The secret of the unicorn

**Happy Festive Season to one and all**

After Jack the Horse got things underway many weeks ago  and Professor von Puppet made initial introductions, we have met almost all the new cast of Horse of the Same Colour.

As to who else will be joining Megan and Amy in their new adventure, you can be sure that Naylor O'Neill and her gang will push their way to centre stage. Their long-standing teachers will do their best to keep things under control; fearsome Mr Connor, Miss Blanchard, the new teaching assistant, and the absent-minded Mrs Linstead who turns out to have hidden depths. And the traveller family who join the school for the autumn term also make quite an impact, in particular brothers Menowin and Patrin and their little sister, Rosella.

Here’s a quick reminder of the characters who have been introduced over the past few weeks. Have you decided upon a likely favourite? If so, please leave a comment to let us know which one.

Oh yes, the secret of the unicorn ... I'm afraid I'm not allowed to divulge that. It will all come out when Horse of the Same Colour is published in 2021.

Ellie 

Snowy 

Starlight Piglet 

Smirf 

Ossie 

Polo 

Rainbow 

Jazz 

Jasper 

Flo 

Mischief 

Fmelodie 

Solo 

Tristan 

Koby Blue 

Custard 

Spice 

Peanut 

Zack 

Nutella 

 

Introducing Nutella

The person who knows Nutella best describes her thus: “Totally a foodie.”

Now if you’ve been monitoring the unfolding introductions of the cast, that description might have elicited a disbelieving laugh. Is there a single one of them who is not wholly consumed by thoughts of food and how to snaffle it from under the noses of its rightful owners?

Well, no, there isn’t, they’re all obsessed with food, how to track it down and how to grab a share, but of all of them, Nutella is the worst. There isn’t a single task, no matter how important, that Nutella won’t interrupt in the pursuit of a tasty snack.

Nutella's favourite snack would look something like this:

Introducing Zack

Zack is the youngest of the bunch who are in on the secret. He is small and chestnut in colour, with a very cheeky face.

Zack’s role model is Jasper, but he always rushes to Flo when he’s in big trouble.

This is Snowy with her ‘Oh no, what now?’ look as she watches Zack race into the barn.

Introducing Peanut

If you’re a toadaphobe, look away now.

Peanut isn’t a toad but he has toad eyes that he can put to good use if the gang need to have someone distracted. And the gang often want to distract someone, especially if the someone is guarding a stash of food.

Peanut creeps up on people and peers at them through some handy obstacle like a hedge, then he opens his eyes W-I-D-E. For a second, they think they’ve seen this:

And if they are bufonophobic, they will run away and leave their picnic unattended.

Introducing Spice

Spice is friendly and loves chatting with people and ponies. He’s very discreet, though, and you won’t learn any secrets from him, which is a pity as he’s one of the ones with a BIG secret to share.

Unfortunately, Spice doesn’t like being photographed, but here he is just after he was talking to a person and a pony.

The arrow shows where Spice just vanished to.

Introducing Custard

Custard has a key role to play in the secret of the unicorn but his efficiency is sometimes blighted by his overwhelming desire for crisps. His dive-and-grab manoeuvre has been perfected after much practice and, if Custard is near, a heap of crisps can go from this:

to this:

in the blink of an eye.

Introducing Koby Blue

Koby Blue is a member of a very secret society – so secret that I’m not allowed to say, but everything will be revealed in the book (that’s a clue, by the way).

Koby’s special trick involves the colour of iron and a swishing tail. He learnt it from his parents. In fact, Koby is one in a long line of Blues who have been perfecting this particular trick for generations. 

With a single flick of a tail, this cupcake will fly from its owner’s hand and vanish into the mouths of the waiting Blues as if by magic.

Introducing Tristan

We have already met Tristan briefly. He’s a good friend of Solo. 

Tristan’s love of sticky circumstances (lakes of honey, bags of sweets, pots of treacle) gets him into sticky situations with certain types, such as angry bees, indignant cooks, and people who aren’t keen on sticky footprints everywhere.

As soon as Tristan goes by, this will become an empty hand, and Tristan will find himself in yet another sticky situation. 

Introducing Solo

Solo is quite a character who loves nothing better than a good scrap. 

