History Books 4 Kids

Longhorns and Outlaws Virtual Tour

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:51:00 +0000

So far, 2009 is a great year. The big thing accomplished this week was to finalize all the stops on my Longhorns and Outlaws Virtual Tour for March!

We have lots of snow for good snowmobiling, so weekends are full. I'm making good progress on my next historical novel, Kidnapped By Outlaws, the sequel to Longhorns and Outlaws, so my planning is paying off.

Here are the Virtual Tour for Longhorns and Outlaws stops:

March 11th — Virtual classroom visit with Mrs. Patricia Oelerich's class at Stuart Place Elementary School in Harlingen, Texas.
March 12th — Guest author on the Igniting Imagination With Nellie Jacobs show on BlogTalkRadio at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/igniting-imagination
March 17th — Interview with Steve M in the United Kingdom at his Western Fiction Review blog: http://westernfictionreview.blogspot.com/
March 18th — Interview with Jill Tulo at the Well Read Child blog at http://wellreadchild.blogspot.com/
March 19th — Interview with Natasha Maw at the Maw Books Blog at http://blog.mawbooks.com/
Week of March 16th to 20th — Guest Speaker Chatting at the Institute of Children's Literature at http://institutechildrenslit.net/index.php?PHPSESSID=2a8bc7cc7841efd6e73539aef0aaf742&board=11.0 (Bring your questions about writing historical fiction and I'd love to answer them!)

Looks awesome, doesn't it? Hope to meet you on one of my virtual stops!

Visit the Web site for my outlaw books at http://www.outlawbooks4kids.com or my personal site at http://www.aksomitis.com

Linda Aksomitis Reflects on 2008

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:02:00 +0000

As the old year ends and the new one nears, I always look back on the past year to reflect on what I've accomplished and whether or not I reached the goals I set the previous year. As a writer, I find setting specific goals very important for moving my career forward, whether the objective is writing new books or promoting them.

In many ways 2008 was an amazing year for me! I had four new books published with 2008 copyright dates, and the 2007 copyright title, Run, actually landed in Canada in February, so in reality there were five. Run was a finalist for best Young Adult book of the year for the Saskatchewan Book Award s, which was wonderful! Longhorns and Outlaws, my juvenile historical fiction, was the only Canadian novel chosen for inclusion in the McNally Robinson Books of the Season Catalogue in the Kids Novels category. Bookmanager statistics showed that had a major impact on sales, as the novel was in high demand for a good portion of the Christmas shopping season.

Best of all, the readers most important to me loved the new novels — my family.

When I dig up the goals I set last January, I met the majority of them, although some in slightly different ways than I'd planned. I didn't get a young reader chapter book written, but I did write 2/3 of a novel, Kidnapped by Outlaws, which is a sequel for Longhorns. Looking at my goal in word count I surpassed it.

I didn't get a photo album set up on SnowRider, but I did create a series of free Western avatars for the Outlaw books web site, so that was good!

I finished the rewrite of my course, Introduction to Internet Writing Markets, and surpassed my goal for registrations by close to 100%. Better yet, I learned a lot myself doing the revisions, so I'm back at the forefront of technology and have even more ideas for teaching and promotion.

My travel writing goals went very well. I did the four trips I'd set for goals: Quebec (Carnival and Ice Hotel), Lake Charles, Louisiana (food tour), Albany, Georgia (never travelled there before), and New York with my family. I also found and entered the photo/writing contests — only time will tell if I take away any prizes though.

In March, I increased from half-time to three-quarter time as an online teacher for Credenda Virtual High School & College. I've learned a lot of new teaching strategies, both using technology and instructional, so it's been time very well spent. I also dedicated two months of time to in-person promotions for Longhorns and Outlaws, starting with the Alberta Book Tour in the end of September. The whole fall experience was incredible!

The library cataloguing course I'd planned to take wasn't offered when I wanted it, so I moved that goal ahead to 2009 and have already registered for January.

All in all, 2008 was a very good year!

Christmas Book Signing at Book-&-Brier Patch

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Book signings are a wonderful opportunity to meet your readers and help parents get special gifts for their kids. The Christmas book signing event I participated in at the Book & Brier Patch in Regina, Sask, on December 13th, 2008 was great fun! It served as the launch for my latest nonfiction book, Sports Champions too!

One of the most interesting parts of the Book Signing at the Book & Brier Patch was sharing it with fellow writers: Alison Lohans and Judith Silverthorne, whom I meet monthly at a "Breakfast Club." I also met three other writers launching their first books, published through Your Nickel's Worth in Regina: Warren James, Jean Freeman, and Mercedes Montgomery.

Back row, left to right: Judith Silverthorne, Warren James, and Mercedes Montgomery.
Front row, left to right: Alison Lohans, Linda Aksomitis, and Jean Freeman.

So, what happens at a book launch? Well, with bookstore hosts as great to work with as the Book & Brier Patch — lots! The store had ample area to set up and display the books of all six of us writers, so we could autograph books for Christmas gifts. As Regina's number one independent book seller, it's sure a busy place during the holiday season.

When the afternoon finished I added copies of Longhorns and Outlaws and Run to the Santas Anonymous bin at the Book & Brier Patch. Sharing the gift of reading is something I value not only at the holiday season, but all through the year.

