Horse Girl by Carrie Seim is Mean Girls meets Black Beauty, a funny and tender middle-grade novel about finding your forever herd. We had the pleasure of chatting with Carrie about her new release, book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Carrie! Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hello! Thank you so much for having me! I grew up in Nebraska —the setting of my new book, Horse Girl — and according to my high school counselors, I was supposed to become an engineer. But after college, I landed a job at the Sundance Film Institute in Los Angeles and began taking classes at The Groundlings comedy theatre. That’s where I first learned to create wonderfully weird characters and scenes — when you’re performing for a live audience you get instant feedback as to what’s working and what’s bombing. A Saturday Night Live scout happened to be in the audience one night and invited me to New York to audition for the show. Spoiler: I did not get cast, but I did get stopped by the TSA for having three wigs and wig heads in my carry-on. From there, I went on to write and perform for television (including Nickelodeon and Inside Amy Schumer) and also worked as a journalist and essayist. My first book-script hybrid — The Flying Flamingo Sisters — debuted at the tail end of 2019. It’s a bit like an old-timey radio play and ended up becoming an Audible fiction bestseller last summer. And now Horse Girl, my first “real” book, is coming out. I’m ridiculously excited! Other fun facts? I play piano and love trivia, just like the mean big sister character in my new book. (Note to self: schedule appointment with therapist.)
After the chaos that was 2020, have you set any goals for this year? If so, how are they going so far?
My first goal is to hug my parents and my sister! We’re such a close family, but we haven’t been able to travel to see each other — I miss them terribly. My second goal is to (ahem) get back in the saddle. I’m dying to take a few horseback riding lessons and brush up on the basics. Hopefully I’ll get to do both later this spring.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first three books I remember reading: The Monster at the End of This Book, The Little Engine That Could, and Higgelty-Piggelty-Pop! Or, There Must Be More to Life — a beautifully dark story by Maurice Sendak. The one that made me an author: Little Women. How can you meet Jo March and not want to become an author?? I can’t stop thinking about: Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley —a fairy tale balm.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. My parents were both teachers, so reading was a thing in our house. They saved all my early “books,” which were scrawled in crayon on stapled construction paper. In elementary school, I was constantly writing plays, then dragooning my sister and the neighborhood kids to perform them — like a little Margot Tenenbaum. I launched a newspaper for our street (the Lois Lane Times) and entered every writing contest I could find. Creating imaginary worlds — and dragging other people into them — is really all I’ve ever wanted to do.
Your new novel, Horse Girl, releases on March 30th 2021! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Black Beauty meets Mean Girls!
What can readers expect?
A comic romp with lots of heart. We have something for everyone: majestic Clydesdales, tween angst, awkward dad jokes, mysterious notes, bedazzled breeches, vocal fry, snack breaks, heartbreak, horse fails and stress sweat. Each chapter also comes with fun “hoofnotes,” which help explain some of the equestrian terms (and some of the tween angst).
Where did the inspiration for Horse Girl come from?
My sister [actor and author Lindsay Seim] and I were both completely horse crazy as kids. We were obsessed with all the classics, like Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague and King of the Wind, along with the Saddle Club and Thoroughbred series. We were those girls who set up brooms and laundry baskets in the back yard, then tried to make our dogs jump “the course.” When the dogs invariably declined, we’d jump it ourselves. When we finally convinced my parents to let us attend horse camp, I discovered, tragically, that I have a severe allergy to horses. Dreams were dashed! After camp, my sister got to continue riding lessons at a stable in Omaha, while I was plopped into piano lessons. But I would go to my sister’s lessons every week and watch her, doing my homework in the stands. In many ways, Horse Girl is a love letter to my sister. The horse-tagonist in the story — and many of his funny antics — are based on a real horse Lindsay used to ride, a Clydesdale-thoroughbred named Clyde Lee.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you overcome them?
I was about halfway through writing the book in the spring of 2019 when my mom had a stroke. I flew to Florida to be with her and my dad in the hospital. She was in a coma for several days, but one of the first things she said to the nurses when she woke up was that her daughter was writing a book — and she started naming the characters in my book. (Sob!) That’s the moment I knew she’d be OK. (Well that, and her choice words when the nurse asked her to name the current president.) It was extraordinarily difficult to keep writing. But I knew I had to finish, if only to make her proud.
The other, more technical challenge was making sure I had all the equestrian facts and terminology correct. I did a deep dive into equine research, consulting veterinarians and riders to make sure I nailed it.
If it’s not too spoilery, were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I absolutely loved writing the relationship between Willa, the protagonist, and her older sister, Kay. It’s very Ramona and Beezus. It was such fun to cast myself as the big sister “villain” — or at least the pseudo-villain. There’s a scene where they’re having an argument from opposite ends of a laundry chute, and that was absolutely drawn from real life. But as much as they fight, Kay is always there for Wills when it really counts. I hope that electric sibling relationship will resonate with readers.
My two favourite moments are the opening scene — which is quite dramatic, both in terms of the action and the emotional stakes — and, later in the book, the Halloween parade. All the students at Oakwood Riding Academy have gone to great lengths and expense to dress their horses in elaborate costumes, but Willa has to make Clyde’s costume herself. Disaster and hijinks ensue! I got to spend an entire afternoon dreaming up funny ideas for horse costumes — it was one of those rare “I love that this is my job” moments.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best advice comes from my two favourite writing books: “Kill your darlings” (from Stephen King’s On Writing) and “Bird by Bird” (from Anne Lamott’s book of the same name).
The worst advice, I think, is to share your work with too many people too early in the process. That’s not to say you don’t need feedback — you absolutely do. But I think it’s better to start with a small, supportive and thoughtful circle of first readers. The other worst advice, in writing and in life, is to shrink your dreams. I’m a big believer in dreaming big and trusting your crazy ideas. Don’t let a self-appointed gatekeeper (or fear) stop you from dreaming big.
What’s next for you?
I should have some book news to share very soon … stay tuned!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Absolutely! Horse Crazy by New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir is a beautiful, tender collection of fascinating character studies of horse lovers around the world. Read it for the “Misty” chapter alone! Middle-grade horse lovers should check out the Ellen & Ned series as well as Hold Your Horses MadLibs, which comes out in May and was written by my sister! Finally, Little & Often — a breathtaking memoir written by my friend and fellow Iowa State alum Trent Preszler — is out in April.
Thank you so much, Nerd Daily — chatting with you was an absolute delight!
