jigsaw puzzles & the fear of writing

Daisy supervising our puzzles

This past Christmas week, my family and I started what might be a new tradition: doing jigsaw puzzles. The main deterrent we learned however, is the dog. We noticed she was enjoying a good chew on what turned out to be one of the pieces, but by the time we scooped it from her mouth we couldn't tell its color or from where it had dropped. Now one of our puzzles would have a gaping hole.

This so reminded me of writing! We started with two boxes -- one with 550 pieces, the other 1,000 -- then dumped them onto the card table and cookie sheets to sort. The task of turning everything right-side up was a big mess. Should we start fitting together the sailboat or the borders? Maybe the wagon with its red wheels would be easier.

The mess of writing is like this, for me at least. A jillion thoughts and ideas are all upside down in my head, and the blank page onto which I must organized them, is terrifying. It seems impossible. The phrase in that sentence is awkward, but on this page it's a perfect fit. The process is painstaking. It's a puzzle of words turned this way and that, but finally a chapter emerges. What had scared me at the beginning now seems rather friendly. There's a story here. And if there's a gaping a hole, I'll just fix it.

Meanwhile, a confession -- I'm not proud of this and next year will try to do better: I ditched my puzzle buddies! They soldiered on without me, accompanied by their REAL friend [photo above].

Kringle: a Christmas tradition makes it into a novel

Almond frosted Kringle

We're eating Kringle this holiday, lots of it! This tradition started in my childhood when my Danish great-grandmother would send it from Racine, Wisconsin. It's a heavenly pastry probably meant to be eaten in dainty slivers with a polite cup of coffee, but we pretty much scarf it.

It's a curious thing how personal tidbits slip into the novels I write for young readers. It's not deliberate, but somehow my characters will go swimming in the ocean if the setting is a hot summer day. Figures, since I grew up on the beach and to this day I love to dive under the waves. Dogs--HAPPY dogs--often appear in my stories with characters who love them. And there's usually someone drinking "good strong coffee."

In my newest novel, STALKED, there's Kringle to go with that coffee. The story opens in Copenhagen in the winter of 1911. The main character, Rikke, was inspired by my great-grandmother Maren Kristine Sorensen who immigrated to America from Denmark. Rikke likes her coffee and Kringle -- and when the hot New York summer comes around, she dunks herself in the waves off Coney Island!

I'm trying something new!

 After nearly thirty children's books with traditional publishers, I'm trying something new -- publishing myself!

When I learned that my Danish great-grandfather spent much of his life in an insane asylum in Wisconsin, my mind raced. How did this young man hoping for a new beginning in America end up "criminally insane?" What was he like when he stepped off the ship from Copenhagen and how did he get by the strict medical examiners on Ellis Island?

After visits to this Island of Tears and several years of research and writing, my story is finished. This young adult novel didn't turn out as I had originally planned -- fellow writers, I know you understand this! -- but it was birthed by those questions of how and why. Coupled with family lore that my great-grandmother worked in the Danish royal palace, well, here we are! The setting is 1912, in the Lower East Side tenements of New York City.

I hope you like this new adventure of mine, which is starting out as an e-book on Kindle: $.99 through December 31st then $4.99. Cover art and interior illustrations are by my son, Cody Rutty. I'll close here with its summary and link to Amazon:
The New Book is Stalked

              When Rikke Svendsen, a 15-year old Danish servant arrives at Ellis Island, she realizes that a fellow passenger on her voyage across the Attlantic--whose advances she had spurned--is stalking her. In the chaos of immigration and trying to flee him, she gets stranded in New York instead of being able to meet family in Racine Wisconsin. Relieved to have eluded the man, she finds work in the tenements as a seamstress for a film company and struggles to earn money for a train ticket north. Meanwhile, through letters and telegrams, she learns that mysterious accidents are befalling her loved ones in Racine with deadly results. As Rikke pieces together clues, frantic for her sweetheart Viggo, she seeks to unravel what or who is behind the terror.