Run by Linda Aksomitis, Finalist for YA award with SBA

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Being shortlisted for an award is about the best kind of honor a book can receive, besides winning, of course. Run, my historical fiction novel from Raupo/Pearson Education New Zealand was a finalist for the 2008 Saskatchewan Book Awards for Young Adult Literature.

While it didn't take first place, here's what the judges had to say: "A fascinating and at times deeply moving story of a young girl's struggle against a debilitating disease in the early years of the twentieth century. Set in the summer of 1911, Run tells the deeply moving story of Victoria's affliction wih infantile paralysis, with highly accurate depictions of her symptoms and an uncanny insight into her inner thoughts, hopes and fears in the face of unspeakable family tragedy. A remarkable relationship develops between Victoria and her step brother, Jacob, fueled by his desire to help her recover and her determination to teach him to read despite her illness, all with the help of the wonderful Wizard of Oz."

Currently I'm distributing the novel in North America, so email me at aksomitis@sasktel.net for more information if you'd like to get a copy!

Free Avatars on Outlawbooks4kids.com!

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:22:00 +0000

Avatars are awesome — that's why I decided to take some of my favorite photos of horses, cowboys, rodeo, and other things Western, and make free ones available on the Web. Of course, I also just like taking photos and finding new ways to make them available to people. I added the avatars to my site for Longhorns and Outlaws,
http://www.outlawbooks4kids.com

What exactly is an avatar? It's an image used to represent you — who you are now, what you like, or even what you dream about doing. If you participate in forums, chats, IM, games, or even blogs, you may use an avatar.

For more about the history of avatars, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)

How Much Backstory to Add?

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Whew! The crazy eight weeks of picking up Longhorns and Outlaws, doing the book tours, school visits, and author readings has come to an end. I can breathe again...

I'll admit, however, that it does feel a little anti-climactic.

So, what next? Well, on to more development for the outlaws Web site, of course, as there's lots of material to add for teachers and young readers. It lives at: http://www.outlawbooks4kids.com/

But the big "next" is returning to that sequel for Longhorns and Outlaws -- Kidnapped by Outlaws. Putting my faith in the wisdom of the other dozen wonderful members of my writing group, the Children's Writers' Round Robin, I workshopped the first ten pages of the new book a few weeks ago.

And the golden nugget I found in the critique session was that just because you're writing a sequel, or a series, doesn't mean you have to summarize everything that's just happened to your character. Really, your character had a past when you introduced him in the first book! So, you don't have to do anything different than work in whatever backstory is required, the same as you did the first time.

I felt like somebody'd just turned on a lightbulb. Of course. Those ten pages I'd worked so hard to summarize the whole Longhorns and Outlaws novel were totally boring and not required. Just what the reader needs to know to jump into this adventure -- being kidnapped by outlaws -- that's all those ten pages need to contain.

Well, now, I'm ready to get back to work on that sequel, and once again, give thanks for my writing group. They're just so darned smart and insightful...

Longhorns & Outlaws Book Tour - Wainwright Public Library

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:36:00 +0000

Day 4, September 25, 2008, final stop on the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour.

My day in Camrose had been somewhat topsy-turvy using Google maps — left or right when I reached the main thoroughfare? Left first. That seemed wrong. Right second. That seemed more wrong. Well, for try number three I took the truck route around the city and gave up on ever finding Highway #26, which had presumably been just 2.8 km one direction — or the other — down the road.

Then, voila, miles and miles later, I reached the highway and began the final trek from Camrose to Wainwright. It seemed to take a LOT longer than the hour and 51 minutes Google maps had promised, and I was soon looking for a gas station! One appeared soon enough, and I had a great visit with the elderly owner who came out to show me how to get the pump started, and enjoyed some fabulous fall sunshine.

Check-in took no time at all at the R & R Inn, so I had time to relax before supper and my launch at the Wainwright Public Library.

Lynn Grocock, head Librarian, met me and showed me around the lovely facility. As might be expected, I set up on the lower level in the beautiful children's department.

(photo from the Wainwright Public Library collection)

I was pleased to have a dozen people appear right on the dot of 7 p.m., even one young future writer who was interested in Longhorns and Outlaws!

All of my presentations on the tour had been geared to talking about how authentic your material is when you write from experience — and how a writer does a lot more than sit at a computer and type. So, while I didn't have the powerpoint to keep me on track, I took the same approach with the launch.

Question period gave me an opportunity to share my writer's story with everyone, and we talked about how to get published and even where to get published. My advice is simple:

Write what you know!

Read, read, and read in the area you want to publish.

Study publishers' lines carefully, so you really know where your work might make a good fit.

Write, write, and keep on writing!

Of course I also shared my own experiences with the power of the Internet to help get established. I share lots of tips on that in my course, Introduction to Internet Writing Markets that I teach online.

And so, with the friendly welcoming launch from Lynn Grocock and local people, my Alberta book tour came to a close. Would I do it again? You bet!

Longhorns & Outlaws Book Tour - Chester Ronning School

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:07:00 +0000

Day 4, Thursday afternoon, September 25, 2008, last school stop on the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour.

