Peppy the Horse is not lazy. He does things his own way at his own pace, and for many students, his story is as inspiring as gallant heroes from fairy tales.

ETSU students Cierra Linka and Clara Reynolds have been working on the children’s book since last fall, and now their hard work is coming to life within the next week.

“We are going to be published at 19 and 20 [years old],” Linka said.

She and Reynolds are part of East Tennessee State University’s Roan Scholars program, and part of the requirements are to participate in community service projects. This year, Linka worked at the Holston United Methodist Home for Children, an organization dedicated to providing foster care and adoption services for children in need. Part of what they do involves going to visit a farm and ride some of the horses.

“There are eight horses,” Linka said. “Peppy is the shortest, roundest and the quirkiest.”

She said Peppy is the kind of horse that will only do something if he wants to do it, no matter how badly you try to convince him to do it.

“He does not look like he is listening, but he does things his own way,” she said.

The children get to pick which horse they want to ride, and Linka said Peppy’s laid-back nature attracts many students to him, as opposed to some of the other, more majestic and gallant horses like Romeo.

Peppy became the inspiration for the book after a staff ride Linka did with her advisor and supervisor. They came upon a steep hill and her advisor challenged her to a race up the hill.

“Within a few seconds, we broke the lead,” Linka said of Peppy. “It was the fastest I had ever gone.”

Despite what his appearance might convey, Peppy is actually a quarter horse. He knows how to race; he just has to want to race.

“He is the fastest horse for the quarter mile,” she said.

When Linka decided to write the book about Peppy, she drew in a crowd of other students and faculty members at the school to help, one of them being her illustrator, Reynolds.

“I started sketches in December,” Reynolds said. “It was really fun to go outside of my comfort zone.”

She said most of her artistic experience was single pictures, so composing a variety of pieces that would tell a story was a different breed of challenge.

“It was an amazing experience,” she said.

Reynolds said she spent between two and four hours on each page, and though the book is not very long, she said she spent between 80 and 100 hours on the whole thing.

“They said this is the most collaborative project they have ever had,” Linka said about the Roan Scholars program.

One of the challenges they came across in designing the book was determining the language they used to describe Peppy. Since many children can and do relate to Peppy on a personal level, the two women said they had to avoid using negative-sounding adjectives. Instead of lazy, Peppy is easy-going. Instead of stubborn, Peppy does things in his own way.

“Many students are drawn to him, especially the timid kids or even kids with autism,” Linka said. “We want to help students look at themselves in a more positive light.”

The duo are hosting a “Peppy Party” to celebrate the new book on Thursday, May 16, at the Bonnie Kate Theater in downtown Elizabethton from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

“I am excited to meet Peppy,” Reynolds said.

Linka said she wrote the book for all ages.

“It is about empowering people,” she said. “Being different is not a bad thing. They can be just as fun.”