He is definitely the one to have on your side in a sticky situation, as his friends can tell you. 

When Solo's good friend, Tristan, stepped in a fruit pie, things got very sticky very quickly - in more ways than one; the owner of the fruit pie wasn't pleased. It was lucky all round that Solo was on hand to get his friend out of trouble.

Introducing Fmelodie

Fmelodie is the one that the Prof said sounded Fmiliar. Ha ha. See what he did there?

Fmelodie is quite a character but her real accomplishment is something you’ll never see, because she’s a masterof disguise. Here is a cat wondering what woke it up. Of course it was Fmelodie but she’s so fast that the cat is looking in the wrong direction.

Fmelodie’s skill is really useful in certain circumstances to do with unicorns, but that’s all I’m allowed to say about that because the secret of the unicorn has to remain secret (it’s what Amy would call a Top Priority secret) until it gets revealed by Fmelodie and the gang in the book.

Introducing Mischief

Some of the gang like to have names that mislead, such as Flo not minding being called Slow Flo, but there is nothing misleading about Mischief’s name.

‘Mischief by name, mischief by nature,’ Snowy has been heard to murmur, when even she can’t keep Mischief out of trouble.

Mischief’s party trick is the concealed nip. If a pony suddenly bucks for no reason at all, look around and see if Mischief is anywhere near. Snowy says she sometimes thinks Mischief is no more than a set of teeth and a pair of eyes looking for ways to make trouble.

Introducing Flo

How many creatures, human or otherwise, are in the photo? Flo’s there, of course, but we can also see two separate legs and one hand, so that could be three different people. Oh yes, and there’s a horse’s head, too, so that makes five.

Sometimes Flo gets teased for being slow, but it’s not that she’s slow, it’s that she keeps stopping to snack, which often makes her late.

Introducing Jasper

Jasper is a born leader who takes the whole gang to where they need to go – and a lot of times to where they really shouldn’t go. They don’t mind that Jasper leads them into trouble so often because they all know that if he didn’t, then they’d all get into trouble on their own and have no one to lead them out of it. 

Jasper is especially fond of grass, but he knows his gang prefers fancier treats so he doesn’t take them to empty meadows, he takes them to popular picnic spots where he can eat grass while they make nuisances of themselves in and around all the picnic baskets.

Introducing Jazz

Like most of the gang, Jazz has a lazy streak, but if you find Jazz lazing about, say upside down on the couch when he’s really not supposed to be in the house at all, he will tell you he was practising his special skill and just happened to doze off.

It’s hard to argue with that because Jazz’s special skill is to do with upside-down-ness … and running water. It’s a useful skill particularly to the unicorn (but of course that’s part of the secret that we’re not allowed to talk about yet) so Jazz is usually allowed to lounge about as long as he’s upside down.

Introducing Rainbow

Although you might look at the picture and think you can see Rainbow clear as day, I’m afraid it’s not that simple.

If you study the picture closely, you might catch a glimpse, but don't be fooled by the obvious. That isn't a picture of Rainbow, it's a picture of a multicoloured pony with a stick of rock on its nose. Oh and Rainbow's in there too. 

Rainbow is a master of disguise - unlike the creature who is taking up most of the picture. You certainly couldn't miss a huge multicoloured pony wearing a stick of rock, but you could easily miss Rainbow.

Rainbow's skill at disguise is very important in the life of the unicorn, because … oops, we're not supposed to let out any secrets yet … we'll just say that Rainbow has a key role to play.

Introducing Polo

Polo might be small but he’s speedy and he turns tight corners like you wouldn’t believe. Polo’s agility is very useful when it comes to keeping things secret, and he certainly has a big secret.

He’s another of the gang that knows everything there is to know about the secret of the unicorn. If you happened to be a pony watching through a window when Polo went by, all you would see would be a blur.

Polo’s problem is that he fidgets, especially if he scents mints in the air. There are times when Snowy has had to get extremely firm with Polo.

Introducing Ossie

Ossie has one characteristic in common with Smirf, he is greedy. In fact he will go to such lengths to grab a bite to eat that he has become quite an acrobat. 

There is no obstacle that Ossie won’t tackle if he thinks that food lurks beyond it.

