Horsing around with ‘Shamrock’s New Home’

A new book has hit the shelves, and its creator is hoping to teach parents the tricks needed to look after ponies.

For years, Julie-Anne Hyland had story ideas bubbling away in her mind and would tell her
children bedtime stories about the quirky characters she imagined.

Years later, after taking a course in children’s story writing, she decided to become an author.

Shamrock’s New Home is her latest book, telling the story of a naughty pony settling into his new home, and the little tricks he pulls on the people who have bought him.

Inspiration for the title came from a little pony that Hyland’s children had when they were
younger.

They borrowed him from a neighbour, and remember how full of mischief he was.

“The reasons I wrote the book were to prepare families for the reality of owning a pony,”
Hyland says.

“I used to run a riding school and do pony club instruction. Many parents would come along
and have no idea what they were getting themselves into.

“They’d go along, and they’d buy this sweet little pony, and they’d be told this pony’s
perfect, but in reality, ponies are full of tricks.

“Shamrock’s New Home is all about some people getting this darling little pony
from this lady, and as she’s leaving, the lady says, ‘Beware, he knows a lot of tricks’.”

Despite being a children’s book, Hyland says the entire writing process is quite time
consuming, with the book taking three or four months to get it the way she wanted.

“I learned you’ve got to cut a children’s storybook right down to the basics so you’re only
using a certain amount of words on the page, and you let the pictures tell the story as well.”

Publication also became an issue, with so much competition in children’s books at the
moment, it was hard for her to find a publisher. To solve this problem, Hyland chose to self-
publish.

This was the case with her first three books, the Roly and Wag series, inspired by
her father, Brian (nicknamed Roly, by some), her mother, Lois, and their cattle dog Wag.

Hyland wrote the series for her granddaughter, Francie, to keep her parents’ memory alive
and give people an idea of farm life.

While Hyland has another Shamrock story in mind, as well as a few more Roly and
Wag books on the way, she has no strong desire to become a full-time author and sees it more as a side hustle than anything else.

“At the moment, I’m helping out my husband with our agricultural contracting business, and I help my daughter with her baby,” she says.

“This is just a sideline, really. If it were to take off and I sold hundreds of books, it would be fantastic, but if it doesn’t, then it’s just an enjoyable hobby that I’m having a lot of fun with.”