Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

Straight from the Source: Erica George on Writing Historical Fiction

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Erica George is a writer of young adult fiction. She is a graduate of The College of New Jersey with degrees in both English and education, and is currently an MFA student at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She resides in scenic northern New Jersey, but spends her summers soaking up the salty sea air on Cape Cod. Many themes in Erica’s writing rotate around environmental activism and helping young people find their voice. When she’s not writing, you can find her exploring river towns, whale watching, or engrossed in quality British drama with her dog at her side.

What typically comes first for you: a character? An era? A story idea? How do you proceed from there?

I think that a character definitely comes first for me. For Words Composed of Sea and Sky, I knew that I wanted a contemporary poet on Cape Cod writing about someone from the past. I’ve always been fascinated by whaling (with complete and total disgust), and I thought it might be interesting to combine whaling with a mid 19th century poet, thus the relationship between Leta Townsend and Benjamin Churchill was born. Leta’s words are what matter most, and her discovery that she never needed to hide behind the name of a prominent male sea captain really is the arc of her story.

How do you conduct your research? 

Again, it all starts with the characters. First, I need to know what my historical characters must accomplish within their own stories. Once I know their storyline, I’m able to narrow down what historical elements I have to research. In the case of Leta, I was constantly researching the style of 19th century American poets. I researched the fashion of the 1860s. I needed to know what the etiquette was for people attending high society balls. For Ben, I did a lot of research about what it must have been like for a young man who spent his life whaling. I visited the houses (now museums) of actual whaling captains, I read books and firsthand accounts of whaling in the 19th century. I studied what whales frequented the shores of Cape Cod in the 1800s, and I’ve gone on more whale watches than I can count. I climbed the real Highland Light and learned about the life of lighthouse keepers. I think the more one can literally immerse themselves in the lives and history of their characters, the more authentic the story will be.

What kinds of sources do you use? The more specifics here, the better!

I start with the internet, just to get a surface level idea of what the time period I’m researching, or the specific elements being featured in the book. Once I know what I don’t know (which sounds funny, but it’s so true!), I can do a deeper dive into the research. At that point, I head to the library and take books out, or I find primary sources. One of my favorite sources I stumbled across was a reprint of a book written by a whaler to his son, describing his whaling journeys. Along with books, I love firsthand experiences. As I said earlier, visiting lighthouses and whaling captains’ houses across Cape Cod was instrumental in my research.

At what point do you feel comfortable beginning to draft? How does your research continue once you begin writing?

I’m a very dedicated plotter! I start by writing a very general synopsis of the book, then move on to outlining chapter by chapter. At this point, hardly anything is researched. I might leave myself notes within the outline in order to remind myself of what needs to be researched in order for the book to make sense. Once I know where the story is going, I begin drafting, again leaving myself notes throughout to remind myself during revisions what needs more detail or which facts I’m still uncertain of.

What is your favorite thing about research?

My favorite thing about research is stumbling upon a fact or a story that I didn’t expect! I go into the writing process with a general idea of how the book is going to go, but there are always bumps along the way. It’s one of the most exciting things to find a historical fact that alleviates a plot hiccup, creates an exciting twist, or helps a character complete their journey.

What’s your least favorite thing about research?

My least favorite thing is when I come across a topic that I can’t seem to find enough detail about. For example, there’s a ballroom scene in Words Composed of Sea and Sky, and I had no idea what the proper etiquette was for ladies and gentlemen at a ball in New England in the 1860s. There are plenty of online resources describing Victorian ballroom etiquette, but did that pertain to America or just England? I knew the rules to Regency ballroom etiquette, but were they the same some fifty years later? Probably not. At that point, I choose to include the details I’m certain about, knowing that ultimately, the reader is more interested in the story rather than every rule of the ball (I hope!).

Classroom Connections: Your Mama by NoNieqa Ramos

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age range: 4-7 years
theme / form: a celebration of mothers and daughters; picture book
NoNieqa Ramos’s website

Please tell us about your book.

As a PB and YA author, the process of being reviewed can be an emotional roller coaster! When a review comes in that speaks to the heart of your project, you have to savor it and celebrate. I am so proud of my starred review from School Library Journal, and I will share what they had to say about my picture book debut, YOUR MAMA (April 6, 2021), here:

“In a glowing tribute to mothers, here is one hip parent who spends quality time with her child. Illustrated banners throughout the tale begin with the words “Your Mama” and continue with a description which is pictured on the pages, such as, “Your Mama So Sweet,” “Your Mama So Strong,” and “Your Mama So Funny.” The rhythmic text is lively while vibrant, detailed illustrations reveal the many activities mother and daughter share, such as baking, road trips, birthday parties, and singing along with the car radio. “She got friends at work, at church, around the ‘hood. Life is good.” English text with a smattering of Spanish words fit with the illustrations of a brown-skinned Latinx mother and young daughter. This mama brings verve to everything she does, whether sewing costumes for her child, attending Parents’ Night at school dressed in a flowing orange dress, or taking her girl to the library. With long, wavy black hair; large gold hoop earrings; and heeled knee-high boots decorated with red roses; this mama has as much energy as her child.

An essential purchase, this contemporary, high-spirited salute to motherhood is a warm and welcoming valentine to family and love.”

What inspired you to write this story?

