker 2: she could speak.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, yes.
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  Speaker 2: And she would be so nice. She would be she
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  Speaker 2: would be such a cute little horse. And some of
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  Speaker 2: my past students have read the books and said, oh,
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  Speaker 2: you described Kaiser perfectly. You know, so they know these horses.
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  Speaker 1: See, I can totally relate with that because I grew
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  Speaker 1: up in the state of Montana and Wyoming, and horses
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  Speaker 1: have been such a major part of my life. And
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  Speaker 1: you're right. I mean, I'll never forget the first time
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  Speaker 1: that before she was even my wife, we were walking
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  Speaker 1: through the fields of Wyoming, and my wife goes, you
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  Speaker 1: name all the cows, right? You name all the horses, right?
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  Speaker 1: And I'm going, and I hear every one of their voices.
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  Speaker 1: They all speak to me when I'm out here. That's
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  Speaker 1: why I keep coming out here. But you're right. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: there's just something in the language that we speak when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to all animals.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes. And I've got a dog laying here next
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  Speaker 2: to me who, who has heard everything I've ever written
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  Speaker 2: that they say the best way to edit is to
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  Speaker 2: read out loud. So my dog has heard everything.
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  Speaker 1: Oh my God. Is your dog like mine? Cause she'll
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  Speaker 1: sit there sometimes and she'll go, Oh, and I'm going really,
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  Speaker 1: it's not that boring of a, of a subject, man,
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  Speaker 1: please let me be, let me just get this done.
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  Speaker 1: But yeah, but she'll tell me when she's bored.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, mine, I've got two border collies, and when
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  Speaker 2: they're bored, they're looking for work.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, they are. Now, the concept for this new album,
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  Speaker 1: where did it come from? Because you know how we
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  Speaker 1: writers are. We could be walking through a mall, and
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  Speaker 1: all of a sudden we get this idea.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, well, like I said, the original idea for this album,
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  Speaker 2: was sitting on a fence with my sister, wondering what
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  Speaker 2: the horses would sound like and what they'd talk like.
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  Speaker 2: That's how far back this goes. And then going back
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  Speaker 2: to having read Black Beauty, who told his own story.
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  Speaker 2: And I liked that idea that the animal told his story.
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  Speaker 2: And so that's what led me there.
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  Speaker 1: And when you work with illustrations, how does that play
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  Speaker 1: into your imagination? Do they get to do the picture
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  Speaker 1: first or do you get to sit there and share
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  Speaker 1: the story while using amazing editing to make it happen?
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  Speaker 2: The story was completely written before I consulted an illustrator.
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  Speaker 2: And the woman who did the illustrations had never illustrated before.
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  Speaker 1: And.
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  Speaker 2: She's an equine veterinarian that I happen to know. And
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  Speaker 2: she drew beautiful pictures. Her images were fabulous. And she
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  Speaker 2: took my story and said, OK, I'm going to draw
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  Speaker 2: this part. I'm going to draw where Brownie gets beaten
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  Speaker 2: up by the other horses. And so that's that's how
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  Speaker 2: she and I decided where she would. illustrate from, but
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  Speaker 2: she decided on the illustrations.
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  Speaker 1: See, I love that because I'll never forget how Barnes
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  Speaker 1: & Noble opened up the door for me because what
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  Speaker 1: they did was they said, take your artwork, put your
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  Speaker 1: words on the artwork. We're going to put them on
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  Speaker 1: display here in the store, and then people will be
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  Speaker 1: led to your books. I mean, they understand that there
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  Speaker 1: is a connection between pictures and physical words that will
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  Speaker 1: create the images in your imagination.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, and that's one of the reasons I let the
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  Speaker 2: artist's pick the scene she wanted to illustrate because she
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  Speaker 2: has an eye for what catches the eye of the
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  Speaker 2: person who's looking at the art. I'm better at the words.
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  Speaker 2: She's better at the art.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, my God. For a brief moment there, I honestly thought, oh,
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  Speaker 1: my God, I'm talking with Elton John because Elton John
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  Speaker 1: loves the words there. And Bernie Taupin, I mean, it
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  Speaker 1: just goes one-on-one here.
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  Speaker 2: Well, yes, working with someone that you trust is big.
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  Speaker 2: And I did trust Kathy to create... wonderful artwork.
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  Speaker 1: How were you able to capture the essence of what's
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  Speaker 1: moving through a horse's eyes? Because I am that guy.
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  Speaker 1: I will get real super close with my horses and
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  Speaker 1: I put my face up against their face because I
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  Speaker 1: want to feel their emotions. But I'm also looking into
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  Speaker 1: those eyes that I swear it's never the same story twice.
