The kids and I had an epic road trip over Thanksgiving. We drove from Maine to North Carolina (1,700 miles, but who’s counting?) to visit some far-flung family members who just happen to be my equine experts.
When I was writing Flame & Blade back in 2019, I’d never so much as touched an actual donkey. I needed help, and I turned to my NC family.
More specifically, I turned to their donkeys.
My family members – and yes, they own multiple donkeys – answered all my donkey-related questions, even the ones about how hard a donkey could kick a guy. (Pretty hard, as it turns out.)
Their help made Flame & Blade a much better book, and Theo the donkey is such a fantastic character that I still get emails saying, “You have to tell me if the donkey survives, because if he dies, I’m not reading any more of this series!”
(He makes it, I promise.)
This Thanksgiving, I got to meet, groom, feed, and snuggle the real-life inspiration for Theo the donkey, and he was every bit as charming as I’d dreamed.
And he pushed my young nephew into the barn right after I took this picture, which is very much in keeping with Theo’s character.
As a bonus, I got a chance to drive a donkey cart. It’s incredibly complicated. The cart itself has about a million pieces, and then you and the donkey have to come to a civilized agreement about where the cart is going to go. I can’t believe that was the primary method of transportation for so long.
I guess I’m ready for the Demon Forest now!
Meredith Hart 
Leave a comment