...up a tree when it comes to social media. Plus, like him, I would sleep 20 hours a day if I could get away with it. However, it seems that the modern writer needs a Web presence like koalas need gum trees, so here I am.
About my novel, The Lynching of Louie Sam.
http://annickpress.com/Lynching-of-Louie-Sam-The
In the winter of 2011, I had the good fortune to be approached by Annick Press (Toronto/Vancouver) to write a YA book for them. Vancouver-based Annick publisher extraordinaire Colleen MacMillan had wanted for some time to bring to light a tragic injustice that happened in British Columbia in 1884. Louie Sam was a 14 year-old boy from the Stó:lō first nation who lived near Sumas, south of the Fraser River and north of the U.S. border. In February, 1884, he traveled to the town of Nooksack, 10 miles south of the border in what was then the Washington Territory, to see William Osterman, the local telegraph operator who purportedly wanted to hire Louie Sam to do some maintenance work on the telegraph line. But it seems that Osterman, in fact, never had any intention of hiring the boy.That same morning, a Nooksack man by the name of James Bell was found murdered in his cabin. In short order, Osterman accused Louie Sam of committing the murder. Three days later, a lynch mob led by Osterman, among others, crossed into British Columbia, seized Louie Sam from lawful custody and lynched the young teenager from a cedar tree. Scratch the surface of this story, and it becomes clear that the leaders of the lynch mob framed Louie Sam for a murder that they themselves committed, and neatly disposed of him before the truth could come out in a public trial.
Colleen at Annick wanted to publish the story as a creative non-fiction book for Young Adults. Although at the time I had zero experience writing books, a friend passed my name onto Colleen because a few years earlier I had written a TV movie for CTV with a first nations theme, "Luna: Spirit of the Whale", starring Adam Beach. Find out more about it here...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861716/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Annick took a huge risk and hired me. Much research ensued, then an outline for the book. With my background in TV drama, it seemed I couldn't stop myself from veering away from creative non-fiction, and into fictionalized territory. With Annick's blessing, the project became historical fiction. More about that process another time, but suffice to say that we have all been deeply honoured since the book was published in the spring of 2012 to see Louie Sam's story recognized on several short lists...
2013 Notable Books for a Global Society
White Ravens Collection 2013, International Youth Library, Munich
Snow Willow Young Reader’s Choice Award nomination 2013
Arthur Ellis Award finalist, Crime Writers of Canada 2014
Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award finalist
Now that I'm up to my knees in Web water, I will endeavor to keep posting on a regular basis. It can be a lonely business, this writing--I have just come up for air after yesterday sending off a third draft of my second novel, also for Annick, due out in the spring of 2014--and I welcome the chance to correspond with readers and writers everywhere. If you've read Louie Sam and have questions or comments, please feel free to make them here. I would be delighted to get a dialogue happening.
