In 2023, while visiting Chincoteague Island during Pony Penning Week I experienced three situations which planted the seed of an idea for a children's picture book about ponies.
A Wild, Almost-Escapee Pony
First, during the foal auction, a wily young colt escaped from the protective grasp of the Saltwater Cowboys holding him as bidders competed for the win. He dashed like a bolt across the auction pen, and the whole crowd gasped. I was worried he would jump the chain link fence and take off, and tear through the town.
In the nick of time a cowboy (or two--I can't remember because it happened so fast) caught the renegade youngster. The auction attendees breathed a collective sigh of relief.
A Sweet Treat
The next situation I found myself in was a delicious one. I have been a repeat visitor of Island Creamery on Chincoteague. They have the creamiest, smoothest ice cream with fun names like Marsh Mud and Pony Tracks. I really love the Pony Tracks flavor with homemade hot fudge, peanut butter cups, peanut butter in tasty vanilla base.
There's typically a long line out the door at Island Creamery, but it goes pretty fast. Inside the aroma of fresh waffle cones will entice you to order beyond what you could or should handle. lol
A Foal the Color of Caramel Swirled in Vanilla Ice Cream
Finally, that same year, after the foal auction, I walked over by the stall area where the ponies who had been auctioned were hanging out before their transport to their new homes. A very relaxed buckskin pinto lying on a pile of hay and munching the hay was so funny and so cute I became obsessed.
And so, that buckskin color of a foal became my favorite, and I thought about what would happened if a tiny foal escaped from the Chincoteague Carnival Grounds. Chincoteague's Main Street is so charming, I could picture a pony having adventures while nobody noticed, because the majority of residents and visitors were over at the foal auction, watching the sale.
I also thought about a sad girl eating ice cream. She would be sad because she wants a pony, but she can't have one. I liked the contrast with a sweet cone and how ice cream is a symbol of happiness. And I liked the idea of a foal using its senses to head back home to Assateague. It would be sniffing out the salty air, but... maybe the salty smell would emanate from a child's tears.
Writing this pony picture book took much longer than I would have guessed at the outset. But I'm so glad I've stuck with it because I believe it's a hopeful story that readers young and young at heart will love. You can pre-order your copy today!
Swirl Is Not Bertie
One last thing, if you're a hardcore Chincoteague Pony fan and follow the wild Virginia herd, you might think, "Swirl is Bertie!" Bertie is a buyback filly from 2025--a buckskin with one blue and one brown eye. The truth is she is not!
Here's what happened. I already had my story in the works and was even taking the rough draft spring of 2025 to elementary students. I could picture Swirl vividly. When the 2025 buckskin blue eyed filly was born, my friend Kathy (she wrote Jump the Moon--a lovely pony picture book) said, "You need to buy that pony!"
In the end, I didn't have to. She's a buyback and all of us can enjoy her, just as all of us can enjoy my fictional Swirl.
I hope you'll read Swirl: My Wild Island Pony and get whisked away to Chincoteague and fall in love with a foal.
Snag your signed copy today!