There's no better way to navigate the streets of an unknown city than by staying close behind a local! I followed Kathie Green through the busy noon hour traffic of Camrose to Chester Ronning School.

Chester Ronning School, I discovered, has amazing architecture. Following Kathie through the halls to the music room, where I was scheduled to present to the hundred students who'd be attending from grades 3 to 6, I kept stopping to stare at the walls and murals.

The music room was a perfect venue — my voice carried nicely and all of the students could easily see the slides while seated comfortably during my Powerpoint show.

As it turned out, Kathie and I had met years earlier, when she'd attended a library workshop I presented, which she told students when she introduced me. I received a warm welcome, and was soon flying through my tale of Longhorns and Outlaws, and Lucas Vogel's adventures.

My young listeners were ready with questions at the end, so much so that a dozen hands waved in the air at once! Do you write your books on a computer or with a pen? How do you figure out what to put in that's real history and what to make up? and many more excellent questions about how I'd written the book.

The questions continued without a stop for fifteen minutes until the buzzer called everyone to change classes. I felt sad as I thanked my last fabulous audience — the schools part of my Alberta Longhorns and Outlaws tour was over.

Of course, I still had to visit Kathie's awesome library, and say hi to kids as they passed me again in the hallways. I'd take home lots of memories from Chester Ronning!

Longhorns & Outlaws Book Tour - Charlie Killam School

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:58:00 +0000

Day 4, Thursday, September 25, 2008, on the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour!

It had only taken me an hour to get from Ponoka to Camrose the afternoon before, so I settled into the Super 8 Motel Camrose before supper.

Thursday morning started easily enough, with what Google maps declared was a seven minute drive to Charlie Killam School — even though I could see left and right turns were somewhat mixed up! A left turn onto the highway from the motel would have taken me back to Ponoka, not into Camrose.

Hope Heck showed me to the enormous school library with its dozens of computers and balcony area for the fiction collection. We were set up in no time at all with the Powerpoint show and middle years kids streaming in for the first presentation.

My morning, however, wasn't quite as organized as that of the staff and students at Charlie Killam School! While it should have been simple to follow period changes, my perception of time was out-of-kilter. I finished the presentation for the first group fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, so they got to view slides of some of my travel writing adventures around the world and see things like an Eastern toilet and headhunters dancing in Borneo. Their enthusiasm was wonderful!

The second group I owe a debt a gratitude, for their keen interest and patience staying with me well into their noon hour! Luckily for the grade 7 class, who'd spent their Language Arts period with me, Hope Heck returned to take me off for lunch. The meal was amazing and put me on track for the afternoon. We went to the Lefse House where I had the Swedish meatballs and gravy, mashed potatoes, hardanger lefse and fruit soup (amazing — had a flavour similar to mincemeat). It even came with dessert, and I chose cream filled Krum Kake. Yum!

Then, I was off with Kathie Green (who'd chosen our lunch stop) from Chester Ronning School for the last school visit on the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta tour.

Longhorns & Outlaws Book Tour - Diamond Willow Middle School

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:08:00 +0000

Day 3, September 24, 2008, on the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour!

I'd driven from Hanna to Ponoka and the Ponoka Super 8 the afternoon before, retracing my path back along highways #9 and #56 before changing highways. When I'd starting setting up the tour I knew Ponoka had to be one of the stops — I figured the annual Ponoka Stampede week meant local kids were surely interested in cattle, horses, and naturally, old west outlaws.

I must admit getting from my hotel to the school was one of the few times of the tour that Google Maps just didn't seem to work! Luckily for me, I had Maureen Bell, Diamond Willow Middle School's very able librarian to step in and give directions. "Down to McDonalds, turn left at the lights; another light at Tim Horton's and turn right." If only Google knew how to give directions like this.

Larry Cook, Principal, met me at the Diamond Willow Middle School main entrance door as if he'd known exactly the instant I'd arrive. It was noon hour with intramurals going on and kids everywhere. However, even with all the hubbub, as we walked down the hallway I still heard one little girl whisper, "That's her!" as I passed. I couldn't have received a better welcome.

Middle school classes are my favourite to visit. And the 370 grade six to eight students at Diamond Willow didn't let me down. Set up in a commons area, there was lots of room for the two separate groups to sit to tables while watching my Powerpoint slideshow. I'd been right in my guess, and at least half of the kids all indicated they rode horses themselves. Best of all, there was lots of interaction!

I could see from the great display of new books that Maureen Bell had in the hallway, that the kids were readers too. And, as Maureen assured them, she was starting a sign-up sheet for the many who wanted to read Longhorns and Outlaws. Best of all, I now have a Diamond Willow Middle School Wolf t-shirt, just like all of them!

Longhorns & Outlaws Book Tour - J.C. Charyk Hanna School

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:28:00 +0000

Day 2 of the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour!

Monday, September 22, 2008, I left Drumheller for the short drive to Hanna — leaving the Dinosaur Valley I was soon watching combines rolling down the fields again as I followed Highways 56 and 9. The fall colours were glorious!

In Hanna I checked into the Super 8 Hanna Inn, which provided me with a comfy room and a great dining room just a few steps away.

