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Please welcome Linda Aksomitis to talk about her new middle grade western, Longhorns and Outlaws.  If you didn’t catch my book review, check it out and then come back here to learn more.  Linda’s got the most interesting life and it was great to get to know her!

Maw Books:  If you could only use one word to describe your new novel Longhorns and Outlaws what would it be?

Linda Aksomitis: Western

Maw Books:  I’m always interested in knowing how authors come up with their ideas.  Where did you come up for the premise of Longhorns and Outlaws?

Linda Aksomitis: Natasha, I’d have to say Longhorns and Outlaws is a mesh of ideas. I always wanted to write something full of old west adventure and excitement, so when I was researching a book I wrote about Southern Saskatchewan (Backroad Mapbooks Southern Saskatchewan) and explored Outlaw Station #1 on the Outlaw trail, everything started to come together.

Maw Books:  Tell us about your background in ranching and horses and how that influenced you in writing Longhorns and Outlaws.

Linda Aksomitis: I grew up on a horse ranch, doing all the usual things – riding gymkhana, barrel racing, horse shows, and trail rides. Then I married into a rodeo family, so I continued to collect all kinds of valuable experiences for writing about the old west, from getting chased by cantankerous cows to branding calves in the spring. Without this background I wouldn’t have considered starting a novel like Longhorns and Outlaws, because there are just too many experiences involved to rely on third person research, at least for me!

Maw Books:  Tell us about researching Longhorns and Outlaws.  Did you do all the research first?  Combine writing and research?  How do you decide when and where to set your book and which historical events to include?

Linda Aksomitis: As you’ve guessed, Natasha, there was lots of research involved in writing Longhorns and Outlaws. The first was, of course, years of experience with horses and cattle, and just as important, getting to know others in these Western communities, so I can help my readers relate to how it feels to be part of that segment of society. I first discovered the outlaws I included in the story in 2004, on a couple of research trips through Southern Saskatchewan and Montana, so spent a year finding out all I could about them before beginning the first draft of the novel in 2005. Before I started the second draft in 2006, I took a week long trip through Montana, following the Yellowstone River from Billings to Culbertson, taking pictures, visiting museums, and talking to people. Then I took another few days to come from Culbertson up to Saskatchewan’s Big Muddy, finding tons more information in addition to what I’d gathered the year before. My final draft in 2007 focused on archival print materials, which I drew from to create a lot of Lucas’s past and perfect the voice and writing style I wanted for the story.

Maw Books:  What about young fictional heroes appeals to you as a writer?

Linda Aksomitis: I like stories that are full of adventure, so I find books with young heroes both more fun to write and to read!

Maw Books:  Lucas likes to learn by the book while his brother Gil is more of a hands on learner.  Which type of learner are you?

Linda Aksomitis: Natasha, what an interesting question! I’m really a cross between Lucas and Gil, I guess, since I do learn many things from books, while others I have
to get completely immersed in and do. I think it depends on what I’m doing, which may be part of what Lucas learns as he gradually becomes proficient at riding Ebenezer and riding drag behind the cattle herd.

Maw Books:  What’s your favorite scene from the book?  Or perhaps one which has changed the least since your first came up with it?

Linda Aksomitis: Ah, you’re right and many scenes changed during the various edits of this book! The one that changed the least was how Lucas managed to free Ebenezer from the outlaw corral. I’d say the scene was inspired by the many old westerns with daring rescues and escapes that I watched with my dad as a child, so it came to life in full detail when I started writing.

Maw Books:  Was there any point while writing Longhorns and Outlaws that you struggled writing the book?  And vice-versa a point where the creative juices just flowed?

Linda Aksomitis: I always struggle with the beginning, Natasha. In fact, I workshop it with my writers’ group, then rewrite the first chapter at least 20 or 30 times before it comes to its published shape. It’s challenging to get enough backstory included to set up a scene, but still have the excitement I want to pull the reader into the story. The first chapter is also the place where I need to establish the writing style and voice, so it takes a lot of revision to get the exact feel I want.

Maw Books:  Would you describe you book as being a good match for reluctant readers?

Linda Aksomitis: I think there’s a book for every reader and the ideal reader for Longhorns and Outlaws is one who’s drawn to the old west by interest or experience. My author visits in areas where the children come from horse and rodeo backgrounds have been very positive, since there really aren’t that many westerns for them to read. I also hoped that Longhorns and Outlaws would appeal to readers who’ve had some first hand experience with surviving hurricanes, as many in the coastal areas have. Reluctant readers should be drawn along by Lucas’s many challenges and adventures!

Maw Books:  And what do you want children to come away with after reading one of your books?

Linda Aksomitis: I hope children feel they have had a great old west adventure!

Maw Books:  Tell us about Kidnapped by Outlaws, the sequel to Longhorns and Outlaws and when can we expect to see it available in stores?

Linda Aksomitis: In Kidnapped by Outlaws, Lucas end up in even more trouble with the border outlaws, some of whom appeared briefly in Longhorns and Outlaws. Much of the conflict of the story, however, deals with the need to belong and how gangs have fulfilled that need for many young boys and men over the past few centuries. In terms of when it will appear in stores, not for awhile yet, as I hope to get a draft ready for my publisher to see by this summer.

Maw Books:  How many books do you plan on writing for this series?  And what is it like to write a series?  Do you know where the story is going to go?  Do you preplan all the books?

