Hello, and thank you for visiting the Tortoise Publishing website. If you like ponies and exciting stories, you've come to the right place!
My name is Victoria Eveleigh (known as 'Tortie' to most people) and my husband's name is Christopher Eveleigh (Chris). We created Tortoise Publishing in 2002, when we published our first book, Katy's Exmoor. I wrote the book, and Chris illustrated it.
Katy's Exmoor, The Story of an Exmoor Pony (ISBN 0 9542021 0 4 - RRP £4.50) proved to be so popular that I wrote a sequel, Katy's Exmoor Adventures, The Sequel to Katy's Exmoor (ISBN 0 9542021 1 2 - RRP £4.95). That sold well too, so I wrote Katy's Exmoor Friends, The Final Part of the Trilogy (ISBN 0 95420212 0 - RRP £5.50). All three books were illustrated by Chris.
We are very lucky because we live at West Ilkerton Farm, which is a hill farm set amidst the beautiful scenery of Exmoor National Park. We keep Exmoor Horn sheep, North Devon cattle and (by far the most important!) Exmoor ponies. Horses have always played an important part in our lives. When we were children, Chris and I both longed for a pony, so now we're making up for lost time. There are several horses on the farm, including a Shire horse called Basil, a couple of hunters and a home-bred two-year-old horse called Winaway. We also own a herd of free-living Exmoor ponies and a couple of Exmoor geldings called Jack and Harry.
Half our large farmhouse has been converted into a very comfortable holiday cottage which sleeps up to six people. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Children and well-behaved pets are welcome. West Ilkerton is the ideal place for a holiday, especially if you like horses and the countryside. It's next to open moorland, but only four miles from Lynmouth and the North Devon coast.
To find out more about West Ilkerton Farm holiday cottage and our farm, horses and Exmoor ponies, please visit www.westilkerton.co.uk
Published April 2002 (ISBN 0 9542021 0 4) RRP £4.50 Paperback.
On her ninth birthday, Katy Squires finds a newborn foal on the moor above her farm. Katy is determined that the foal will be hers, but life is never that simple....
Katy's high and lows are interwoven with realistic accounts of life on an Exmoor hill farm and the management of free-living Exmoor ponies.
Katy's Exmoor Adventures - The Sequel to Katy's Exmoor
Katy dreams that Trifle, her Exmoor pony, will become a champion. Her hopes and dreams seem shattered when foot and mouth disease sweeps across the country, and Barton Farm faces financial ruin. With Trifle's help, Katy discovers that it takes more than rosettes to become a real champion....
Katy's Exmoor Friends - The Final Part of the Trilogy
Published August 1st 2005 (ISBN 0 9542021 2 0) RRP £5.50 Paperback
This is the third and final story about Katy and her Exmoor pony, Trifle. As a teenager, Katy faces many challenges. There are new people in her life; some become friends and others don't, but they all affect her in unexpected ways. Katy's life is full of surprises. However, the one she gets on Christmas Eve is the best of all....
The perfect present for any child (or adult) who loves horses, the countryside and a good story
The books are selling well in local book shops, and are now proving popular with booksellers in other parts of the UK, including Amazon, Heywood Hill and Waterstone's. Book wholesalers such as Gardners, Bertrams, Blackbeard Books and The Kent Book Company stock the Katy's Exmoor stories.
Books can be bought direct from Tortoise Publishing for the RRP (no charge for p&p). Just write to West Ilkerton Farm, Lynton, North Devon EX35 6QA, enclosing a cheque for the correct amount (made payable to Tortoise Publishing), and the books will be posted to you.
I deal personally with all enquiries, so Chris and I can sign your books if you like. Just let me know when you place an order.
Trade enquiries are welcomed. Discounts are given for six books or more. Please contact me for trade terms.
Book signing at Ottakar's, Tiverton, August 2004
We enjoy visiting schools and talking to children about our books. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this.
NEW FOR 2007
The Exmoor Horn Sheep Colouring Book
Drawings by Chris Eveleigh. Words by Victoria Eveleigh.
This book has been published by the Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society. It takes readers through the farming year of a typical Exmoor farmer. There is a double page for each month, with a description on one side and an illustration on the other. Some people think the illustrations are too good to colour in, so they buy one book to keep and another to colour!
The colouring books can be bought from me for the RRP of £3 each (free p&p)
A NEW STORY IS ON THE WAY!
I am now working on a story set on Lundy, which is a very special island in the Bristol Channel. Chris and I spent our honeymoon there, and we have returned several times since.
There have been free-living ponies on Lundy since the 1920s when the owner, Martin Coles Harman, introduced some New Forest mares and a Welsh stallion to the island. In the 1930s a colt called Midnight was born on the island. He became the herd stallion, and because he refused to be caught, he stayed on Lundy until 1961. Most of the Lundy ponies alive today are related to him.
The stallion in my story is fictional, but based on the legendary Midnight. The book is going to be called Midnight On Lundy, and it should be ready for publication in 2008.
Mark Ford, Western Daily Press, December 2003 Galloping success
Martin Hesp, Western Morning News, December 2003 A winner
Devon Today, March 2004 This is a particularly wonderful series because, though fictional, it provides educational content with real events and organisations, encouraging children to learn about Exmoor and its famous native breed, and the countryside in general.
Western Morning News, September 2005 There's a fistful of stars in the trilogy of little books that started with Katy's Exmoor.
Exmoor, The Country Magazine, Winter 2005 Victoria 's characters are so true to life, painted, as it were, with just a few deft strokes -- I sometimes feel that I may well meet them all at South Molton market!