Tuesday morning, September 23, 2008, I was off to the J.C. Charyk Hanna School. Everything seemed familiar, and I soon realized I'd presented a workshop for library staff there about four years earlier. Sure enough, Myrna Haines, the librarian, also remembered me.

We talked about libraries and her pending retirement while she organized her enormous library area and called down the students. Around 265 students were divided into two groups, starting with the grades 4 to 6 and finishing with grades 7 through 9.

What a lot of enthusiasm the students brought with them to my presentation! Nearly half of them were horseback riders, so could readily relate to Lucas learning how to ride his appaloosa horse. One of the boys also volunteered that he rode an ATV — which I also shared an interest with him in.

Question time opened up lots of great areas for me to discuss. The boys seemed just as interested as Lucas is, in Longhorns and Outlaws, in how the outlaws use the border to their own advantage. We talked about the different law enforcement agencies: the Pinkertons, which is what Lucas wanted to become, the sheriffs and their posses, and of course, the Mounties or North West Mounted Police.

When it came time to close, the chorus of "Where can we get the book?" was met by Myrna's generous volunteering to collect student money over the next week and have me ship autographed books to the kids. Everyone appreciated it!

Longhorns & Outlaws Book Tour - Greentree School

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:22:00 +0000

My Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour began with 800 km of sunshine and smooth highway from Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan to Drumheller, Alberta, on Sunday, September 21, 2008. The Harry Chapin concert I played kept me entertained well enough that I didn't make a single stop from Moose Jaw to Drumheller — at which time the gas gauge interrupted all other thoughts.

Drumheller, nestled in the Alberta badlands or Dinosaur Valley as their Web site calls it, provides visitors with everything they might need. My hotel — the Best Western Jurassic Inn — was comfy, with dining options nearby.

Of course, the most exciting part of my visit to Drumheller was being welcomed by the staff and students at the Greentree School on Monday, September 22, 2008.

Anne Morgan, Principal, was on hand to greet me and take me to the library shortly after 9 a.m. when I arrived. She introduced me to Lana Bosch, the acting Librarian, who took over organizing the library and calling everyone down.

The students were awesome! My first group were a hundred smiling grades 3 and 4 boys and girls, along with their teachers. From the beginning, they were pulled into my slideshow that took them along the trail Lucas Vogel follows in Longhorns and Outlaws.

When the second group arrived, I choose a great photographer, Dara, to take some shots of me presenting. With another hundred students there, this time from grades 5 and 6, there was lots of energy and excitement.

Of course my first question was how many of them rode horses — and nearly half put up their hands! They were keen to learn more about Lucas and his horse, Ebenezer, as my presentation began.

I received some great questions and comments too, that made me notice things I hadn't when preparing the slideshow. One attentive girl said, "That looks like snakeskin on the saddle, doesn't it?" I was showing a slide of a saddle from the Culbertson Museum, and she was absolutely right!

Another boy asked about sheep and the free range practices still around in 1901 in Montana and Southern Saskatchewan — and I assured him that Lucas asks the same thing in Longhorns and Outlaws, then proceeded tell him all about the range wars.

The fun had to end though, as I had to hit the highways again and travel to Hanna for Day 2 of the Longhorns and Outlaws Alberta Book Tour! Greentree School had definitely been the perfect school to launch the tour.

Book Trailer for Longhorns and Outlaws

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:24:00 +0000

I just love multimedia. Here's the first book trailer for Longhorns and Outlaws!

Longhorns and Outlaws Book Tour

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Time's a flying! Longhorns and Outlaws should arrive from the printer's at the end of the week (September 12, 2008). Hurray! Can't wait to see the finished book.

Last week I finished up the teachers' guide and it's available on the Outlaws Web site at www.outlawbooks4kids.com This coming week I hope to put up the 33 pages of the teacher's guide all as individual links as well as the pdf.

September has been busy with finishing up the details for the Book Tour - still more to do yet, though. I've confirmed with all of the Alberta schools for the week of September 22 to 25, and the six public libraries in Alberta and Saskatchewan where I'll be having public launches. Coteau Books created some awesome posters for the libraries to help spread the word.

As time nears there are a few final details to take care of:
* Press releases to newspapers in all the communities where there will be launches, whether at schools or public libraries.
* Local book stores to contact.
* Hotel accommodations to arrange.

Stay tuned for information and photos from all the places I visit on the Outlaws site!

Last Steps to Publication

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:38:00 +0000

Waiting for new books to come out can seem like forever! However, the final steps to publication certainly make it feel like the books are coming closer to completion. Last week three of my new books due in the fall of 2008 kept me busy.

Before a book comes out, it's put together in a galley, which with modern printing is generally a PDF document with the book pages and illustrations set up exactly how they'll look in the finished book. I received two galleys last week — one for Longhorns and Outlaws and one for Issues that Concern You: Choosing a Career.

Longhorns and Outlaws is historical fiction set in the old west, so going through the galleys my job was to do one very last, last line edit to hope that between all the editorial staff and I, that we've found every missing quotation mark or typing error. So, I read very carefully, and only ended up with five tiny corrections. I printed off the pages they were on and dropped them off at Coteau's office in Regina, so the final galleys can be created and sent off to the printer.

