A business finance consultant by day and a children’s author by night, Angelina Natale, of Sky View Farm Adventures in New Hampshire, is coming onto the scene with three new books for young horse enthusiasts. Her debut books were released in June 2023, and more books are in the works. We were fortunate to sit down with Angelina to learn more about her experience writing her picture books for young riders before she kicks off her book tour, with over a dozen live events throughout New England.
The Cheshire Horse (CH:) Could you tell us a bit about your books?
Angelina Natale (AN): I have two daughters, and both of them loved horses from an early age. For my oldest daughter’s fifth birthday, I gave her a little stuffed horse. I said, ‘Hold onto it for the day, and we’ll see how the day unfolds.’ Well, I had a plan for her. We packed a snack and took a ride to a local barn where she had her first riding lesson—and she was hooked! That day was the beginning of her spending every minute possible in the barn.
My other daughter is three years younger, so she was two years old at the time. That meant everywhere Ashley went, my younger daughter Gabi went as well. We traveled as a team, and both girls really grew up with horses.
These books are great for children under the age of six who are still being read to, but they are also good for kids who are starting to read on their own. The stories I write are the tales of my girls growing up with horses. Since that decisive day, we have always had horses in our lives. We are huge animal lovers (usually having at least nine pets at any given time!), and some of these animals will show up in the books in the cast of characters. “Maggie,” the main character, goes on adventures with her mother and their horses.
In Mudman & Meatball, Maggie explores the idea of what it means to be a hero. As Maggie and two of her horses walk along their road, they see an opportunity to do something worthy of a superhero. With determination and kindness, they transform an old field into a garden of endless possibilities. The story shows that no matter your age, you can always make your corner of the world a better place.
CH: Is there anything that you hope kids take away from your books?
AN: You know, I think the current state of the world is so confusing and overwhelming for kids and adults. And so the books are really just about a very simple life, but they are also about respecting the world around you and the animals that are part of your world, and just the world in general.
And there’s a lot of respect between Maggie, the main character, and her mom, and they really do work well together. It’s just a very uncomplicated life. I know that it sounds very simplistic, but the people that I’ve shown the stories to are just like, you know what, it’s something that the world needs. The books set out to show an appreciation for the simplicity of life and the joys of growing up. I just want kids to be able to be kids.
CH: Could you tell us a bit about your horses in the books?
AN: We have five horses, four of which are featured as main characters in the books! (One of them is currently still in Massachusetts—a retired Paint Horse that took my daughter to a World Show.)
The horses that we have here on the farm are the ones that you see appearing on the pages. We have a Morgan named Expo, who is Ashley’s retired English Pleasure show horse. He’s in his early 20s and, for the first time in his life, is the alpha gelding on the farm. He takes his alpha role quite seriously at times, but we love him so much!
Dutch is our mini; he belonged to my friend many years ago, who had him as a companion for her elderly Thoroughbred. When her older gelding took a turn for the worse, she asked me to help her rehome him and, well, the rest is history! So, I talked to the girls about it, and they were like, ‘Mom, we have a home,’ and I said, ‘You know what? We do!’ And so I called my friend to tell her that I had found him a home, and she said, ‘That’s great, where is it?’ I immediately answered, ‘It’s mine!’
Tory is in the books, but unfortunately, she is no longer with us. Tory was Gabi’s Christmas present in 2008, I wrapped a bow around her neck, and it’s one of the only times that I have ever been able to bring tears to my daughter’s eyes. Tory and Gabi grew up together and had so many amazing adventures. Sadly, we recently lost Tory due to severe colic at almost 30 years old, but she is in the first three books.
Last but not least is Chip, he’s my horse, a big chunky Paint. He isn’t in any of the books yet, but he will be in the next go-round!
CH: Please tell us all about the delightful stick ponies!
AN: When my daughters were young, they loved playing with their stick ponies. It didn’t matter that we had spent the day in the barn with their real horses; the stick ponies were another way to continue living their dreams. The stick ponies we created, to go with the Sky View Farm Adventure series, are handmade to resemble the real live horses that the stories are based on. It’s my hope that the stick ponies will help kids connect with the stories on a new level.
CH: How did you come up with the name for your company, Sky View Farm Adventures?
