An Interview with Sally Keehn
by Debbi Michiko Florence
As a former young adult librarian, I can assume your love for books started early. Tell me a little about your journey in becoming a children’s novelist.
My journey to become a novelist began when I came across the true story of young Pennsylvania German girl, Regina Leininger who, in 1755, was kidnapped by Indians, lived nine years with them and almost became Indian herself. She lost all memory of her white family and home. She couldn't even remember her name! What she managed to hold onto were some Bible verses and a hymn her mother used to sing. It was, in the end, the singing of this hymn that reunited a long-lost daughter with her mother. What a powerful story, I thought. But could I tell it? Did I have the talent? I was filled with self-doubt.
The Native Americans say that a story stalks a writer and, if it finds you worthy, comes to live in your heart. Regina's story stalked me. It wouldn't let me go! Finally I gave into it. I thought, What have I got to lose? Be fearless, Sally. Tell the story. Just do it!
Of course, it wasn't that easy. For me, it never is. It took nine years from the day I first learned of the story until the novel version, I AM REGINA, was published. This doesn't mean I spent nine years working on it. I'd take it out, put it away, improve my craft by writing short stories for kids, then take it out again. I wrote it as a magazine article - which I never got published. I wrote it as a chapter in a non-fiction book about wilderness women of the Pennsylvania frontier, which never got published. And then, I finally settled down to write it as a novel for young people. After three years of work with a phenomenal editor, Patricia Lee Gauch of Philomel Books, the story finally came out as a book. I was so excited! And you know what? I didn't get just one book out of all the work — I got six! That's because I AM REGINA came out in a number of editions, including hardback, paperback, German, Italian, Danish and Flemish! What a great beginning (although a long one) for a writer of children's novels.
You’re written three wonderful historical fiction novels for children and one fantastic contemporary novel. How was writing a contemporary story different for you? Do you prefer one over the other?
I thought writing a contemporary novel based on something that happened in my own life would be easier than writing historical fiction. Instead of teasing a story out of historical events and facts that I'd have to research for months and then absorb, I'd create a story based on events in my past. I was sure I knew that story. Didn't it happen to me? I worked with an abused thoroughbred ex-racehorse, getting her to love and trust me so that I could train her to be a show jumper. However, as I wrote through the novel's first draft, I discovered there was a lot more to the story than I'd first envisioned.
A famous author once said, "How do I know what I think until I see what I say?" It was in writing through THE FIRST HORSE I SEE that I began to see what I had to say. And it had to deal not only with my working with an abused animal, but also with my father's alcoholism and my mother's death, which occurred a few years before I started writing the novel. Coming to grips with the real depths of the story proved to be a heart-wrenching time for me.
In the end, the most challenging thing I had to do was to step out of the novel and allow it to become what it had to be. I had to tell myself (as do many novelists) "Sally, this novel isn't about you anymore. It's about the character you've created - Willojean. Let Willo tell her story." And so I finally did, but not without a struggle.
Each novel I've written, whether it's been contemporary or historical, has been both a challenging and rewarding experience. I'll tackle any genre that will enable me to tell a story that fascinates me. I've recently completed GNAT STOKES AND THE FOGGY BOTTOM SWAMP QUEEN, which will be coming out with Philomel Books in spring, 2005. I'm not sure what genre this novel fits into. I call it an “Appalachian folk fantasy.”
ANNA SUNDAY is about a 12-year-old girl during the Civil War who dresses as a boy so she can cross enemy lines into the south to search for her injured Union father. How did you come up with this story?
It was in researching the history of a song I've always loved, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," that I discovered the kernel of an historical incident that gave rise to my Civil War novel, Anna Sunday. I discovered that a Union Army chaplain, Chaplain McCabe, made the Battle Hymn famous. He sang it wherever he happened to be and he had a fantastic singing voice, so folks took notice. When the Confederates captured McCabe during the Second Battle of Winchester, Virginia in 1863, they placed him in Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Here he kept up the spirits of the Union prisoners by singing the Battle Hymn to them.
At the same time that the Confederates captured the chaplain, they also took prisoner a number of women and children who'd been attached to the Union Army in Winchester. The Confederates placed them in a prison known as Castle Thunder. I thought, oh, there's a story here - with these children. I created two fictional characters - a young Pennsylvania girl, Anna Sunday, and her younger brother, Jed. They travel to Winchester to save their pa, a wounded Union soldier. Rebels capture the kids and they end up in Castle Thunder with the others. I worked the chaplain into their story. Along with the glorious Battle Hymn and an old plow horse, Samson, who is as inspired as I am by the singing of it.
How much research do you do for your historical fiction novels? How do you know when you’re done researching and ready to start telling a story?
I research my historical novels until I feel comfortable with the time period and events. This can take months. And then I must absorb the material so that I can become a character living in that time. I recall researching my second novel, MOON OF TWO DARK HORSES and when I sat down to write the story, it wouldn't come. I couldn't feel the heartbeat of my main character - a 14-year-old Indian boy named Coshmoo. I tried and tried and then, I had to finally give up. Feeling defeated, I filed away all the research I'd done. I told myself, "I can't tell this story."
And then (and oh this is the magic of it all), several months later, as I was driving to a school visit, a boy's voice popped into my head. He said to me, "What's wrong with you? Are you afraid to tell my story? Too many times I've tried to tell my story. No one listens."
Well, I was listening. I wrote down what he said to me. It became, in essence, the prologue to the novel.
