A sneak peak at "Golden Sunrise" Part 1

Well, aren't you lucky? :) I'm going to post a little sneak peak of "Golden Sunrise" for you to read if you so desire. It is still in the rough draft stage and so I don't think that it will turn out exactly like this, but it's a start. If you read any of my other books, you will "get it" more, but I will take the time to explain that the story is told through Cheyenne, a Palomino horse who is accompanying her master Jared who is a soldier defending the famous fort Alamo in Texas. William Travis and Bowie were the commanders of the Texan army that was stationed at the Alamo, if you have any other questions or critiques feel free to post them as a comment. However, just ignore the typos, as this is a lot to type out for you and I'm not the most patient editor/rereader in the world so you'll just have to ignore any mistakes if they're not too huge. I'm going to give you about half a chapter from the middle of the book, divided into two parts.

Crraaack!

The cannon let off loudly, scattering the terrified horses into the corner of the horse pen. I laid my ears flat against my head, agitated. I looked up to the main wall of the mission to see Jared standing next to the famous Davy Crockett, his rifle to his shoulder. Davy wore fringed buckskin and a coonskin cap, his rifle popping loudly every now and then to pick of the Mexicans who were advancing closer and closer to the thick walls of the Alamo. Jared did the same.

Every once in awhile the entire mission would rumble as it took a blow from a distant cannon. I paced around the place nervously. How I wished that I could be up top to see all the action! The thousands of Mexican soldiers lined up in columns, the officers in their striking bright red and blue uniforms with shiny brass buttons, the cottonwood trees that stood silently on the Texan plains, seemingly watching the advancing troops but taking no part in the action. I knew it was dangerous, but I wanted to see what was going on, at least I didn't want to stand idle; I really wanted to be of some assistance.

My nose stung with the bitter smell of gunpowder and smoke as it became stronger and stronger, and I grew more anxious. The men, however, seemed to be quite calm given the circumstances.

Santa Anna was planning to put the Alamo under siege before he attacked the mission. Why would he bother to launch a sudden attack and waste hundreds of soldiers' lives when he could simply wait until starvation and despair overcame the defenders of the Alamo, and then they would be forced to surrender. But the one thing that the Mexican officers didnt' know about was the grit and determination of the American fighters. There would be no surrender.

Not long after the fighting had begun, James Bowie collapsed in the plaza of the Alamo. Men rushed to help him up, no one knew what had overcome the tall, strong knife-fighter but he quickly became so ill that he had to be laid in his bed because he could not stand.

Bowie was so weak that he could not even help lead the men anymore. At his bedside he turned over full command to Travis.

The day went on with little firing. No one was hurt, but the men's morale had taken a direct hit. The sun set over the horizon and nightfall was soon upon us. One of the men passed steaming coffee around to the volunteers as some of them began to make preparations to get some rest.

Some of the men were wrapped in blankets as they sipped their coffee, their eyes blankly staring off into the distance, their minds contemplating the day's events. Others made their way to the barracks. A few men were stationed at each of the four sides of the Alamo's walls, watching and waiting for Santa Anna's attack.

I lifted my head and pricked my ears, my eyes searching into the darkness. What did I just hear? It couldn't be . . .

Curse Google Accounts, Now I'm Bitter

Once again I haven't been on here very often, part of the reason is because of the fact that my google account keeps getting messed up, don't know how, but it is frustrating me terribly. So, some good news, my books are now available for sale on Amazon.com!

Here is Appaloosy

and Dusty's Trail is Here

awesome, huh? I'm so glad, now people who don't know me will be more willing to buy my books. And for those of you who have had a chance to read them and enjoyed them, pass the word on, please!

Also, I have a page on Facebook for my books. Like it if you have a facebook account! Mattie Richardson, ND's Teen Author/Appaloosy Books

So, once again, thanks for reading even though I don't post very often!

Mattie

Another Update

Man I wish I had time to write on this blog. But with 4-6 people constantly using this computer, parents who won't let me have internet on my own computer, and six + hours a day taken up by that horrible chore called school, this blog always get shoved to the back burner.

