In 2013, having recently turned 19, Prior-Palmer decided — on a whim — to enter the Mongol Derby, a rugged long-distance horse race. The competition asks participants to race for several days over 1,000 kilometers of Mongolian grassland, on a series of 25 wild ponies (a new horse every 40 kilometers). Below, she talks about realizing she was writing a book, the reason she’s “inspired by creatures” and more. Quite comically, there were adults, friends of my parents, who didn’t realize the race was this random thing and didn’t warrant a book. I put it away in a drawer for six or eight months, but was always coming back to it.

Source: New York Times May 05, 2019 15:00 UTC