My latest release, Arctic
Storm, Book One, Watch Eyes Trilogy (Five Star Publishing, 2014), is the tale of 13-year-old Anya and her quest to save
her pack of Siberian huskies against great danger in the spirit world.
Set in 1908 Alaska, Anya battles dark forces in a landscape almost as dangerous
as her enemies. A young Chukchi shaman, Anya is a medium, able to pass between
the spirit world and the human world. Joining forces with a 16-year-old
seafarer, Rune, Anya embarks on a deadly journey, determined to do anything to
save her dogs from the dark forces threatening their existence.
While this is a work of fiction, it is based in fact
… historical fact.
I found my young adult, coming of age story when I
looked back in history to unearth the origins of the Siberian husky. In years past, I’ve written historical
romance with my heroines seventeen or older.
Today some of my novels might be considered young adult crossover, but I
never thought about my fiction audience before, in terms of age, per se. I did my research. Found my story in that research. Then, let the characters develop as fact and
fiction unfolded.
That is precisely what happened when I began to
undertake the writing of Watch Eyes
Trilogy. No one was more surprised
than me when I found that my heroine was thirteen and my hero, sixteen—the
human ones, that is. The dogs are key to
this story but then so are their young human guardians, Anya and Rune. I didn’t find my young characters, but they
sure found me in the mist and magic of times long forgotten. My characters also “found me” in the books
and films I’ve enjoyed, including Harry
Potter, the Twilight series, and
the Hunger Games.
The mist and magic in these stories sparked my
imagination and opened up any possible “port-keys” in this grandma’s thinking,
to allow me to enjoy the literary ride through page after page, reel after
reel. When I began writing Arctic
Storm, the spirit of these captivating stories for young people stayed
fixed in my heart and mind. It was this
pulse I wanted to strike … this reach-out to young adult readers … this note in
history where the lines between fantasy and fiction become blurred … just
enough to hook you on history and believe the impossible is, in fact, possible.
Call of the Wild meets Brother Bear in
this epic tale of adventure, endurance and young love - a heroic journey tested
against America’s last frontier.
*****
HISTORICAL
NOVEL SOCIETY said the
following: “The plot revolves around the
first race, in 1908, which pitted stocky Eskimo ‘malamutes’ against the smaller
Siberian huskies, brought into Alaska, in the 19th century, by
Russian traders. In 1908 and 1909 the
408 mile race from Nome to Candle and back was won by malamute teams, but in
1910 the ‘Sibiriskiy haskis’ triumphed, and this historical tidbit has the
makings of a fascinating sequel to this delightful book.”
*****
There is a well-drawn, respected line between
credibility and the supernatural; not easily crossed. But … the lines of possibility that exist in
between surely can. Books are a powerful
and safe place to explore this possibility.
This is my purpose in Watch Eyes
Trilogy, not only to share the human struggle for life and love in such a
rugged land, but also to explore the spirit world that might exist in mist and
magic, beyond ours. Any telling of the
factual, heroic journey of the Siberian husky to survive is impossible to tell,
without this accompanying mystical exploration.
Young or old, books provide an opportunity to see outside ourselves and
break through barriers that might keep us from learning and finding our own
truth.
Anything is possible . . . when you open a book.
There is a dark side to the history of the Siberian
husky and when I discovered the details of the horror visited upon the Chukchi
people and their dogs in the wake of Communist collectivization and
industrialization, essentially erasing thousands of years of careful breeding
and wiping out the Siberian husky in Russia for the next eighty years, I
couldn’t find my PC fast enough to begin the telling! The young breeders of the Chukchi dog and the
young pioneers on the Alaska frontier in the early 20th century are
heroes in history who struggled valiantly to save this unique breed. I would love young people today to learn of
their forbearers.
*****
Titles that might relate to Watch Eyes Trilogy and interest students are:
Gold Rush Dogs by
Claire Rudolf Murphy and Jane G. Haigh
Call
of the Wild by Jack London
White
Fang by Jack London
All
Alaska Sweepstakes: History of the Great Dog Race by
Helen Hegener
The most famous Chukchi writer is Yuri Rytkheu. His works are primarily in Russian and
include:
The
Chukchi Bible
A
Dream in Polar Fog
*****
QUESTIONS to consider for students, after the
reading of Arctic Storm:
Where did the Siberian husky originate?
How old is the breed?
What makes the Siberian husky different from other
husky breeds?
Who are the Chukchi people?
Why was it so important for the Chukchi dog, the
Siberian husky, to escape Russia?
What is a shaman?
What is a medium?
What do you know about Viking mythology?
What was life like in Nome during Gold Rush days?
How did people survive the severe climate, the
lawlessness, and the isolation of the Arctic West—America’s last frontier?
How hard was it for young people, growing up in
Siberia and Alaska during this time?
What were their struggles? How
did they survive such a violent, often hostile, and always isolated frontier?
Could young people from two completely different
cultures, come together to find happiness and love during such a difficult and
unhappy time?
What do the history books tell us?
Though my career began as a nurse, I turned to the
world of writing due to my love for literature, especially Jane Eyre and “all
things Jane Austen.” Trying my own hand
at writing historical romance, I’ve had six published novels in the genre, to
date. After the death of my last
Siberian husky, Xander, I researched the breed and uncovered a dark history no
one seems to talk about. This secret
became the inspiration for Watch Eyes
Trilogy.
I thank everyone at MAD ABOUT MIDDLE GRADE HISTORY for allowing me this opportunity to
guest blog!
Husky Hugs,
Joanne
If you wish, you may find me and my books here:
No comments:
Post a Comment