Kimberly Ann Harrison and Beyond the Paddock Book Michael Kirchoff/Disney Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Kimberly Ann Harrison is no stranger to the television world, with credits on Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Organized Crime and the upcoming Hulu series Washington Black starring Sterling K. Brown. The book-adapted television series highlights adventure, challenges and understanding love, family and freedom. "Black Boy Joy and this Peter Pan like experience that Washington Black takes you on was what definitely attracted me to the project," the executive producer tells The Hollywood Reporter of the series. "I want audiences to really just dream because [George Washington Black] dreamed beyond what his eyes could see and it took him on an adventure around the world, something that is unheard of." Related Stories TV 'Are You My First?' Reality Series Brings Together Virgins Searching for Love TV 'Washington Black' Review: Sterling K. Brown in a Hulu Drama That Tackles Heavy History With Disarming Lightness of Spirit Now Harrison is stepping into the role of an author with her debut novel, Beyond the Paddock, available now. To craft the novel, Harris uses themes of found family and mentorship to tell the story of two teenagers who become equestrians. "We all come from a place where we all kind of have that coming of age and we're questioning our identity" she says. "We're trying to find ourselves and how our friends sometimes play a bigger role than our blood family." The story centers on brothers Julian and Cameron, adrenaline junkies who have stints of being moved around in the foster care system. Originally set in Inglewood, California, as the story unfolds, the duo are moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where their love for street race car driving turns into a passion for riding horses. Brotherly love is existential to Julian and Cameron's story, who evolve from experiences that shape their identity through challenges in new environments. "I really wanted Julian and Cameron to embrace this change and understand that it is okay to think outside of the box," she says. "It's okay to take a step in this direction and let's see where it takes you." THR caught up with the EP and author to discuss her debut novel, bucking the status quo, embracing change and how music played a big role in telling the story. I really enjoyed Beyond the Paddock. It brought me into this world of equestrians and it was so cool to see Black people in this space. Exactly. It's a space we wanted to really explore. Given my boys [Julian and Cameron] are getting into the sport, I just wanted to kind of ease the world into a way of seeing this sport through a different lens. Cameron (13) and Julian (16) Kristin Lee Photography The book is a coming-of-age story that highlights the importance of mentorship, found family and second chances. Why was that important for you to tell a story with those themes? I had a great time with Beyond the Paddock, and those themes are really important themes that we all deal with. We all come from a place where we all kind of have that coming of age and we're questioning our identity. We're trying to find ourselves and how our friends sometimes play a bigger role than our blood family, so I just really wanted to explore those really profound themes that we kind of all go through growing up in life. It's so interesting to see how each person deals with those themes and notice the difference in Julian and Cameron's personalities. They are opposites, but they work so well together. Why did you want to show this specific familial dynamic? Absolutely, they're completely different folks. Completely different personalities and completely different reasons that really drive them, and I felt like it was really important to stay true to these personalities because that's what makes it so unique. You have these two boys that are so different, yet bringing their own self to this sport and keeping with their personalities and not afraid to wear mismatch socks, not afraid to just bring a piece of themselves. I really wanted to carry that through with the music, with the way that they dressed and the way that their personalities were. The original setting in the book was Inglewood, California. Are there any personal ties to the setting of it all? The foster system is very important to my family and I really wanted to platform that and just really show folks the inner workings of that. And I'm [also] really familiar with the Los Angeles foster system, so giving folks a behind the scenes view of that is really important. But also to see these boys where they grew up in their element and [offer] this fish out of water type [story] by dropping them into Kentucky, I think where they started from and then ultimately where we end up seeing them land at t