The book, Issues that Concern You: Choosing a Career is a nonfiction book that I edited, or put together. I gathered a variety of articles (the publisher gets permission to reprint the pieces) giving various perspectives on all the things young teens should think about when choosing a career, and then wrote the front and back matter to tie it all together. Issues books also contain illustrations, so when I look through the galleys it's very exciting, since it's my first look at how the finished book will look. My job going through is to make sure everything looks perfect!

Finally, I also had to write a 60 word biography for Science Solves It All: Sports Champions, which is a nonfiction high interest book for young readers coming out from Crabtree Publishing in the fall. The fun part of writing your own bio blurbs is that you can pick and choose from your own experiences to tell the readers of a particular book what they might find most interesting about you. Of course I used a very different write-up for the sports book than the historical fiction one set in the old west with cowboys on a cattle drive.

So, these three books are much closer to coming out!

You can visit my other Web sites at:
http://www.outlawbooks4kids.com
http://www.snowridermag.com
http://aksoml.sasktelwebsite.net/

Summer Holidays!

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:51:00 +0000

The summer holidays have finally arrived! Now, on to planning the fall promotions for Longhorns and Outlaws, and creating the teacher guide and more Web site content. Seems there's a lot to do now that the time is so near for Longhorns and Outlaws coming out.

Most of the dates for launches have been set. Fall should be incredibly busy! The schedule looks like this:

SASKATCHEWAN LAUNCHES

Moose Jaw Public Library
Saturday, September 27th at 2 p.m.

Regina Public Library
Saturday, October 4 (time to be announced)

Prince Albert Public Library
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 7 p.m.

Saskatoon
Saturday, October 18 (to be confirmed)

ALBERTA BOOK TOUR

* Monday, September 22 - Drumheller, AB - Greentree Elementary [Golden Hills Regional School Division]
* Tuesday, September 23 - Hanna, AB - J.C. Charyk Hanna School (gr 4-12) [Prairie Land Regional School Division]
* Wednesday, September 24 - Ponoka, AB - Diamond Willow Middle School (gr 6-8) [Wolf Creek School Division]
* Thursday, September 25 - Camrose, AB - Charlie Killam Middle School; Chester Ronnig Elementary School [Battle River School Division]
* Wainwright Public Library, Wainwright, Thursday, September 25th, at 7 p.m.

Now that my time is more open I'll also be adding a lot of content to the Web site for Longhorns, including teacher's guide and information for young readers. The Web site is at: www.outlawbooks4kids.com

On to work! Check in regularly as the plans come together.

Book Tour!

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Setting up a book tour is a lot of fun! And, of course, coordination of locations and times. Currently I'm putting together an Alberta tour for the last week of September. I'm looking forward to sharing Longhorns and Outlaws with young audiences who are interested in young Lucas's adventures with outlaws.

Once I've got the dates and locations all settled, I'll post them here! It looks like an incredible fall season coming for the new book.

Longhorns and Outlaws cover has arrived

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:12:00 +0000

Well, it's been awhile, but I'm back! Things are rolling right along. My new historical novel from Coteau is officially titled Longhorns and Outlaws and I have the cover. It's gorgeous, don't you think?

Run has also arrived in Canada. I'm having a joint launch with Alison Lohans at:
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 29th
Book & Brier Patch
4065 Albert St., Regina
Phone: 306-586-5814 or Email: book.brier@sasktel.net

Things are busy!

New Books for 2008

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:22:00 +0000

Snowmobile season sure cuts into everything else! However, I'm rolling ahead with the new books that I have coming out in the fall of 2008.

Two of the books are ones I put together as an editor for an educational press. They're in the Issues That Concern You series from Greenhaven Press. My title for 2007 was Downloading Music, and my two new titles for 2008 will be: Choosing a Career and Teen Driving.

What I enjoy about putting together these titles is the research of the topic--which of course, is also one of the reasons I enjoy writing historical fiction. With the Issues series I, as the editor, provide the overview to a topic, then find viewpoints (often opposing) that give different perspectives. I also round up a lot of statistical information, which can create visual images to illustrate the issues.

Once I've chosen the articles I'd like to include in the book, I go through them and insert headings that clarify the different sections, since the books are for readers in junior high school. As soon as I get my package of materials all done, it all goes on to the next level of editors and permissions people at the publisher, so the books are really a joint effort.

Nonfiction work also gives me a break in creative writing, which is something I personally need as a writer. Since stories have to live with me for quite a while before I write them, I've found it best to work on other projects while I'm thinking through a fiction idea.

Of course, I'm also getting ready to begin final edits with an editor for the new historical fiction novel I have coming out with Coteau in the fall of 2008. I always look forward to working with an editor as a chance to get some feed-back on what worked with the novel, and some additional ideas on ways that the story can be stronger. Good editors seem to have an ability to ask just the right questions to make everything come together!

So that's a little of my writer's process.

I'd like to recommend an awesome new series of articles I found while looking for some resources to recommend to a writing friend whose work I was critiquing. Psychic distance is one of the most challenging things for a writer to master, and yet very few writing books address psychic distance. David Isaak does a great job here.

http://davidisaak.blogspot.com/2007/12/psychic-distance-exposition-and.html

There's always more to learn, whether it's through direct feed-back from an editor, or by studying some of the great material that appears every day on the Internet.