Linda Aksomitis: Natasha, great question, but I really don’t know the answer. I wrote Longhorns and Outlaws planning a series, which was one reason I took so many
drafts before publication. The continuing thread through all the books will be encounters with outlaws, rather than the cattle, so each book lets me explore a new stage and setting. In the Outlaws sequel, Gil appears briefly in the opening scene and Cousin Henry in the last scene, but otherwise it’s new characters and adventures. Currently, I’m searching for a real outlaw story somewhere in the west that draws my interest for book #3, since I like to base my historical fiction on real events of the past.

Maw Books:  What are some of your favorite experiences so far from book signings, school visits, interviews, and other promotional activities for Longhorns and Outlaws?

Linda Aksomitis: I loved doing the virtual tour with the school in Texas! It was awesome to be able to share my slide show and story with children thousands of miles away, then answer their questions.

Maw Books:  This is a question that I ask every single author that I nterview and that’s to share a recipe with us, particularly if it was in the book and then I try to make it later.  Coming to my mind is pan fried bread and beans.  Is this something that you know how to cook or is there another “western-style” recipe that you could share with us?

Linda Aksomitis: Baked Beans & Ham

Ingredients:
1 pound dried navy beans
6 cups water
1 small ham bone with 1/4 pound ham (I usually use leftovers from a large baked ham, including the juice)
1 teaspoon salt (if you use ham juice no salt is required)
1/2 cup of molasses
1/2 cup ketchup

Preparation:  Cover beans and ham with water in a small roaster, casserole dish, or crockpot. Add all ingredients and stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-4 hours, until beans are soft. Check periodically to ensure beans are covered with fluid, adding water as required.  Serves 6 to 8.

Maw Books:  Mmmm.  I can’t wait to try this one!  I couldn’t help but notice that with the exception of one color we use a very similar color scheme on both of our websites!  And here I thought I was so original.    Great minds think alike!  How has having an online presence affected you personally and as a writer?

Linda Aksomitis: I’ve been online since 1995 and owe many of my current books to contacts I made via the Internet. Right now I teach a course called Introduction to
Internet Markets where I help other writers take that all important leap to getting established on the Internet.

Maw Books:  Tell us a little bit about the other books that you have published.

Linda Aksomitis: I have nineteen books out right now, but I’ll just focus on my children’s historical fiction here. Run (Pearson Education), which came out in 2007, was a finalist in the 2008 Saskatchewan Book Awards for YA fiction.  Adeline’s Dream (2005), from the same publisher (coteau Books) as Longhorns  and Outlaws, was part of the very popular From Many Peoples series. All three novels are set in the same decade: Longhorns in 1901, Adeline’s Dream in 1910, and Run in 1911. I love this era because it’s a time just before the changes in technology and society that followed World War I.

Maw Books:  Great!  You say you have held 45 jobs for pay and they are all fascinating!  Which of those jobs has been the most unusual, the most fun, the hardest, and the most rewarding?

Linda Aksomitis: I tell people I’m like a kid in a candy store, and I want to try every flavour. Most unusual job: racing snowmobiles (spent more money than I earned). Most fun: travel writing (travel writers can do pretty much anything in the name of “work”). Hardest: waitress (no kidding!). Most rewarding: teaching (I teach people about books and libraries, so what else could possibly be more rewarding?).

Maw Books:  I’d love to be a travel writer (well, maybe just the traveling part!).  I was flabbergasted with all that you have done.  Between all your amazing vacations, ranching, snowmobiling, writing, teaching, etc. it seems like you’ve just about done it all.  Two questions.  How do you manage your time to accomplish so much and what’s the one thing that you haven’t done that you still want to do?

Linda Aksomitis: I manage my time by prioritizing what I want to do, and then planning a year-ahead calendar to make the pieces fit together as well as possible. I also find that the more productivity I have out of each time investment, the more I can do. For example, by using a great deal of the research I did for the travel guide to Saskatchewan in Longhorns and Outlaws, I not only got to know my subject really well, I also maximized my effort in terms of returns on time invested.

Maw Books:  Describe yourself as a reader. What books influenced and inspired you as a child? As an adult?

Linda Aksomitis: I was a voracious reader as a child and read absolutely everything in sight. My favorite books were ones that stretched my experience and imagination, so I felt like I’d really been there. A Wrinkle in Time was my ultimate favorite as a young reader and now I can’t say enough for Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn series for young readers.

Maw Books:  I haven’t read the Airborn series, I’ll have to look into those.  What’s the last book you read, the book you’re reading now and a book that you’d like to read next?

Linda Aksomitis: The last book I read was Meggido’s Shadow (historical fiction from Arthur Slade, another Saskatchewan author); right now I’m reading Journey to a
Revolution (A personal memoir and history of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956) by Michael Korda; and next I’d like to read Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis.

Maw Books:  I loved Elijah of Buxton!  If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only charge was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

Linda Aksomitis: Sit on an open balcony overlooking a beautiful beach seascape in the sun and read a good book.

Maw Books:  Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of the Maw Books Blog?

Linda Aksomitis: Nothing, Natasha, except to say that I’ve really enjoyed our visit and thank you so much for participating in the virtual tour for Longhorns and Outlaws.

Maw Books:  Thank you Linda!

Visit the Cowboy’s and Outlaw’s website and other stops on Linda’s tour to learn more about Longhorns and Outlaws.  My Longhorns and Outlaws book review.

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