All posts by Linda Aksomitis

Linda Aksomitis has a Masters degree in Vocational/Technical Education from the University of Regina with a major in English, and education major as a teacher-librarian. She did her thesis work in online education. Currently, she's employed by Saskatchewan Polytechnic as an Instructional Designer, putting her writing and Web development skills together with her education and experience as an adult educator. She shares her publishing experience with writers through the three courses she teaches online for community colleges and libraries around the world. She's the internationally published award winning author of 30+ books, including e-books in both fiction and nonfiction genres for preschoolers to adults. Her books are published in five countries. She's also an international speaker, having delivered sessions on ebook publishing in Canada, the U.S., Sweden, and the Philippines, as well as many additional workshops across Canada. Linda is a professional travel writer, photographer, and influencer, publishing the online travel magazine/blog, guide2travel.ca. Her travel writing includes three print travel guides in the Backroads Mapbooks series, plus hundreds of articles in various journals, magazines, and newspapers, and her work can be found across the Internet.

How close do you keep fiction to real history?

Adeline's Dream, a 1910 prairie immigration story, by Linda Aksomitis.
Adeline’s Dream, a 1910 prairie immigration story, by Linda Aksomitis.

Good historical fiction requires that the author is 100% true to the time period in terms of accuracy in historical fact. Books that take their inspiration from history, but weave in details that they invent are often in the fantasy genre, like medieval fantasies. My favorite book in that genre is Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel, The Lions of Al-Rassan.

When I wrote Adeline’s Dream I based it completely on actual events that happened in the town of Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan in 1910. Continue reading How close do you keep fiction to real history?

Have you seen a horse race like the one in Adeline’s Dream?

Adeline's Dream, a 1910 prairie immigration story, by Linda Aksomitis.
Adeline’s Dream, a 1910 prairie immigration story, by Linda Aksomitis.

In chapter 2 of my novel, Adeline’s Dream, Adeline and her new friend, Kat, go to the horse race in Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, on the July 1st half-day Dominion Day holiday. It is Canada’s 43rd birthday.

In terms of the question young readers have asked, have I been to a horse race like this one, the answer is yes, although not in Qu’Appelle. Continue reading Have you seen a horse race like the one in Adeline’s Dream?

How did you research living in a soddie?

Adeline's Dream, a 1910 prairie immigration story, by Linda Aksomitis.
Adeline’s Dream, a 1910 prairie immigration story, by Linda Aksomitis.

Adeline’s Dream was my first historical novel for young readers. It came out as part of my publisher’s celebrations for Saskatchewan’s 100th birthday in 2005.

I’ve been thrilled to visit many schools and public libraries to talk about this book and how I did my research. The events of the story are based on real historical happenings in the town of Qu’Appelle, where I went to school and live today. However, I also had to research a lot of other things. Today I’m going to answer the question, how did I research living in a soddie. Continue reading How did you research living in a soddie?