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  Speaker 2: No, the closer you look, the more you see. And
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  Speaker 2: it's more than It's more than just your own reflection.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes I do see my own reflection. Yeah. But but
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  Speaker 2: you're looking into their thoughts and and you can see
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  Speaker 2: temperament in those eyes. I mean, you can see fear.
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  Speaker 2: You can see docility. And that's that's what the true
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  Speaker 2: artist tries to capture when they do these when they
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  Speaker 2: do a painting. that you can see the animal's eye.
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  Speaker 2: I had a friend who was a sculptor, and she
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  Speaker 2: was well-known for creating great eyes.
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  Speaker 1: And see, and that's the essence of your words are also,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm sitting here going, well, wait a second, put
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  Speaker 1: your name on that list as well, because the way
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  Speaker 1: you're sharing this story is that you're painting a picture
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  Speaker 1: inside my imagination.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'm not an artist, but I do like to
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  Speaker 2: convey stories My message is in words, and I love
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  Speaker 2: it when people find something else in it that I
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  Speaker 2: didn't even see. I wrote this for children, and I
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  Speaker 2: had some seniors contacted me about the fact that they
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  Speaker 2: felt for a big guy being forced into retirement when
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  Speaker 2: he didn't want to retire. And so... That I didn't
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  Speaker 2: see coming. Some people contacted me on Facebook and said,
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  Speaker 2: I was forced into retirement too, and I had to
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  Speaker 2: learn how to accept my new position. And Big Guy
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  Speaker 2: was an inspiration for me to just look at it
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  Speaker 2: a little differently.
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  Speaker 1: Please don't move. There's more on the way with Celia Riker.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking about the book, Big Guy. This is her
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  Speaker 1: fourth book. You're going to love it. It's called Big Guy.
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  Speaker 1: We're back with Celia Riker. If you really study who's
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  Speaker 1: reading what when you go to a doctor's office, I
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  Speaker 1: love the way that adults are easily pulled into highlights
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  Speaker 1: or other books that are for young adults and even
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  Speaker 1: National Geographic. And I'm going, oh my God, their inner
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  Speaker 1: child is coming out right here inside this office. So
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  Speaker 1: when I read this about the retired people coming to
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  Speaker 1: your storyline, I'm going, I'm not shocked. I see it
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  Speaker 1: all the time when I go to the doctor's office.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, and sometimes I'm picking up magazines that I used
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  Speaker 2: to look at and, you know, like people. And I
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  Speaker 2: realized I don't know any of these people. I need
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  Speaker 2: some older magazines.
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  Speaker 1: Don't you think that one of the big stars inside
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  Speaker 1: the storyline, though, is the you're introducing your readers to change.
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  Speaker 1: We don't like change, but at least you embrace change
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  Speaker 1: inside your storyline for us to have a better day.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. And he learns not only how to survive in
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  Speaker 2: his new situation but he learns how to thrive yep
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  Speaker 2: and and he begins to really enjoy being a school
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  Speaker 2: horse um and doesn't miss the horse shows anymore because
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  Speaker 2: he's he has a what he has discovered is an
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  Speaker 2: important job teaching young people how to ride.
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  Speaker 1: You're not going to believe what my wife goes. She
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  Speaker 1: looked at me and she goes, so what did you think?
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  Speaker 1: What did you feel when you were reading the story?
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  Speaker 1: And I said, I got to be honest with you.
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  Speaker 1: I said, she's proving to people that life does begin
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  Speaker 1: at 40. In other words, life isn't over just because
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  Speaker 1: the popularity contest is over, that there's so much more
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  Speaker 1: to live and to give once you hit a certain age.
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  Speaker 1: And I just felt that. So I am with those
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  Speaker 1: retired people that are going, hey, look, there's something here
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  Speaker 1: for us as well.
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  Speaker 2: Right. Well, I published my first book at 71. So
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  Speaker 2: you're still a baby.
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  Speaker 1: You're still a baby.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. But and I'm enjoying it and I'm working on
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  Speaker 2: my fourth now. So I'm just going crazy.
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  Speaker 1: A story that's told through the eyes of a horse.
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  Speaker 1: What is that like? Because that means you've got to
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  Speaker 1: come back out to the real world to be yourself
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  Speaker 1: when you when you escape those pages of creative writing.
