In English

I published my children's novel about playing with a stick hobby horse toy in 2017. It is called Pitsinen keppihevonen & Kepparikisat = A Lace Hobby Horse & Hobby Horse Games. ISBN 978-952-339-031-7. Books on demand.

The novel consists of two parts (or two short novels) and a fantasy tale that alternates with the main story. The first part, A Lace Hobby Horse tells a story of an elementary school girl named Tinja. She spends some time at her grandmother's cottage near a lake during summer. She finds her mother's old hobby horses and plays with them. One of those horses is covered with lace and has lacewings, like a pegasus. She also meets Emma , who lives nearby and they play with hobby horses together. When Tinja goes to a flea market she founds.... guess what? Finally, Tinja's mother comes to take her home.

The second part is named Hobby Horse Games. Tinja is at home and shows her new horses to her friend Nelli. They play together with hobby horses. Tinja has a little sister Emilia. Their mother begins to sew Emilia a hobby horse with little wings. Nelli tells Tinja about hobby horse games and invites her to go there with her. But what horse to take with her? Tinja decides to make a new hobby horse that will be a unicorn. Nelli and Tinja go to the games. There are two games, the first one with hobby horses that resemble real horses the other with fantasy hobby horses.

The fantasy tale that alternates with the main story can be considered to be just Tinja's imagination or that there really is a parallel world. In the first part Tinja meets a pegasus who's wing is hurt. She takes the horse to her home stable despite her father who does not like pegasuses. The wing is healed and Tinja gets to fly with Tuule, Tuulenleimahdus, that is WindFlash in English. Finally, they make a long trip together. In the second part. Tuule is imprisoned with other winged horses and Tinja is needed to find the unicorn Sinisarvi, Blue Horn that lives on a mountain to save them.

Making and playing with toy hobby horses is a popular hobby in Finland. Hobby horse stables can be found on the internet. My eldest daughter also had hobby horses as a hobby for many years and it was then when I began writing this story. There are many kinds of hobby horse games in Finland and I combined elements of different real-life games I've seen in my story.

The novel is currently only in Finnish. You can order it via Amazon.

If you have any questions & foreign rights: eijapaatero(at)fastmail.fm