Welcome to Paper Lantern Writers! Tell us about yourself. 

Born with the horse gene, my first spoken word was “worsey” for horsey. I was drawing, painting, and spinning tales of imaginary equines for years.  I didn’t get my first horse until I was 51, and I have been on the fast track for learning ever since. 

I am a sixth generation Californian with ties to the Gold Rush, still married to my high school sweetheart. We have raised two children–who were all dragged along from castle to castle, cathedral to cathedral as I conducted my research, looking for a home for my characters. After nearly 40 years living at the beach, we sold that dream house to live a new dream, moving from surf to turf. We live on and run a horse boarding ranch, Equisance, in Watsonville, California on the beautiful Monterey Bay, with our own seven horses and seven cats.  

Can you tell us what you’ve written?

I have self-published Archer’s Grace, Book One in the Dahlquin series. I would label it as adventure/romance and a family saga. It is also one woman’s journey of spiritual discovery. The first half of Book Two, still untitled, is with my editor as I continue to polish the remainder. Free as a Slave, Ordained Folly and Wolf Song complete the series. I think. With some short stories to fill the gaps.

Did you choose historical fiction or did it choose you? 

Historical fiction definitely chose me. The voices in my head are so demanding. My stories are so character driven, the characters alive and boisterous in my head, I must admit it took me years to figure out what I/they needed to say; what the theme was. Five books had been written before I knew where they were (Ireland) and why we were on this journey. 

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Like most great books, I want readers to question, to explore, to desire more information. I want readers to feel my deep love of horses and the spell they cast as well as the fascination I have with the Middle Ages. We all know that isn’t enough, that is what textbooks are for. Hopefully, my readers will see the value in being their own hero. Don’t wait to be saved. In saving yourself, you can help others find their inner hero. We are stronger together. The concept is simple, the execution is HARD.  

Have you always written fiction?

Fiction writing has always been foremost in my imaginative mind, but I have published several articles on mounted archery, another passion. An interesting tidbit of information about me. I was writing about mounted archery some thirty years ago, never dreaming that people were still doing it. I was making it up as I went, but social media has opened the world and united us crazy mounted archers from Finland to South Africa, Hungary to Malaysia. Truly social at its best. I have met some extraordinary, amazing lifelong friends who continue to influence and educate me.  

Anne is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and for more about her writing, horses, mounted archery and more, she invites you to follow her Facebook pages, Anne M. Beggs or Anne M. Beggs, author, or her website, Anne M. Beggs.com.