Linda Aksomitis
Visit me at: http://www.guide2travel.ca/ or at http://www.snowridermag.com/

Just Call me Joe -- Historical fiction for Young Readers

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:51:00 +0000

Whenever I'm between book writing projects or thinking my way through a new idea, I read. Actually, I read all the time, so that's no surprise. Writers are always readers--the two activities are really part of the same process. Can you imagine a cook who doesn't enjoy trying different types of foods? A painter who doesn't visit galleries and study the works of others? An architect who designed buildings without ever studying how the different parts all fit together in other buildings? That's a writer without reading.

Anyway, I just finished reading Just Call Me Joe, by Frieda Wishinsky. It's an Orca Young Reader, which means the intended readership is readers ages 7 to 10, who are in grades 2 to 5. The font is larger than average, and it only has 100 pages, so it's a nice fast story for a good reader.

I was drawn to this novel for a few reasons. As a writer, I like to examine many different publisher lines, so that I'll have some ideas about where to submit my books once they're written. Just Call Me Joe is about immigration--the same general subject area as my novel, Adeline's Dream. So, of course I was interested to see how another author handled the same topic.

Adeline's Dream is a long novel for middle grades (45,000 words), while Just Call Me Joe is part of a series of much shorter books (13,000 to 18,000 words) for younger readers. I'm always curious to see the differences in plotting and characterization between two such different lengths.

Just Call Me Joe begins with the ominous chapter title: "Sometimes They Send You Back." Wishinsky does a good job of filling in the details of who Joseph is, and why the ship he's on has just passed the Statue of Liberty in the first two tense chapters. It's easy to identify with him as he remembers the Russian soldiers he and his sister have escaped from--and shares his dream to become an American.

By chapter four the pacing in Just Call Me Joe makes a change. Instead of memories and fully fleshed scenes, the story moves to dialogue that serves as a useful tool for propelling Joseph's life ahead in the new country where he's been plunked in first grade, far below boys his own age, so he can learn to speak English.

It isn't easy living at Aunt Sophie's in New York in 1909. Joseph must share a room with a renter, Mr. Plucknik, who tosses stinky socks and shirts onto Joe's cot, and snores all night. Cabbage soup is the food of the day. His sister, Anna, hates her job at the factory, where she works many long hard hours for very little pay.

Street kids, Sam, Lou, and Al, soon befriend Joseph and introduce him to a life that he knows is wrong. They don't work, they steal, and yet, Joe is drawn into their world by the friendship they offer. This conflict, which starts slowly in the fourth chapter and reaches a resolution in the second last chapter, provides plot elements for Joe's character growth throughout the novel.

This was one of the areas I was most interested in as a writer--with a short word count, what types of character growth and change does an author incorporate into a satisfying historical story? Here, the growth was integral to the plot, with a swirling vortex that drew Joe down, keeping the reader wondering if he would really end up doing what Sam urged him to do.

Like all satisfying stories, the climax of Just Call Me Joe comes at a point where everything seems lost, until the main character takes a stand against the elements that are pulling him down. Sam and Al take off to earn some "real" money with crime, and Joe gets a promotion to a higher grade at school, showing the reader that his hard work has paid off. There's hope that Joe will get a part-time job and that work will improve for Anna, as she has also taken a stand against the oppressive employer at a union meeting.

The novel, while about immigration, has elements that all children will identify with through Joe's internal struggle to keep doing what he knows is right, when he's offered what seem to be such easy alternatives. While the ending may be brighter than that experienced by many immigrants, it feels realistic with the plot elements we're given.

All in all, Just Call Me Joe is an interesting novel for young readers experiencing historical fiction for the first time.

Linda Aksomitis
Author & Photojournalist
Travel with me on guide2travel.ca

How do you edit your children's novels?

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:29:00 +0000

There are many different strategies authors use when they edit a novel. I have a similar approach with all of my editing work, but how much editing really depends on how strong my initial plan and outline were for the novel, along with what kinds of things my editors would like to see added.

Currently, I'm working on my next historical fiction novel for young readers, due out in the fall of 2008 from Coteau Books. Its working title is Longhorns and Outlaws,.

The interesting thing about editing this book is that the time between my last draft and starting back into editing was over a year. In that time I wrote two other novels and two nonfiction books, so my writing skills had grown--I find each book and editor teach me something new about craft. Also, I'd had a variety of reviews on my first historical novel, Adeline's Dream, which made me look for specific things in this novel.

