IDW Publishing has announced the January release of the young adult novel Calico Horses and the Patchwork Trail by Lorraine Turner.
When the Spirit of Horse speaks to a ten-year-old girl through her dreams and calico patches magically appear as if from nowhere, the residents of Saddlecrest, Nevada have a genuine mystery on their hands. It’s the story of how a girl ripped apart by divorce helps the wild mustangs torn from the range. Together they face uncertainties brought on by the decisions of others.
When Carrie’s mom decides to uproot her from their familiar Jersey Shore surroundings to the dusty deserts of Nevada, the move is as prickly to Carrie as the cactus beside her new home. But something mysterious greets her when she closes her eyes each night—like a winding path, her dreams guide her to the horses of the Calico Mountains. Are her developing psychic abilities bringing visits from horse spirits or is her troubled mind playing tricks on her? Her new friend Milla has nightmares of her own—she’s the daughter of a government official known as “The Horse Killer.”
How can a few children make a difference to the plight of the foals snatched from their homes without warning? Like the tiny patches of cloth that adorn a calico quilt the clues draw them all together. Follow the Calico Horses as they lead us down the trail of adversity to the peaceful pastures found by helping one another.
The genesis of this story was born out of Turner’s experiences as a meditation teacher. The author, who is also the Art Director for the Library of American Comics, began to notice strange and usual images during her daily meditations.
“My twenty-minute tranquility sessions had me seeming to fly over fields covered in calico fabric that morphed into brown withered crops,” says Lorraine Turner, “As the months went by these became more vivid, showing me mountains and horses covered in tiny flowered scraps of fabric. Each meditation gave me more and more bits of information, which eventually led me to the Calico Horses living by the Calico Mountains in Nevada. It was as if my meditations were guiding me to the true story that needed to be told—of wild horses no longer free, much like the children faced with the decisions brought on by parents as they try their best to move forward in life
A portion of all proceeds from this novel will be used to help the horses that are being torn from their freedom.
