Sarah V. Barnes set out in search of a story — not to be a novelist

Sarah V. Barnes is both an historian and a horsewoman. When she is not writing stories, she practices and teaches riding as a meditative art and also offers equine-facilitated coaching and wellness workshops. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University and spent many years as a college professor before turning full-time to riding and writing. She has two grown daughters and lives with her husband, her dogs, and her horses near Boulder. Find more at www.sarahvbarnes.com.

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SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate? 

Barnes: I did not intend to start writing a novel. Maybe work on a blog. Maybe just enjoy the excuse to attend another magical retreat at Linda Kohanov’s Eponaquest Ranch, located at the base of the Santa Rita mountains, just south of Tucson, Arizona. The setting alone is inspiring, especially if you love the desert southwest as I do. Something about the clarity of the blue sky, the dry air, and the combination of rock, sand, sage brush and mesquite. 

I’ve attended several workshops at Linda’s ranch, all featuring the equine-facilitated personal growth experiences she pioneered in the wake of publishing her international best-selling memoir, “The Tao of Equus.” Although each workshop has a different theme, all of them incorporate activities designed to expand self-knowledge, develop social and emotional intelligence, and hone leadership skills. Linda is a gifted facilitator, but the real teachers are the horses.

This workshop focused on writing. Like myself, all of the participants had been to Linda’s at least once before. As a result, none of us arrived expecting to receive nuts-and-bolts advice about crafting the perfect essay, constructing character arcs or getting published. We knew better. What Linda and her equine partners offered was something much more elusive — access to another realm, a passageway leading to a mythic landscape between the worlds. Guided by the wisdom of the herd, we would be invited to discover the place where stories dwell, awaiting the power of a storyteller to summon them to life. 

“Just write whatever comes to you,” Linda instructed. 

The third day of the four-day workshop had been spent in various activities designed to help us tap into our intuition and creativity. In the round pen with the horses, we awakened our body’s wisdom and our heart’s desire. Stretched out on Linda’s living room floor, eyes closed, we listened as Linda’s mellifluous voice guided us on an imagined journey, accompanied by ethereal music composed by Linda’s Grammy-nominated husband, Steve Roach. Now, with November’s afternoon shadows beginning to lengthen and the desert air starting to cool, we had an hour or so left before disbanding for the day. 

“Find a place outside,” Linda told us. “Make yourself comfortable, stay as long as the light lasts. No need to check in before you leave. We’ll reconvene in the morning and share whatever you come up with.”

Pulling up a chair at one of the tables where we’d eaten lunch earlier in the day, I opened my laptop, clicked on a new Word document, poised my fingers over the keyboard, and with no idea of what was going to come out, started to write.

The words flowed. A girl, dressed in animal hides, uncommon blue eyes scanning a distant horizon. A filly, her unusual chestnut coat as red as the girl’s own hair, lit like a flame by the rays of the setting sun. The boundless grasslands of ancient Eurasia. The first person ever to ride a horse.

The temperature dropped, darkness fell, a huge orange moon rose behind the mountains east of the ranch. Eventually, I forced myself to stop writing long enough to drive my rental car back to the bed and breakfast where I was staying. Ensconced in my room, sitting up in bed absent-mindedly eating a power bar, I reviewed what had appeared on the page so far — and then I kept writing, long past my usual bedtime. 

By morning, I had the first chapter of “She Who Rides Horses: A Tale of the Ancient Steppe.”  As I read it aloud to Linda and my fellow workshop participants, Linda shed tears — always a good sign. “You have to keep writing,” she urged, emphatic.  “I’ve been waiting for someone to tell this story.  It needs to be told.” 

And that is how the story began…

SunLit: Place this excerpt in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole? Why did you select it? 

Barnes: The excerpt is an abridged version of the first chapter that came to me at the workshop at Linda’s.

SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write? 

Barnes: My first passion in life, from the time I was a little girl, was horses. My second passion, once I learned to read, was historical fiction. I spent many years as an academic historian, but somehow, over the years as a college professor, drifted away from the stories that had drawn me to history in the first place. 

I did, however, find my way back to horses and began teaching riding as a meditative art, as well as working with horses as an equine-facilitated personal development coach. Eventually, I also found my way back to the stories. “She Who Rides Horses: A Saga of the Ancient Steppe” represents a braiding together of my childhood passions.  

SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter? 

Barnes: Although I’ve been a horse lover all my life, I did not know much about the domestication of horses until I started working on the trilogy. I held off actually doing much research until well along in the story because I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the story that seemed to want to be told, but eventually did a lot of reading in multiple disciplines, including archeology, linguistics, comparative religion, anthropology, psychology and paleo-biology. 

