Children's book author shares love of reading at Silver Saddle Ranch

Children's author Terri Farley, best known for her 24-book "Phantom Stallion" series, is as at home in the West as she is with horses.

"Nobody had ever written about horses in today's West, just about English riders and dressage and girls in boarding schools," Farley said. "I think that's why these books took off so well. People like our West."

Farley was at the Silver Saddle Ranch on Saturday to promote a love for reading.

Carson City Library Program Outreach Coordinator Andrea Moore said the presentation was part of a collaboration between the library, the Nevada Appeal and the Carson City School District to promote literacy and the Nevada Appeal's Literacy for Life campaign.

"We've made a pledge to see that all children in the school district have a library card," Moore said, "and the library is rolling out a new logo Oct. 16 developed by our teen group. We're really excited about the momentum."

Farley, who grew up in Southern California and now makes her home in Verdi, Calif., said the inspiration for her stories came from studying wild horses near Gerlach and in the Calico Range.

"Sadly, 2,000 of those horses have been taken off the range, and are now in pens all over. I adopted two of them (Ghost Dancer and Sage) and turned them over to a wild horse refuge," said the former middle and high school teacher.

Farley's love of horses goes back to her childhood.

"Where I grew up, there were a lot more highways than horses," she said.

As an 8-year-old, she always wanted horses, and then one day, she saw through the slats of a fence a little brown and white pinto walking around all alone. She managed to climb over the fence and onto the back of the horse so she could ride it.

Eventually this became an after-school ritual which no one knew about. She even created a makeshift bridle out of some pink and silver rick-rack and a couple of hair pins.

That all came to an end one day when a man in a business suit appeared in the back yard. She climbed over the fence and ran off.

Farley had named the horse Sweetheart, and as a teen, she wrote about Sweetheart and the open range. When older, she started entering contests and found out she could get paid for her writing.

"I just write about adventures I'd like to have - that's it," she said. "The thing I like about reading is that you can have those adventures safely."

The Phantom series was born one day on a cattle drive when Farley said she thought she saw a glimpse of a white horse, but then, was not able to see it again.

"It was my ghost horse," she said.

Years later, by coincidence, she would meet a white stallion that lived between Dayton and Stagecoach that wild horse lovers in that area had named Phantom.

Farley would eventually accompany Phantom to a new home on a 5,000-acre wild horse refuge near Shingleton, Calif., where Phantom was able to live out his days in peace.

After Farley's presentation Saturday, visitors watched a short video showing Phantom's release to the refuge, Farley held a book-signing, and the library served fresh apple pie and cider.

Everyone was then encouraged to head over to one of the corrals to meet a 10-week-old colt taken from the Calico Range named Summer, who was brought to the ranch by wild horse advocate Shirley Allen.

Farley's books are wildly popular among the 8-14-year-old age group. She receives about 100 e-mails a day from fans all over the world, and has a website devoted to all things Phantom.

Her books generally contain a message, she said.

"'Dark Sunshine' is about an abused horse who helps an abused child," Farley said. "I absolutely believe that animals help people."

Tim Kosier brought 11-year-old Duel Cobb to the event as part of his Big Brothers, Big Sisters program activity day, and Cobb was intrigued.

"I thought it was kind of inspiring for kids who want to write our own books," Cobb said.

Three years ago, Farley passed the one million mark in book sales through her publisher Harper Collins. Her books are available in 28 countries worldwide, mostly hard-bound.

The books she sells in the United States, however, she decided she wanted printed in paperback because, "I wanted kids to be able to buy the books with their own money." Books sell for about $5 apiece.

Most recently, Farley has spent time in Hawaii studying the horses there for her new series, "Phantom Stallion, Wild Horse Island."

Farley will be inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame on Nov. 4.