Say Hello to author Caitlin Ricci joining us here at Love Bytes to talk about Horse Crazy a story in LT3 Press Geek Out Anthology .

There is also a giveaway to participate in

Welcome Caitlin!

Hey, it’s me, Caitlin Ricci, and while I’ve got your attention I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about my new short story, Horse Crazy, which is through Less Than Three Press. As soon as I saw their submission call for the Geek Out collection I knew I wanted to try to be in it. There are things we all obsessive over, that we can sit there for hours talking about, and that maybe we’re even a little embarrassed over. I have things like that and I’m sure you do too. My tops are good cheese, bourbon, anime, music, reptiles, and horses. To pick just one of them for this short story I went with horses. I had an idea for a short with horses right away and I thought it would be the most relatable to people.

I grew up around horses and my dad insisted that I be put on a pony before I could really walk. Summers on Assateague Island with the wild ponies and weekends trail riding through the Pennsylvania mountains are some of my best memories from my childhood. I wanted to pull on some of those memories, and of being a young teenager and how excited I was about everything that had to do with horses, and wrap them into one character for this story. Kristen was an easy character to build because in a lot of ways I was just like her. She’s horse crazy and her mom will do anything for her since Kristen moved to Colorado to help her mom start over with a new life.

Melody is one of my favorite characters that I’ve written about. We authors may not say it all that often, but we have our favorites, those characters that stay with us and make us smile when we think about them. Melody is one of those people for me. With her I wanted to write a mom that loved her daughter without reservation, and I wanted to tell a story where a mom could be great without having to worry about anything else.

Trans characters, just like all people, go through their little triumphs and their heartaches. I’m proud to be a part of this collection because it shows trans and genderqueer characters in everyday situations, simply being humans, and I think we need more of that, and of more trans and genderqueer characters in all of fiction.

I decided to write for this anthology because the idea of geeking out about something comes naturally to me. I do it all the time. Writing a trans character is a stretch but I think authors need to explore their comfort zones more and more in order to find out what they really like writing about. Melody wasn’t the first trans character I’ve ever written about, but she was the first contemporary one. When writing from any perspective and background that isn’t similar to mine I dive into research. I needed her to feel authentic, not only as a mom, but as someone who is trans. When I was a kid I used to pretend to be someone else. I think a lot of us did that, and it is something that has stuck with me. It was easy for me to get into her head but I stopped myself from just going full speed with her because I wanted to make sure that she felt real. Sometimes I’ll use beta readers, sometimes not. For Melody I had them reading her all the time and with that attention, and checking myself multiple times, I’m happy with the result.

Writing a trans character was a bit of an adventure for me, but with her I drew on some of my own experiences of being uncomfortable in my skin at one time or another and when I needed a bit more courage to go out there and wear that red dress that I loved but I wasn’t sure if I could get away with it. The cover artist did a great job incorporating the pieces of the story that mattered so much to Melody and wearing that dress, and using it as a symbol of her going out as a woman and finding herself, are really the things I wanted to put into this short story.

Horse Crazy

Blurb:

Melody and her teenage daughter, Kristen, have moved to Colorado for a fresh start. She’s still not 100% where she wants to be in terms of her body yet but she is finally comfortable with herself and is living completely as a woman for the first time in her life. To thank Kristen for being so wonderful she promises her daughter riding lessons, something her little girl has always dreamed of. While waiting for the lesson to start, she’s happy to see her daughter amidst the horses that she loves so much, but Melody does not expect the handsome man who sits down next to her—a man who proves to be Kristen’s instructor and idol—to be interested in taking Melody out on a date…

Buy Link

Less Than Three Press

Caitlin was fortunate growing up to be surrounded by family and teachers that encouraged her love of reading. She has always been a voracious reader and that love of the written word easily morphed into a passion for writing. If she isn’t writing, she can usually be found studying as she works toward her counseling degree. She comes from a military family and the men and women of the armed forces are close to her heart. She also enjoys gardening, hiking, and horseback riding in the Colorado Rockies where she calls home with her wonderful fiance and their two dogs. Her belief that there is no one true path to happily ever after runs deeply through all of her stories.

Website: www.CaitlinRicci.com

Giveaway: one Lucky commentor can win a copy of Caitlin’s story “Take A Bow”

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