My process can be outlined in very specific points:

Check that the plot is strong enough to pull readers through from beginning to end, with enough exciting scenes to keep them wondering what will happen.
Check that the character grows and changes through the story, and that this actually occurs through the plot events, so that readers see the consequences of actions and decisions we make.
Check that there is a strong climax to the story and that it is located at a good point. The ending shouldn't be 3-4 chapters after the climax, or the story gets boring, but there should also be enough space for some excitement after the climax, or again, the story gets boring.
Check that the end of the story is satisfying, even if it leaves readers wondering what may come next.
Check that the chapter endings are exciting and make it hard for the reader to put down the book. Chapter ends that tie up scenes, so the reader moves on to the next chapter with a new scene/activity can end up with an episodic feel to the story, whereas time moving forward in the middle of a novel doesn't seem so slow to the reader.
Check that all of the characters are three-dimensional, with supporting characters showing some change through the events of the story as well as the main character.
Check that the voice of the narrator has a distinctive style that is consistent throughout the novel.
Check that the language shows instead of tells, particularly in the most exciting scenes.
Check that the setting is vivid and well developed, so the reader can get a sense of where the story happens, even if it could happen anywhere in the world--even the main character's room or school is sufficient to create "place" and put the reader in the main character's world.
Check for the use of a literary writing style that works with the narrator's voice and style.
Recheck any historical details that may pop up as additional depth is added to the story. Language must also be checked for historical usage. This is a great link that lets writers determine what sayings/phrases were used in what periods: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=feign

Of course it's hard to keep track of all of these things at one time! So, I often go through the novel multiple times checking and editing for specific things. When I decide to make changes to some aspect of plot or character, I'm also careful to re-examine the other elements to see what impact they'll have in various areas.

The final edit is, of course, a line edit to make sure grammar and punctuation is all done correctly. The line edit is also the last time to make sure everything is consistent: his mother's eyes are blue in both places they're mentioned; the horses names are consistent throughout; etc.

Editing is the most important part of writing, so I always allow ample time to ensure I've done my story characters and the historical period justice.

Linda Aksomitis, www.aksomitis.com
Author of the children's historical novels: Adeline's Dream, Run, and the 2008 title, Longhorns & Outlaws (working title) from Coteau Books.

What's Your New Historical Novel, Run, About?

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:01:00 +0000

Run is my new historical novel for grades 6 & 7 in the Nitty Gritty Reading series, which should be arriving soon from New Zealand, where it's published. The publishers are Heinemann Education, Reed Publishing, New Zealand. In 2008 these books will be distributed by Pearson International.

So what's the new novel about? A few things, of course, but the key one is infantile paralysis (later known as polio), which the main character, Victoria, develops in the first chapter of the novel. The time period is 1911, in a small town setting. One of the key historical things I drew from in the novel is the treatment an Australian nurse, Sister Kenny, used for infantile paralysis in 1911, based on her beginning nurse's training and study of muscles. The treatment was in total opposition to what doctors of the time recommended (but this was her first encounter with the condition), so it took decades for the treatment to be taken seriously.

I was particularly interested in exploring infantile paralysis and the treatment, since my father was paralyzed for a year as a boy, and doctors later suggested he'd likely had infantile paralysis. I wanted to learn more about the disease, which had terrible epidemics into the first half of the 20th century, plus I wanted to learn more about Sister Kenny's treatment, as it seemed likely my grandmother had followed a similar course of action, since my father walked again with no disability.

Run has two narrators, Victoria, who has infantile paralysis, and her new step-brother, Jacob, who has left the farm when his mother married Victoria's father, and moved into town. Jacob longs to be back on the farm, and day-by-day grows to dislike helping Victoria's father in the hardware store more than ever. Victoria is having a hard time accepting her new step-family, especially her step-mother, who is very different from her own mother, who died in childbirth.

Once Victoria is paralyzed, however, she has no one to turn to except her step-family, especially once her younger sister, Elizabeth, dies of the same disease, and her father is lost in his own grief. The doctor prescribes a treatment for Victoria that doesn't alleviate any of the pain, so she's forced to make a decision on whether to do as the doctor and Papa order, or take Jacob and his mother's help. Can unschooled farm people know better than a doctor?

Jacob only has a limited education, but Victoria, who dreams of being a teacher, has been helping him prepare for school in the fall. So, when Jacob is in the next town picking up medicine for Victoria, he spends some of his earnings to buy the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which he thinks may cheer her up and help him practice his reading. As they read the book together, both Jacob and Victoria learn a lot from Dorothy, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Wizard, about Oz and life.

Linda Aksomitis, www.aksomitis.com
Author of the children's historical novels: Adeline's Dream, Run, and the 2008 title, Longhorns & Outlaws (working title) from Coteau Books.

How long does it take to write a book?

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:48:00 +0000

When I do author visits, students always ask me how long it takes to write a book. I don't have an easy answer, either.

The actual physical act of sitting down at the computer (I never write longhand) and typing the story goes very quickly, as I normally write 4000 to 5000 words in a day. However, this activity is rather like sitting down to Sunday dinner, which may take just fifteen minutes or half an hour to eat, while the cook may have spent five or ten times that amount of time preparing everything.

Before I can write, the story has to live in my head and build, one theme and scene at a time, until it's all in place. This has taken me anywhere from six months to ten years, depending on the project. I know I'm ready to start writing the book when I can do a full outline with all of the plots/subplots, character development, motifs, symbollism, and other story elements that I deem important for the project. If I can't put it all on paper that way, it's not ready to be written.

Then, of course, there's the research that goes into a story, which I do as I'm thinking about the idea. For example, in my new novel, Longhorns & Outlaws (working title), I knew that the main character was an orphan, but until I did extensive historical research I didn't know that his family had died in the worst hurricane in the history of the United States in 1900 in Galveston, Texas (more people died in that one than died in Katrina).