A young reader grows up to be a reviewer: Rebecca's Book Blog

Interview with Kristiana Gregory, author of Dear America: Cannons at Dawn

I am very happy to post this interview with Kristiana Gregory, who for years has been one of my favorite authors from the Dear America series. Her newest book, Cannons at Dawn (which I reviewed here) is the sequel to The Winter of Red Snow, which was originally published in 1996 as one of the first books in the Dear America series and recently rereleased by Scholastic in September 2010. Kristiana has also written several other books in the Dear America and Royal diaries series as well as many other historical novels for middle grade and young adult readers.

Why did you decide to become a writer of historical fiction? Have you always loved history?

When I was a newspaper reporter, I loved digging for facts then writing a story. One day, my editor at the Telegram-Tribune in San Luis Obispo yelled across the newsroom that I needed to start writing fiction because my leads were too flowery! My excuse was that it was painful listening to a city council meeting then having to report the boring details. I wanted a little pzazz, a little something extra that would be FUN. Historical fiction was the next step: I loved history and I loved making things up.

What is your research like for your historical novels? Do you usually visit the places featured in your books?

The only places I was not able to visit were Russia and Egypt [for Catherine the Great and Cleopatra]. Otherwise, I went to France three times for Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine [poor me], and made several visits to Valley Forge, Philadelphia and Morristown for the Dear Americas set during the Revolutionary War. I went to Kansas for the Prairie River series; all my books set in California, Utah, Colorado and Idaho are based on research from when I lived in those states.

If you could go back in time for a day (with guaranteed safety!) where would you visit? Would you choose the setting from one of your books, or somewhere else?

The Holy Land, to hang out with Jesus for the day. I haven't yet written about that era.

How did you decide to write a sequel to The Winter of Red Snow after all these years?

I had always wanted to continue Abigail's story, so when Scholastic invited me to do the sequel I was thrilled.

What are some of your own favorite books and authors?

Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Theodore Taylor. Favorite book growing up was Island of the Blue Dolphins, because I lived on the beach looking out toward the Channel Islands. I could picture where the real Karana had lived in solitude for 18 years.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

For years teachers, parents and young readers have asked where ideas come from and what it's like to be a writer so I've started a blog http://notesfromthesunroom.blogspot.com/, which I hope everyone enjoys.

kathy@bookskidslike.com said...

Very good! It's so nice to read an interview that actually explores the author's skill. I, also, love Gregory's books!

controversial topics #2: writing about mormon history

A 12-year-old girl from Utah sent me a thoughtful letter about ACROSS THE WIDE AND LONESOME PRAIRIE. She explained that as a Mormon she was hurt by my portrayal of Brigham Young and the early Latter Day Saints, saying he came across as "lazy, demanding, and dumb" and his pioneers as "quite negative."

I immediately re-read Hattie's diary, hoping to see it through her eyes because I remember taking extreme care with the research and writing. I have great respect for Brigham Young as a leader and visionary, a city planner. When I lived in Salt Lake, it was the only place I've ever been able to navigate without a map! The grid is so practical I never got lost, and the same is true of other Mormon towns here in the West. I have many LDS friends -- dear and wonderful people -- and would never want to hurt them.

So line-by-line I analyzed the story then wrote to her:
     'You're right, there is criticism of the Mormons, but I had made sure those remarks were quotes from characters -- not Hattie's narrative -- and that these quotes reflected attitudes of the time. I was hoping my readers would also notice how often Pa defends the Mormons and Brigham Young: he tells the others to stop judging them, that there's nothing wrong with resting on the Sabbath; he praises them for inventing the "road-o-meter" that measures miles traveled and for inventing a 'barometer' to measure the altitude; and for building two ferries to earn money. He calls them "enterprising" and sympathizes with them by saying "Brigham Young's people are trying to start a new life, just like us."
     In the end Hattie decides that Indians and white folks are alike: "some are honest and kind and others are liars and thieves." She never once criticizes Mormons, but instead shows curiosity and wishes she could meet the two children traveling with Brigham Young. For details on his group, I used a journal written by one of the apostles who was on the 1847 trek, lent to me by an LDS friend.'