Now for those of you who think that hearing voices means you're going crazy, well, maybe you are. However, if you're a writer, I think it means your subconscious has finally absorbed and processed all the historical information you've fed it and is ready to get down to story-telling.
I love how your protagonists are strong, brave girls. Anna in ANNA SUNDAY must brave danger as she makes her way south and as she finds herself in the midst of war. Regina in I AM REGINA loses her identity when she is captured by Indians and integrated into a tribe. What I love about your historical fiction is that even though the story surrounds an event in time, it’s really about a character’s journey. How do your characters come about?
My characters come about through research and absorbing the history (see above), and also in the writing process. I start with the idea of a character and the longer I'm with her/him, the more I discover about them. It's a developing relationship. For instance, I didn't know that Anna, in ANNA SUNDAY, was a cook until her pa's voice came to me calling Anna — "my apple dumpling queen."
When I have trouble "feeling" a character, I find it helpful to talk to them on the computer screen. I ask them questions and am often surprised by the answers they give me. I put them in situations and see how they act. I look around me and see bits and pieces of them in people I know. Sometimes, I meet someone and they inspire a character. I met the girl I based Anna Sunday on at the re-enactment of a Civil War church service. I thought, there's a sweet determination in this girl — the kind my Anna would have.
I loved Samson, the bible-loving horse in ANNA SUNDAY! Did you make him up?
Samson is a fictional character, but parts of him are based on the animals in my life. I love animals! Samson's sweet but obstinate nature (Samson only obeys Bible verse commands and you have to shout them because he's hard of hearing) is loosely based on two horses I owned — UpAnchor and Lord Loch.
You write these historical fiction stories in the first person present tense. You do it so well and seamlessly, I feel like I’m right there in the story with the characters. Yet isn’t this unique? Aren’t many historical fiction novels written in past tense? What do you like about writing in present tense for historical stories?
I didn't choose to write historical novels in first person present tense. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, because it isn't easy. I can't tell you how many times I tried to write I AM REGINA and ANNA SUNDAY in past tense. Each time, the story felt flat. It's only when I put them in first person present tense that they came alive for me.
Three of my four published novels are in written in first person present tense. So is my fifth — GNAT STOKES AND THE FOGGY BOTTOM SWAMP QUEEN. However, with the sixth, which I've just started, I'm trying something different — third person present tense. We'll see how that flies!
What characteristics of Anna’s do you share?
I am, like Anna, fiercely loyal to my family. I will go anywhere and do anything for them. However, unlike Anna, I'm not good at baking or with caring for sick people. Lord knows, I've tried. I admire Anna for what she can do and only hope I can grow to be more like her.
Your father was from the South and your mother was from the North. How much of your own family history came into play when you were developing ANNA SUNDAY?
Because I grew up with a family of divided loyalties, I am able to understand (although not thoroughly agree with) both sides in the Civil War conflict. This came to play in the development of the McDowell family, Confederate sympathizers who care for Anna's father, a Union soldier who's been badly wounded. I can also feel for the civilians of both sides, trying to survive the horror and devastation brought about by war.
What is a “typical” work day like for you?
When I am in the creating phase and "writing through" a novel, I find I work best from 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. or so. After that, time permitting, I go for "thinking walks." On these, I ask myself questions about my characters and what's going to happen next and write the answers as I walk. There's something about movement that breaks open my subconscious. When it's cold and nasty out, I like to build a fire and watch the flames. This helps me create as well. However, I have to be vigilant for it can also put me to sleep.
In the revision phase, I become obsessed. I can work twelve-hours a day or more. This upsets my three cats. They don't think it's healthy for me. One cat in particular, my Scottie, jumps up on my desk and walks back and forth across my keyboard until I stop writing, pay attention to him and then get on with the rest of my life - walking, gardening, biking, visiting friends.... That Scottie! I love him so much I worked him into my GNAT STOKES AND THE FOGGY BOTTOM SWAMP QUEEN.
What do you do when you’re not reading/writing?
I enjoy all the above, plus travel and visiting family, especially my daughters, Alison and Molly, who live in Boston.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
The writing life is never boring. Each book I write takes me on a different journey.
What is the hardest thing about being a writer?
The business and promotional side of writing has always been and continues to be a challenge for me. How to marry the creative with the business life. When I'm lost in writing a book (my editor calls it loving a book into existence and I love that) it's hard to focus on developing a web site, contacting school districts about future visits, doing promotional brochures, marketing and the like.
What inspires you?
There's so much in my life that inspires me — fellow writers, my editor, Patti Gauch, my friends, my husband David, who encouraged me to write Anna Sunday, my daughters, my cats, books, phrases that I have stuck to my computer — STAY INSPIRED, BE FEARLESS, GO BEYOND THE WALL — YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK, JUST DO IT, YOU MUST DO THE THING YOU THINK YOU CANNOT DO! Inspiration is everywhere. Go after it.
What can fans expect from you next?
I've got my GNAT STOKES book coming out in 2005 and now I'm working on MAGPIE GABBARD AND THE BURIED MOON. Both novels are set in the Appalachian Mountains.
What advice do you have for beginning children’s writers?
Persevere! You never know what's around the corner — maybe a story that'll stalk you, find you worthy and come to live in your heart. Give it all the love you can. You'll be the richer for it.
Interview © 2004 by Debbi Michiko Florence.
See also my follow-up interviews with Sally Keehn, in 2005 and 2007.
what's new?
For more information about Sally and her books, see her web site.
See also my follow-up interviews with Sally Keehn, in 2005 and 2007.
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