AN: That’s actually a bit of a funny story. When we bought this property a couple of years ago, it didn’t have a name. We live on top of a very big hill in the New Hampshire countryside, and we have beautiful views of the mountains all around us. My (now-adult) daughter, her fiancé, and I were sitting in the backyard one night trying to come up with a name for our home. My little mini Aussie, named Sky, was sitting on my lap. I think she was enjoying the sunset too. I suggested Sky View Farm (mostly because Sky had the best view that night)…and it stuck!
CH: What made you decide to write books?
AN: Back when I was in high school, I had an English Literature teacher who was also a published author. I always thought that that was the most admirable thing and a goal that I really aspired to. I loved writing, and this teacher really encouraged me to pursue that passion.
Well, my dad didn’t think that was the best idea and encouraged me to go to business school instead. I ended up in Corporate Finance, somehow—I never even really liked math! After a career in finance, I took a step back and entered the consulting world, which gave me a bit more time to spend on my passion projects. For me, one of those projects was picking writing back up and enjoying it again.
I sat down and actually finished a manuscript—but it was nothing like what you see today. I decided to show the book to my daughter, and she encouraged me to take the next steps and find out if there was something special there. I reached out to an editor to learn more about getting it published.
I had no idea what I was getting into, but by luck, I connected with the wonderful Brooke Vitale, a children’s book editor who has worked with some of the world’s top publishing companies, including Penguin Random House and Disney. She wrote back to me fairly quickly and said, ‘Well, it’s a cute story, but you have nothing at the moment. The story does not fall into any category neatly. So, you have to make some decisions about what it is that you want to do here.’ One thing that I love about Brooke is her honesty. She cares so much about her craft that she guides her authors in a clear and kind way to be the best version they can possibly be.
Over the course of a couple of emails and a couple of weeks, Brooke helped me to narrow down what made sense for my starting point to be. This encouraged me to break up my original manuscript and turn it into multiple shorter stories, which is what you see today.
CH: Could you talk a bit about the publishing process?
AN: After going through two rounds of edits for each book with Brooke and ending up with three books that I was really proud of, I knew I had to find an illustrator. Originally I had planned to work with an illustrator from Canada, but unfortunately, due to life circumstances, she needed to step back from the project.
I ended up reaching out to Jess Bircham, a well-regarded equine artist and cartoonist, on Instagram. I loved her style, and I had always admired her work. I had no idea what I was doing, but I sent her the manuscript, and she said, ‘Yes. Yes, I want to work with you!’ I didn’t know it at the time, but Jess also was a horse owner and was able to draw inspiration from her own experiences. She said that there were so many things about the stories that she connected with, so it was easy for her to do the artwork to go with each story. And so now, three books later, she has already committed to doing all of my future stories!
For the book design, I have to say, I learned a lot. Brooke and Jess did a lot of the work, and then Travis Peterson from Launch Mission Creative, a book design firm, picked out all the fonts and really polished it up. Travis also helped me to find my printer, Signature Book Printing. It was really important for me to produce a high-quality book that was made in America. I’m really proud of what I put together with the Sky View Farm team. These books would never have come together without these amazingly talented professionals!
CH: What was it like to hold the finished book in your hands? The first time that sounds really exciting to me.
AN: I cried. I honestly cried big happy, soppy tears. The whole process took about a year from beginning to end. When I first held the printer’s proof, I felt like a little kid… like I was six years old and it was Christmas morning. Yes, it was one of the most amazing feelings. The boxes of actual books won’t start arriving for a few more weeks. I can promise you I’ll cry more happy, soppy tears then too!
CH: What are your plans for the future with your books?
AN: I love when people ask me this! I am releasing three books in June, with two additional books that are going through the publishing process right now. I have ideas sketched out for at least another four or five books. Our animals are so entertaining, I feel like I have fuel for what seems to be a hundred more books—so a really long series. I hope to keep writing about Maggie’s adventures with her animals while inspiring more children to be kind citizens. I really enjoyed the process. As long as people continue to like my books, I’ll keep writing!
I will be donating a portion of the profits from the books to local charities. If there are organizations that would like to use the books as a fundraiser, I would love to help them with that!
CH: Is there any advice that you would give to aspiring writers?
AN: Do it! Just do it.
The Cheshire Horse is proud to carry Angelina Natale’s books for kids, Pony Parade, A Horsey Home, and Mudman & Meatball. You can learn more about Angelina and her upcoming books on her website, Sky View Farms Adventures.
