Behind the Scenes: Author Grace Marshall writes for her younger self

I’ve always been a bit of an oddball in my own way. I was the kid reading books under my desk while the teacher was talking and the one who passed around a notebook between her friends so we could all write a story together, one character at a time.

I loved books, I loved Jesus, and I loved horses. As I got older I realized that maybe I wasn’t as odd as I thought.

So when the Lord and my husband finally gave me the courage to leap forward and put a book out for the world to see, I asked my husband what he thought I should put out first. He asked me what it was I always wanted to read as a teenager.

There’s a long list, trust me, and I’m sure I will be writing all different sorts of books until the day I die. What came to my mind, though, was good teenage horse books that weren’t all about horse shows. I’m not criticizing the books that are because I read some and enjoyed them myself, but I wanted to read more about the relationship with the horse than the drama of the show. Everyone has their own taste. I also wanted to read Christian teenage books that seemed grounded. So my husband told me to write about that.

And that’s exactly what I have started to do with my “Horse Haven” series. I’m writing Christian books for teenage girls that love horses. I’m trying to add humor, adventure, and horses in equal doses and I hope that some teenagers will find delight in the pages. Maybe writing is as simple and as difficult as putting on paper what you want to read after all.

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Grace Marshall is the author of the “Horse Haven” series as well as Person of Faith. She enjoys hanging out with her dashing husband, J. Lindsey Marshall, their saucy cats, Amerigo Vespucci and Tenny, and their playful Mastiff puppy, Mini. Grace loves all animals but is a horse fanatic. Grace believes in living life to the fullest and can’t wait to see where God will take her or have her write next! See more on her website http://www.wordsbytwo.com.