I was amazed by how many details that had come to me when I first began to write were actually quite accurate. For example, ancient DNA research published well after I’d settled on the location and timeline of the story bolstered those details. This is more than a tale about a girl and a horse. It touches on subjects as diverse as the rise of patriarchy, the origins of war, and the impacts of climate change more than 6,000 years ago. 

SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book? 

Barnes: Making time to work on it — I’m a very slow writer — and not being free to travel to where the books are set. I’ve had to rely on imagination. So far, it’s served me well.

SunLit: What’s the most important thing — a theme, lesson, emotion or realization — that readers should take from this book? 

Barnes: We are part of the natural world — not separate — and always have been. Over the past 6,000 years, the idea that humans are somehow set apart from nature has led to a loss of connection on every level that threatens the life of every being on Earth. Six thousand years ago, horses offered to come into relationship with us. We had choices about what that relationship would be like, and although the domestication of horses arguably did more to create the modern world than any development in human history, in terms of our relationship with horses, we also made a lot of poor choices along the way. 

Amazingly, the horses have stuck with us. We are at another choice point, and they are offering to teach us a new way — or remind us of an old way — to be in relationship with ourselves and the other-than-human beings in our world.

SunLit: Walk us through your writing process: Where and how do you write? 

Barnes: Unlike many authors who seem to do their best work in the morning, before everyone else gets up, I prefer to write in the afternoon, after I’ve spent time with my horses and accomplished whatever tasks await for the day. Then I retreat to my study, light a candle, put on quiet instrumental music, and go to work. 

I write slowly, going back over what I’ve written the day before, tinkering with images and wording, making sure I’m following the various lessons my wonderful editor has taught me, before going on to add a new scene. Although I may make notes based on background reading, I do not have the story mapped out ahead of time, except in the broadest outline. The scenes, the details — even new characters — show up when the timing is right.

SunLit: Do readers have to be interested in horses to enjoy this book? 

Barnes: No — while it’s a story of a horse and a girl, it’s much more as well. Lovers of historical fiction will discover a realistic and believable world of the past, in which compelling characters have adventures and confront challenges, fall in love and risk death, all while learning about themselves — just like any good novel. 

SunLit: Tell us about your next project. 

Barnes: I’m almost finished with book two, which will be published early next year, to be followed by the third and last volume in the trilogy. After that, I have in mind a book set in 14^th century France, England and Scotland, titled “A True and Perfect Knight.”  

A few more quick questions

SunLit: Which do you enjoy more as you work on a book — writing or editing? 

Barnes: The two are intertwined – I’m constantly editing as I write and I enjoy both aspects.

SunLit: What’s the first piece of writing – at any age – that you remember being proud of? 

Barnes: I was in third or fourth grade and wrote a story about a planet inhabited by koalas. Our class project was to write a story and then learn how to bind the pages into an actual book. “Planet Koala” was my first published volume.   

SunLit: What three writers, from any era, would you invite over for a great discussion about literature and writing?

Barnes: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Virgina Woolf.

SunLit: Do you have a favorite quote about writing? 

Barnes: “To be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.” David Whyte, from “What to Remember When Waking.” The quote applies to any creative endeavor, which involves being willing to be vulnerable in order to share what we came into this world to offer.

SunLit: What does the current collection of books on your home shelves tell visitors about you? 

Barnes: I have a very wide and somewhat esoteric variety of interests.

SunLit: Soundtrack or silence? What’s the audio background that helps you write?

Barnes: Indigenous music — ancient flutes, drums, etc. — helps me to inhabit the space and time where my novel is set. I also listen to Celtic instrumental music, which taps into my personal ancestral roots.

SunLit: What music do you listen to for sheer enjoyment? 

Barnes: I’m a child of the ‘60s, ’70s and ’80s — oldies from those decades.

SunLit: What event, and at what age, convinced you that you wanted to be a writer?

Barnes: This is a hard question to answer, as I didn’t really make a conscious choice to become a writer. The story came to me, looking for a storyteller. When the first book in the trilogy was published, earning positive reviews and several awards for historical fiction, I was of an age at which many folks retire. I guess that makes me a late bloomer. But at no point was I “convinced that I wanted to be a writer” — the story came first.

SunLit: Greatest writing fear? 

Barnes: I don’t really have much fear around writing. Again, because the story came first. I’m just the storyteller. Not that writing isn’t sometimes hard work, but it’s also a privilege. It feels like a gift. I do sometimes feel a sense of obligation, to do my best with what’s been entrusted to me. I’m grateful, but I don’t really have anything to lose.

SunLit: Greatest writing satisfaction? 

Barnes: Hearing from readers that the story touched them in some way — brought them to tears or laughter.

Type of Story: Q&A

An interview to provide a relevant perspective, edited for clarity and not fully fact-checked.