The Legend of the Great Horse Book II of III

The Legend of the Great Horse Book II of III

The Golden Spark

By John Royce

“The Golden Spark” is the second volume of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy, continuing the adventures of a modern teenager struggling to survive history — on horseback. Fast-paced storytelling whisks readers into the Renaissance and entertains with a colorful cast of accurately-rendered historical characters.

In this installment, our heroine finds herself a stowaway aboard the ship of the Spanish Conquistador Cortés, suffers the attentions of nobility at the Court of Versailles, and joins with a family in Merry Old England of the early 1800's.

Authored by a former professional horseman, this title adds humor to the trilogy's imaginative mix of “road trip” adventure, suspense and well-researched history. "The Golden Spark" is the sequel to “Eclipsed by Shadow,” which won the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for YA Fiction and Gold in the Mom’s Choice Award for best Young Adult Fantasy.

"A rip-snorting tale and an overall fun read..." - LibraryThing Early Reviewer


About the author:

John Royce is a new voice writing about very old things: history & horsemanship. Twenty years of training and competitive riding combined with an interest in history to spark his spellbinding ode to horsemanship. Mr. Royce currently lives in Boston, another Texas transplant drawn to the weather. His broad background in horses includes competitive experience in western events, eventing and junior jumpers. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he founded the University Equestrian Club and served as its President from 1985-1988. In 1987 Mr. Royce organized a national Collegiate jumping event with eight universities from around the country.

The event's success led to an opportunity with the national horse show management company, Stadium Jumping, helping to promote the Show Jumping World Cup being held in Tampa. His later career in accounting took him from the arena, until the conception of the idea which became "The Legend of the Great Horse" trilogy brought him back.

After almost a decade of research and writing, Mr. Royce has produced the first volume of this original and compelling novel, motivated by the desire to share knowledge of horses and perhaps spark curiosity in parts of history for some readers. Mr. Royce believes horses are living history, and that horsemanship's timelessness and tradition are still important for the modern society it helped make possible.

The Legend of the Great Horse Book II