Ossie is another one with a special link to the unicorn but because the real secret of the unicorn has yet to be revealed, there will be no spoilers in the blog.

Introducing Smirf

A big secret* was mentioned in the blog about Snowy, and this is one of the characters who knows everything about that secret. That means that his blog is one of the ones with a huge secret to keep.

All I will tell you about Smirf is that he’s likes to play games with Starlight Piglet and is an accomplished thief who is known for pinching other people’s food.

If you want to distract Smirf, tell him the kitchen door’s open and no one is guarding the pantry.

*The new book reveals the real secret of the unicorn. Because it’s a big secret, there are no spoilers on this blog.

Introducing Starlight Piglet

Starlight Piglet could have been a horse but he wanted to see further, run faster and climb more gracefully than any horse, so he chose a different career path.

There are several unusual sides to Starlight Piglet. For instance he has an unusual nickname (you can put a guess in the comments below but it will only be revealed in the book).

He is a very keen jumper, but because his favourite sort of jumping is bungee jumping, you can see where he wouldn’t have been happy as an ordinary horse. Bungee jumping is one of those things that horses have no natural talent for. Most of them couldn't even climb to the top of the crane, and even if they could, can you imagine how graceful they would be? Not very! 

Did you know that out of all the horses who enjoy bungee jumping (that’s very few, by the way) hardly any of them are any good at it.

Introducing the new pony, Snowy

Snowy is a wise old pony. She keeps the herd in check, and that includes the unicorn. It’s no joke trying to control a unicorn, but nuff said about that*.

When she’s off duty, Snowy likes to cover herself in mud, but even when she’s sparkly clean she isn’t snowy white so her name is a bit of a mystery.

That bit of a mystery got Snowy interested in horses’ names, especially collective nouns. Although everyone calls them the herd, she sometimes uses a different name in her head, and calls them the haras, which is an old-fashioned name for a group of horses. When they pretend not to have “herd” what she says it “haras”es her quite a lot.

*The new book reveals the real secret of the unicorn. Because it’s a big secret, there are no spoilers on this blog.

Introducing the new pony, Ellie

It’s incredible to think there are people out there who don’t like ponies, but there are, and Megan’s Aunt Ellie is one of them.

So, when one of the new ponies in the district turns out to be called Ellie, Megan is aghast. Aunt Ellie will think it’s a deliberate insult.

The only good thing about Aunt Ellie’s visits is the envelope with Megan’s name on and pocket money inside that she places on the sideboard before she leaves to go home (Megan’s dad says the only good thing about Aunt Ellie’s visits is that she leaves at all, but he says it quietly because Megan’s mum hits him with a rolled-up newspaper if she hears him).

The least little thing makes Aunt Ellie forget that all-important envelope; things like Megan taking a horse upstairs to her bedroom that time, which was really unfair because she hadn’t meant to.

So when she comes to stay, Ellie and Aunt Ellie simply must be kept apart.

That shouldn’t be difficult, with Aunt Ellie not being a horsey person, but we all know that things are never that simple.

Meet the cast of Horse of the Same Colour

Without further ado, let me welcome the Prof to tell you who you'll meet in the new book.

And a few more characters are likely to sneak in as well, for instance best friends, Megan and Amy, worst enemy Naylor O'Neill and her gang and there'll be some newcomers. 

Also, look out for Ossie and Rainbow.

Not forgetting Aunt Ellie - no one can forget Aunt Ellie.

Then there's Mr Connor who loves science and Mrs Linstead who loves creative arts, and Mrs Clover from the shop.

All in all it's quite a crowd and one of them will be the star of Jack's next blog.

Jack-the-horse gets things underway

My name is Jack and I’m the horse in Horse of a Different Colour, but who knows if I will be the horse in Horse of the Same Colour?

I have no idea. And even though the new book is underway, don’t hold your breath. Melodie wrote 500 words today, then crossed them all out again. ‘At least it’s underway,’ she told me. Between you and me, I’m not so sure.

Meanwhile, I'm going to have a word with my friend Professor Hans Von Puppet who you might have met in a previous blog, and get him to introduce the cast of the new book. I can't possibly introduce them all myself. Have you ever tried typing with hooves?