This gracious young reader responded by thanking me and saying "I think I understand the history there." Her sign-off made my day: "Your devoted fan."

in praise of teachers, our most valuable resource

This week we've been enjoying three of our nephews, 10 year-old twins and an 8-year old. Their father--my brother--is a 4th grade teacher and is leading his boys and their Taiwanese mother through the mountain west on a camping tour of history. On their way to Idaho, they took a side-trip to an old stagecoach station in Oregon to see the grave of Sacajawea's son, Pomp Charbonneau -- Pomp, of course, was the baby in her cradleboard during Lewis & Clark's journey to the Pacific.

With my brother at dinner, stories abound. He's so excited to describe finding part of the early railroad near Donner Pass that he delays eating the burger and salad before him. While this story evolves into one about Chinese laborers in the 1860s, I watch his boys help with the dishes. This means holding their plates below the table where Poppy and Daisy have been waiting for just such an opportunity. Dogs understand little boys and visa-versa.       

my favorite teacher & his boys

I'm mesmerized by my brother, a tender father and a gifted teacher. As his older sister I can testify that he is a BORN teacher. All his life he has looked up in wonder at the clouds and birds, wondering about flight. He taught my sons how to make paper airplanes ... oh, that's another thing that happens at dinner, things fly, I mean little origami-looking UFOs that soar over the table to the couch. If his boys or mine ask what it would feel like to be eaten by a shark, he'll pause with his hamburger mid-air then begin a graphic but delightful response.

Summer vacation for my brother--as it is for so many teachers--involves more learning and discovery, more excitement for what he'll be able to share with his students in the fall. Yesterday he took his boys fishing in the Tetons, explaining that Colter Bay was named after Private John Colter of the Lewis & Clark expedition, the first white man to 'discover' Yellowstone. My brother showed my nephews the geysers then drove up to where the battle of Little Big Horn took place. Early this morning he messaged me from his i-pad with a four-word assessment: "Custer had it coming."

I can't wait until they drive back through Boise on their way home, to hear what else they've learned. I'm proud of my brother and all the devoted educators out there.

Teachers: our country's most valuable resource.

controversial topics #1: Iroquois slaughter ordered by George Washington, 1779

George Washington was one of my childhood heroes. As kids, we loved hearing how he chopped down his father's prized cherry tree when he was six-years-old. Whether fact or myth, the story set a good example about telling the truth. Personally, I was relieved he didn't get spanked because maybe my parents would follow his parents' example.
So as a grown up I was thrilled to write about the Father of Our County for Scholastic's Dear America series, first with The Winter of Red Snow then its sequel, Cannons At Dawn.

Research is one of my most favorite things in the world, but sometimes I hate what I discover. Details about war, for instance, and ugly truths about heroes.

Confession: When I learned how cruelly General Washington treated the Iroquois, there was a flicker in my brain that said, 'ooh, my characters don't need to mention this.' It was 1779. The Indians were aiding our enemies, the British, but Washington said that before there would be any peace talks with the tribes, he was going to teach them a lesson: He ordered his Generals Sullivan and Clinton, to destroy the Iroquois settlements in western New York. The campaign was a victory for the American army, but devastating for our Native Americans.

In Cannons At Dawn Abigail writes in her diary:  "Thousands of our soldiers burned the grain and vegetable crops, the cornfields, and fruit orchards. They set torches to the longhouses. Forty villages went up in flames. Now there will be no fall harvest and nothing for the Indians to plant in the spring. Many warriors died defending their homes, many were captured, then marched to a prison camp."
          Abby and her mother are further distressed knowing winter is coming and these Indian families will have nowhere to live. In fact, many who fled north to Fort Niagara starved and froze to death. Abby says, "When I imagine their suffering, my heart hurts."

My flicker of denial passed and I got mad. Why hadn't I learned this as a kid? Was this blight of history ignored in the California schools because the Revolution was "back East"?  Whatever the answer, I decided my characters should report all sides. It's a chance for today's children to glimpse a tragic but important truth:

War is hell. Heroes can disappoint.