How did Pat find a new career in retirement? Honestly, it found her. Writing, that is. For middle-grade readers, no less. Pat’s Sailing the High Seas series came out in May 2024. Book 1: Searching for Dad, Lost at Sea is set in 1780. Book 2: Rendezvous with Grandmother: A Pirate Queen is set in 1781. Book 3: In Hot Pursuit of Justice is set in 1782.
These Age of Sail books started out as short stories complete with lesson plans and activities for the website, Teachers Pay Teachers. They were the natural outcome of Pat’s degree in teaching history and visiting seaports during her travels. Her husband, Ken, and Pat even sailed on a tall mast ship in Sydney, Australia. Despite her keen search, Pat found no books on the period for middle grade readers.
Two years ago, Pat and Ken visited Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. As usual, they browsed through books in the museum gift shop. Again, where were the books about the Age of Sail for middle grade readers? Mystic Seaport is an open-air museum and school groups were visiting the site as a field trip. From experience, Pat viewed this lack as a disconnect not only from their field trip, but also from history. Oh, wait! She could fill this niche to write historical fiction for ages 10 – 12!
This meant lots of research ahead, but Pat had the advantage of three Age of Sail short stories just begging to turn into full-length historical fiction. Goodbye Teachers Pay Teachers. Hello, indie publishing!
Leave a Reply