I wanted to celebrate the relationship of mamas and their daughters, and in particular, shine a loving light on Latinx mamas and women who are severely underrepresented in literature and media. This picture book is a love letter from a Puerto Rican daughter to her mama, shouting out her mother’s sweetness, kindness, humor, resilience, and strength.

How can a teacher use your book in the classroom?

Brilliant illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara, our publisher Versify, and I collaborated to create an educator’s guide, which will be available on my website www.nonieqaramos.com in the coming weeks. This guide has a poetry lesson on writing rhythmic verse and a coloring page. Educators can center books like YOUR MAMA around Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and during Women’s History Month to discuss the powerful force mothers, and specifically Latinx women, have been in history, the arts, and music. Children can write their own  love letters and odes to their mamas, tias, abuelitas, madrinas, and any special woman in their lives. 

I’m an educator with over fifteen years of teaching experience, so I Iove getting back into the classroom! Teachers can invite me to their schools virtually to do book talks and writing workshops for all ages!

Who are some powerful women in the Latinx community you’d like to shout out?

I’d like to celebrate Aida Salazar, award-winning author of THE MOON WITHIN and LAND OF THE CRANES. She is one of the original creators of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx MG and YA authors to come together to support and amplify each other’s debut or sophomore novels in US children’s literature. Her arts activism includes her #PeriodAwareness and #PeriodJustice initiative for #WomansHerstoryMonth. Please follow @aida_writes and @latinxluna on Twitter and Instagram to decolonize and celebrate our wombs and our menstruations with stories and community. Check out Las Musas for a plethora of powerful Latinx leaders and creators https://www.lasmusasbooks.com/!

Dear Beverly Cleary

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I knew this day was coming. You’d made it to 104. But when I heard Friday that you’d passed away, I still wasn’t ready for it. You taught me so much about being a kid. You helped me become an avid reader. Somehow, though I’m not sure how it’s possible, I’ve come to love your books even more as a grown-up. All of them are perfectly perfect, but your Ramona books stole my heart.

Ramona, who feels like a pesky-kid sister, the neighborhood kid, our very selves in her understanding of the world, in her need to be heard, her playful curiosity, those impulsive decisions (who can forget the temptation of pulling Susan’s curls?), that wild joy (Halloween!). We love her because we were her once — silly and bold and in need of compassion. Because that was your genius: You never shied away from childhood’s awkward and even painful moments — the embarrassment of throwing up in class, that feeling of being misunderstood (and kicking the walls in frustration). Though you wrote with humor, you never poked fun at Ramona’s earnestness — naming her doll Chevrolet, the most beautiful name she’d ever heard, or her demand from the top of the jungle gym “I want some P.T.A!” (Believing it had to be something tasty since things like c-h-i-p-s and c-o-o-k-i-e-s were always spelled out at home.) In taking your readers through Ramona’s world, close-to-the-bone and through-her-eyes true, we lived right alongside her. We love her because you loved her first, a regular girl right there on the page.

Thank you for reminding me what it’s like to be a child in this largely grown-up world. Thank you for teaching me to be patient with my children back in the days they were silly and curious and in need of compassion. (Really, do those days ever end?) Thank you for inspiring me to create characters I hope have an ounce of the humanity you gave your girl. It was comforting knowing you were somewhere out there — a connection to my childhood and my own story world. Now that you’re gone, you will be missed. I’m so glad your stories will carry on.

Thank you, Beverly Cleary, for creating such a memorable, remarkable character, the one-of-a-kind Ramona, the brightest star in middle grade universe. My writing — and living — are better for it.

With gratitude,
Caroline Rose

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“Ramona stands for empathy in the face of misunderstanding. She reminds us how it was to be a child in a big world, needing to be seen, cared for, and reminded that we belong.”
How Ramona Quimby Helps Kids Make Sense of this Unstable World :: Lit Hub 

“Sixty-five years of illustrations from Beverly Cleary’s beloved books.”
Ramona Quimby: Still Spry at 65 :: Fine Books Magazine

“Two of Ramona’s most prickling fears are impossibly intertwined: first, that her affection for all those most important to her goes unrequited, and second, that she cannot be loved for precisely who she is—impetuous, temperamental, profoundly sensitive, and, yes, a little bit of a show-off. Her fondness, once coaxed, thumps ardently from her staunch and earnest heart.”
How Ramona Quimby Taught a Generation of Girls to Embrace Brashness :: Lit Hub

“Though Ramona isn’t from any one particular time period, she has to feel real at the moment she’s being read, and to do that, even the smallest details have to ring true to her readers. So even though Ramona looks anachronistic in her newer iterations, it’s these very inaccuracies that make her all the more real.”
Ramona Forever :: The Paris Review

“I understood what a children’s book is supposed to be. It’s writing from inside the kid’s world, inside the kid’s perspective, almost from inside the kid’s eyeballs. Beverly Cleary doesn’t tell us what Ramona’s experiencing; she doesn’t separate herself far enough from Ramona to tell us. She doesn’t say “Ramona’s mother would never forget her, but Ramona was worried that she might.” She doesn’t even insert herself into proceedings to say “Ramona thought for a moment that her mother would forget her.” Nope, Beverly Cleary gives the story to Ramona herself to experience, and she does it by withdrawing herself from the equation.”
Ramona Quimby and the Art of Writing from a Kid’s Mind :: Lit Hub