If you put your email in the 'Follow my blog' box on the right, you'll get a nudge each time a new blog is published.

Horse of the Same Colour

A new adventure is getting underway for Megan Crewe and Amy Atkinson. Nothing's certain just yet, but there will be horses and there will be mayhem, and there will probably be Aunt Ellie telling everyone not to bolt their food.

Here's a short reminder of the story so far...

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIEW

Supporting #NHSCharitiesTogether Part 5

This is part 5 of Jack galloping in with a bunch of writer mates to support NHS Charities Together.

We've had some scary authors and some exciting adventures and some hilarity with mind-blowing puns and comic verse. And now here's something new; a novel and a novella that are both eco-thrillers. Till They Dropped and Waiting for Gordo by Sue Knight.

Don't read these in the dark, and if you do and you find you can't sleep, then don't say I didn't warn you.

All the author royalties from all these books plus another five anthologies, goes to NHS Charities Together during the current crisis. That includes my own Horse of a Different Colour the hilarious Cruel and Unusual PunNishments, the full on Blood Red Dust, the crime-ridden Falling into Crime and the amazing adventure, The Boy in Winter's Grasp.

 

THIS LINK HERE will take you to all 12 of the books. And if I don't get round to a part 6 (my hooves get a bit sore with all the typing) then follow the link to find the amazing international award-winning anthhology, The Dummies' Guide to Serial Killing.

Supporting NHSCharitiesTogether Part 4

Part 4 of Jack supporting NHS Charities Together.

Here's another author in this project and in this case, his book is aimed at the same young adult audience as mine is - woo hoo! This author is John Scotcher who has written a really scary fantasy adventure called The Boy in Winter's Grasp. Don't read it in the dark.

You already know, if you've been paying attention to parts 1, 2 and 3, that all the author royalties from this set of books, goes to NHS Charities Together during the current crisis. That includes Horse of a Different Colour the hilarious Cruel and Unusual PunNishments, the full on Blood Red Dust and ...

... and also <drum roll> this amazing twosome that I'm going to get to in part 5: Till They Dropped and Waiting for Gordo.

THIS LINK HERE will take you to all 12 of the books. Call back in for part 5 and maybe even part 6.

Supporting #NHSCharitiesTogether part 3

Here is part 3 of Jack galloping into the fray to support NHS Charities Together.

You already know about the retired doctor who thought this up, Mark P Henderson and the scary science fiction author, Stuart Aken. But there's also a scary crime writer, and with her book, you get three for the price of one. She's Penny Grubb and her book is called Falling into Crime.

All the author royalties from Falling into Crime as well as Horse of a Different Colour, Cruel and Unusual PunNishments, and Blood Red Dust will go to NHS Charities Together during the current crisis.

THIS LINK HERE will take you to all 12 of the books.

Jack wasn't sure if he would do a part 4, but now he definitely will because three more books have joined in. The Boy in Winter's Grasp, Till They Dropped and Waiting for Gordo, so he needs to tell you about those.

Also he's quite keen to investigate one of the other books that is called The Dummies' Guide to Serial Killing, so there might be parts 4, 5, 6 and who knows how many more?

Supporting #NHSCharitiesTogether part 2

Part 2 of Jack galloping into the fray to support NHS Charities Together.

As I said before, we're not the only ones in this. Another author is Stuart Aken. He has written a lot of books ... a WHOLE LOT of books. We guess he writes pretty fast. The book that is in this wonderful scheme is called Blood Red Dust.

This is a great book, but it's pretty full on, if you know what I mean. Definitely one that needs an "Adult themes" warning. It's a great adventure on another planet but it's serious stuff. The perfect birthday present for a grown-up who likes their science fiction to be real. And because it's the first in a set of three, that's two more year's worth of presents sorted if they like it.

You will already know from part 1 that all the author royalties from Horse of a Different Colour and the hilarious Cruel and Unusual PunNishments will go to NHS Charities Together during the current crisis.

But some more books have joined in since I wrote part 1. Now we also have The Boy in Winter's Grasp, Till They Dropped and Waiting for Gordo, and Jack will tell you about those in a moment.

THIS LINK HERE will take you to all 12 of the books, and I will highlight more books in future blogs.