I am trying to post more. Its just going to have to be occasionally instead of every day. I even started typing out a part of "Golden Sunrise" for you to read, but I won't be able to get that up for awhile until I get a good chunk of uniterrupted computer time, as its pretty long.

But I have a picture for you of something fun that I got to get. Soooo Cuuuuttee!

I was going to call them "Storm" and "Dusty" after the two characters in my book, but the little black one seemed like a better Storm to me so they are dubbed Storm and Stardust.

All for now,

Mattie



♪ So some good news ♫

  I've been invited to a convention for North Dakota Authors and Librarians only!! Yay! I'm not completely sure what it is, but I know it is to introduce North Dakota authors to the librarians in the area.

Working hard I guess on Blackberry Blossom. Thank you guys for the ideas! Golden Sunrise is getting revised right now. My mom read it. I like to have her read it overall to see what she thinks of it. I love how she circles all of the horse terms and wonders what the are. "What does this mean??" she writes. :) Lets see. Do you know them? You should. Some of the terms she didn't understand: true collection, leads, pace. haha. I can't wait to send Golden Sunrise off to the publishing house! It's got a lot of work to go though . . . .

Check out bookblogger's interview on her blog here: http://booknook4you.blogspot.com/2011/06/author-interview-with-mattie-richardson.html . Thanks bookblogger! (haha thanks for snagging that horrible picture of me. :P)

Also, my friend Lulu is hosting a givaway on her blog. I am sponsoring it with one of my books. Check it out and see if you can win a copy! http://movies4him.blogspot.com/

Any of you have facebook? My parents finally said it was alright, so maybe I can make some new friends. :)

Mattie

A bit of an update, I guess =)

Okay, so here's what's been going on with my books. Appaloosy has been doing okay, with still about 350 copies sold, but I haven't been doing anything with them really. (which I should) Dusty's Trail sales have been going well, but I really need to order more.

Golden Sunrise (my third horse story) is finished but my mom cannot find the time to read through it (I gave it to her to read about two months ago) so I might take the manuscript back and check it myself then send it off to the real editor. Getting my books published hinges on so many things, deadlines, people and money; it seems like something that wouldn't be too hard but by the time you mess around with all the details it takes forever. It frustrates me so much when I can't get things done because of other people or because of my finacial situation.

I have been working a little bit on Blackberry Blossom. It is a story about a vagrant teenage girl in the 1930's who survives by riding the rails and playing the fiddle for a place to stay, etc. I think this one is going to be a teen novel and I am adding a bit of a love interest in it. :) Any ideas for me dear readers? I seem to be stuck in a rut a little bit with the main conflict, as it seems this story is just turning out to be a long sequence of events. (arrghh.) I think the main conflict is mostly about how she didn't get along well in her family situation (the reason she runs away from home) that she will eventually have to come to terms with in the end of the book. Tell me what you think. (!)

I really need to get my act together in the marketing part though,too. I guess I have the writing part down pretty well by now, its just the selling that I need to work on. :) Let me hear your thoughts.

Thanks!
Mattie

Thanks guys

Okay, apparently people do read this blog. :) Wow. Thanks guys for the comments, they make me feel a little better. Life has been crazy, so I guess I do have a bit of an excuse for not writing, but not much. My grandma was very ill in the hospital and my family went up to South Dakota to visit her in the hospital. (there is also no internet in her home :p) We were there for about two weeks, then we came home. Two days later she died. We went back up for the funeral and stayed for another week. Then my mother and half of the siblings stayed in South Dakota and went through my grandma's things, and the other half and dad and I stayed home, so I have been busy babysitting and keeping up with our house for about another two weeks while mom was gone.

But now things are finally back to normal. Well, somewhat normal. I've got to go to work now, but in my next post I'll give you some updates on what's been going on with my writing. And btw, I love the comments and keep me posted on your writing too! I'm trying not to give up.

♥Mattie

Okay I'll post again

Hi there blogger friends
Just read the comments. Wow. I didn't know that people actually read this blog. Lets see how many people even read this post. Truth is, I'm getting discouraged. Nobody cares about teenage authors, except for other teenage authors as I'm finding out. Life has been crazy lately.

Your disappointing blogger friend,

Mattie