Why did you want to write about Saratoga and Valley Forge?

I wanted to tell a story that would give readers a glimpse of what life was like for the common soldier during the Revolution. Reading about history in textbooks can make things like battles and encampments (which were actually incredibly cool) seem like the most boring thing ever.

My goal was to tell an exciting story based on primary sources so I could show readers what an amazing job the soldiers did at Saratoga and Valley Forge.

Was it hard writing from a boy’s point of view?

Whenever a writer chooses a main character that is not like her, she has some extra work to do. FORGE is the second novel I’ve written from a boy’s point of view (the first was TWISTED). It takes more time and careful thought, but it’s a really interesting thing to do.

In FORGE I wanted to explore what it was like to be a teenage soldier. By the end of 1777, many of the soldiers in the Continental Army were young, poor, or both. When I found out how many of the soldiers at Valley Forge were in their late teens and early twenties, my first thought was “Those guys are the age of my readers!”

What was your favorite piece of research?

There were so many! I was staggered to learn how many days the soldiers at Valley Forge had no food at all. It was fascinating to read the first-hand account of the teenage soldier who cooked a stolen pumpkin; I borrowed heavily from him for a chapter in FORGE. It was also interesting to compare the letters of the officers with letters and narratives from the common soldiers who suffered so much from the incompetent preparations for the winter encampment.

Did you really dress like a soldier and walk bare-footed in the snow?

Sure did. I wore knee-length breeches, a linen shirt with a wool cloak, mittens, and wool stockings. I did NOT wear shoes. My plan was to walk a quarter-mile in my stocking feet and then back to my cottage.

This is what I looked like.

My feet went numb before I made it to the quarter-mile mark. I figured that it was not necessary to get frost bite in the name of authentic research, so I hurried home.

What other things did you do to get in the mindset of your characters?

My writing cottage is heated only by a woodstove, so the chore of chopping wood and building a fire is one I am very familiar with. I often write by candle- or lantern light instead of electric light bulbs. But I must admit that I always ate better than my characters!

Did you visit Valley Forge or the Saratoga Battlefields?

I have visited both of them, several times. If you get the chance you should go. Be sure to talk to the Park rangers when you visit – they know everything!

Saratoga National Historic Park: www.nps.gov/sara/index.htm

Valley Forge: www.nps.gov/vafo/index.htm