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  Speaker 2: Well, telling it through the the story through the horse's
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  Speaker 2: eyes i have to remember that they're afraid of things
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  Speaker 2: that that we're not afraid of and that they see
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  Speaker 2: things and understand things that we don't necessarily understand like
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  Speaker 2: they can feel when you're depressed yes and and they
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  Speaker 2: know when you're excited and so um i had to
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  Speaker 2: back and remember I haven't been working with horses for
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  Speaker 2: a long time and I had to remind myself how
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  Speaker 2: they behave with one another and and they do form
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  Speaker 2: friendships and you do see horses that are side by
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  Speaker 2: side all the time because they're buddies and so I
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  Speaker 2: I had him form some friendships and and um And
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  Speaker 2: there were some adversarial situations, too, because some horses just
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  Speaker 2: don't get along. And usually once they're in a field together,
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  Speaker 2: they'll settle down. But I had some that just could
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  Speaker 2: not be together. I had one that was having problem eating.
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  Speaker 2: And I was trying to figure out. Well, it wasn't
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  Speaker 2: having a problem eating. He was he was not. finishing
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  Speaker 2: up his meal. And I was standing there watching him
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  Speaker 2: and wondering what was wrong. And the horse in the
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  Speaker 2: stall next to him was being very aggressive. So what
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  Speaker 2: I did is change his stall and everything went away.
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  Speaker 2: That aggressive horse was bothering him and he couldn't eat.
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  Speaker 2: It was... So... Yeah, they're real... They have real personalities
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  Speaker 2: and they see things in ways that we don't.
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  Speaker 1: And.
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  Speaker 2: And like I said, they're afraid of balloons.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Do you find yourself wanting to write stories about other
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  Speaker 1: creations such as birds or other things that are a
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  Speaker 1: part of our everyday life? Because, I mean, the way
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  Speaker 1: you describe the horses there, I'm going, oh, my God,
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  Speaker 1: she's talking about my birds. No, she's talking about the horses.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going, oh, yeah, but it feels like she's talking
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  Speaker 1: about my birds. So would you do other animals at
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  Speaker 1: all through your writing?
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  Speaker 2: I haven't done that. I haven't thought about that. I
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  Speaker 2: was closest to the horses, and that's where I went. Yeah. But, yes,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I've found an injured bird once and ended
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  Speaker 2: up taking it to the vet.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: And I put it into a kennel that I happened
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  Speaker 2: to have that I'd never used. And in the morning,
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  Speaker 2: all the other— there were crows, and all the other— there were
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  Speaker 2: crows all over that kennel. And they had come to
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  Speaker 2: see their friend. Of course. And as soon as he
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  Speaker 2: could fly again, I let him go. And they just
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  Speaker 2: went crazy.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, my God. That crow is such a major part
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  Speaker 1: of this forest that we have here in South Charlotte
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  Speaker 1: that I live in. And the crow is looked upon
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  Speaker 1: as being a power totem animal only because the cardinal
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  Speaker 1: is the one that signals the crow. You've got your
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  Speaker 1: blue jays that will signal, you know, your cardinals. And
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  Speaker 1: then because if there's a bird of prey anywhere in
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  Speaker 1: the area, guess who goes after the bird of prey?
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  Speaker 1: The crows, because they're taking care of their community. So
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  Speaker 1: to hear that story of the crow, no, that doesn't
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  Speaker 1: shock me. That's what they do.
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  Speaker 2: I saw a crow yesterday chasing in flight. a bald
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  Speaker 2: eagle absolutely absolutely i thought that that bird has a
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  Speaker 2: white head and a white tail and that bro is
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  Speaker 2: running him off.
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  Speaker 1: I love that kind of stuff that happens in the
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  Speaker 1: sky i do i love.
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  Speaker 2: It yeah and when i was giving lessons sometimes i
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  Speaker 2: would if a bird flew over i'd sort of get
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  Speaker 2: distracted and have to get back to No, you're doing
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  Speaker 2: this right now. Don't watch that. Yeah, I didn't see
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  Speaker 2: the green heron very often, but every once in a
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  Speaker 2: while it would distract me.
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  Speaker 1: Where can people go to find out more about everything
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  Speaker 1: that you're doing? You said this was book number four,
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  Speaker 1: so now I want people to find you all the
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  Speaker 1: way around.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I am at celiareicher.com, and the spelling of the
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  Speaker 2: last name is R-Y-K-E-R, And I have excerpts of all
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  Speaker 2: of my books there and information about myself and my
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  Speaker 2: dogs and my husband, who is an equine veterinarian. And so, yes,
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  Speaker 2: the joke is I got tired of paying the vet bill,
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  Speaker 2: so I married the vet.
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  Speaker 1: That's smart. That's very smart. Well, please come back to
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  Speaker 1: this show anytime in the future. The door is always,
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  Speaker 1: always going to be open for you.
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  Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much. I appreciate that.
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  Speaker 1: You be brilliant today, okay?
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  Speaker 2: I will go out there and shine as bright as
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  Speaker 2: I can in the rain.
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  Speaker 1: I love it.
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  Speaker 2: I love it.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much.