Many of my writing friends tell me they write to discover what is happening in the story, whereas I write to get to know the characters. While I've already "met" the characters before I begin writing, as I write they tell me about themselves, where they've been and what they've done, plus share their hopes and dreams.

I am what I would call a setting or plot driven author, since my initial idea always begins with a place and a thing/happening. From there, I think about who the characters are in this place and how these events are going to change them. This approach to writing seems to work well with historical fiction, as history provides me with so many interesting events to choose from that I'll never be able to write them all.

Linda Aksomitis, author of "Adeline's Dream," "Run," and a new historical fiction from Coteau Books in 2008 with the working title, "Longhorns & Outlaws."

How do you decide what historical events to use in the plot of a novel?

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:31:00 +0000

History provides an exciting backdrop for a novel. There is built-in excitement, tension, high points and low points. So, the trick to deciding what to include in a novel means looking at the shape of a book and considering how history can propel the story's plot, rather than just trying to include all the historical events that actually happened.

In Adeline's Dream I had a whole summer of community activities to choose from, plus the fall school and harvest events. I wanted to make sure the conflict in the book--that wondering what will happen--was strong right from the beginning, so I focused on events that would build conflict when examining the history book for the real events of 1910. I had several key conflicts to develop in the novel, with the main one also showing us one of Adeline's character flaws. She's stubborn, in fact she's so stubborn that she just can't forgive her father for embroidering the truth about the home they were coming to in Canada.

Another key conflict is between Adeline and the story's antagonist, Sarah. Sarah's an antagonist because it seems that if she would just be nice to Adeline and accept her, that all of Adeline's problems would be over. Sarah also represents the town kids, who aren't terribly accepting of the German kids from the soddy community called Germantown. In order to introduce this early, Sarah appears in the very first chapter of the book, snubbing Adeline when she arrives in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan at the train station and calling her a "squatter."

So, my challenge was to look at the community events and decide what historical events could set the reader firmly in 1910, plus build tension in the conflicts. First, I choose the 1/2 day holiday for Dominion Day, and the horse race. While a lot of the day is fun for Adeline and a good introduction to the town (also important since immigration is one of the main subject areas the story deals with), a confrontation with Sarah certainly dampens her spirits. During the day Adeline's thoughts wander, and we learn quite a bit about Germany and the long-distance relationship she's had with her father in the four years that he's been in Canada, getting things ready to send for them. In fact the reader hopes Adeline is ready to forgive her father.

Tension going up and down through the plot events is what pulls the reader through the story, so every time it goes up as it does when we think Adeline may forgive her father, it must also come down a little further ahead. Some readers have asked me why Adeline doesn't just forgive him, and there are two reasons for that: the first is that the story needs tension (once the problem is solved the excitement is over), and the second is that her inability to just say "I'm sorry Papa, I'm so glad to see you," shows the reader that she's stubborn. Since at this point in the story we think she just might do that, the next historical event I include has to put Adeline on the outs again with her father.

For that event I chose Sunday after church, going to the slide show with the piano music. This particular event tied many of the threads of the plot together, so it was an important scene. First of all, Adeline's dream to become an opera singer is shown in both her singing in church and her longing to stand and sing Ruth's story from the bible at the show. Second, Adeline has a run-in with Sarah as they're leaving the event, so it develops that conflict. The scene also shows us, quite subtly, how Sarah's mother is a perfectionist, so we get a peek into what it's like to actually be Sarah. Finally, when Papa talks and laughs with Sarah's mother, and doesn't even introduce his family to the well-to-do lady from town, Sarah feels that while Papa might belong in the community, none of the rest of his family do, and their relationship is strained once again.

So, the historical events I chose to include must always develop conflict and character in the fictional world, showing us the realities of the character's lives and why they respond to life the way they do.

How close to you keep fiction to real history?

aksomitis@sasktel.net (Linda Aksomitis) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:41:00 +0000

Good historical fiction requires that the author is 100% true to the time period in terms of accuracy in historical fact. Books that take their inspiration from history, but weave in details that they invent are often in the fantasy genre, like medieval fantasies. My favorite book in that genre is Guy Gavriel Kay's novel, The Lions of Al-Rassan. http://www.brightweavings.com/books/index.htm

When I wrote Adeline's Dream I based it completely on actual events that happened in the town of Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan in 1910. All of the happenings are even true, like the summer theater put on by local actors and actresses, although that's only because I had our local history book, Footprints to Progress, to draw from for these details. However, with other historical novels I've had to create fictional communities based on research of the time period, which is another way to have a strong setting and weave in details to bring stories to life for readers.

It's always difficult to decide whether to use actual historical figures in a novel. Generally, if they are real players in the time being developed, then they must be used. Lots of historical novels focus on turning points in history, like the Civil War or the Depression of the 1930s, so in order to be historically accurate, real people are woven into the story to create the setting. Characters may listen to speeches (based on real ones) or hear radio broadcasts (based on news of the era) to bring these characters to life with historical detail.

In Adeline's Dream I used the names of many local people from the history book, such as Reverend Maillard, who really did paint the murals of the Last Supper in the Catholic Church. However, I made up the names of the people in the Grand Concert, because I wanted to make some of my fictional characters be key players in this important part of the plot.