ABC for Kids had a wonderful Holiday Special website with The Saddle Club information and it has ceased offering all the comprehensive information it once did. We are borrowing the remaining interviews to post here with full credit and acknowledgement of the source.
In the first, author Bonnie Bryant answers your questions about The Saddle Club. Various questions have been submitted from readers world-wide.
HCC asks – Has it amazed you the way the Saddle Club books have taken off?
HCC that’s an easy question – you bet! I have been very amazed by it and it’s been very wonderful. Thank you for your part!
Bucking Bronco asks – Did you imagine you would write so many books in the series or did you think you think it would be just a few?
Well Bucking Bronco (notice we have the same initials – BB), when I started writing them I was asked to write four books about little girls and horses, and that’s what I thought I was doing… but it didn’t turn out that way, did it?
littlehorse asks – What gave you the idea about the Saddle Club and were you surprised when you heard your books were coming to TV?
The idea of forming a club was that when I had a couple of characters who were interested in riding horses, it just seemed natural that they would form a club. And yes, I was very surprised and verypleased when I learned it was coming to television, I’d been dreaming about that for a long time and then it really happened!
Rachel asks – Are the Saddle Club girls based on real people?
Rachel, I’m going to reveal one of my little secrets to you – yes, they’re all based on me! I can be as disorganised as Carol, I can be as logical as Lisa and I can get into as much trouble as Stevie, although I don’t talk about that very much! There’s even a touch of Veronica in me… but we’re not going to talk about that at all!
Sugar ‘n Spice asks – Have you ever met the characters who play Stevie, Lisa, Carol and Veronica?
Sugar ‘n Spice, I’m a lucky lady – I’ve met all of them and they’re terrific, I really like them very much. I even like Heli and Kia who play Veronica and Kristi, they’re all just as nice as can be and as nice as the real Saddle Club girls.
Joey asks – Have the Saddle Club girls grown much since the first series?
Yes, they have a little bit, they’ve grown very nicely and I think you’re going to be pleased. You’re going to know them; they’re a little bit older but they are the same girls.
Rocker asks – Have you ever appeared on the TV series of The Saddle Club?
Yes, I’ve been in both series – the first series I was in episode eight and it’s called Star Quality but you have to watch very closely because I’m on screen for about a second and a half in the montage, right before the end. This time [the second series] I got to be a riding judge and I’m in episode thirteen which is called Stevie’s Bad Day. I had fun doing that, it was neat – they even put make-up on me!
W!LD HORS!ES asks – I’m a romantic! I loved reading your love sequences. Did you enjoy writing them as much as I enjoy reading them?
One of the ways, W!LD HORS!ES, that I test whether I’ve done a good job writing is how I feel while I’m writing. Whenever I write a good kiss, my toes curl!
Sierrra horsey girl asks – How do you come up with all those sundae concoctions Stevie orders at T.D.’s? They always gross me out!
Well Sierra, I agree with you, I think they’re perfectly revolting! I put together all the ingredients that seem the most disgusting to me and it just seems perfect for Stevie. I’ve never tried one – I’ll trust you to try one and tell me!
Laura asks – I’m no good at writing books but I enjoy it. Do you have any suggestions for a budding writer to improve their skills?
Laura, yes I do have an answer to that question, I think I can help you. I think that the secret to being a good writer is to be a good reader. If you read a lot, if you study how the other authors put their books together, how they create their characters so that believe them, how they make a plot work so you are happy to follow along with it, then you will be able to begin to learn how to put a book together yourself. You could start with short stories, with one page stores, with paragraph stories, and work your way up to novels. Good luck!
Odelay asks – What were your favourite books when you were young and why?
I read series books, and I enjoyed them very much but my single most favourite book when I was a child was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I think it’s one of the finest books ever written, and is after all, about friendship and riding – what more could you ask?
