Liza Ketchum- Children's Book Author

Where the Great
Hawk Flies
Into a New Country:
Eight Women of the West
Orphan Journey Home
The Gold Rush
Now back in print! West Against the Wind
About Writing History

Other Books:

Young Adult Novels

Middle Grade Novels

How to order books

Where the Great Hawk Flies

Clarion Books
ISBN 0618400850

A new historical novel, set in Vermont in the 18th century, due out in the fall of 2005 from Clarion Books. Learn more about this book

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Into a New Country: Eight Remarkable Women of the West

Into a New Country Little, Brown and Co.
ISBN 0-316-49597-2

Women played an essential role in the dramatic changes that swept the West during the 19th century. This book profiles the lives of eight pioneer women of remarkable achievement. Born into different cultures and backgrounds, each challenged the rules and broke the barriers set down for women of her time. Their extraordinary lives offer inspiring examples of courage and determination for today's young readers. Illustrated with period photographs, prints, and drawings.

The eight women:
Susan Magoffin: Born into a wealthy family, she and her husband traveled the rough Santa Fe trail during the war with Mexico; Susan's vivid account of their adventures is a famous historical document.
Lotta Crabtree: She got her start as a child performer in the gold rush camps of California and became a nationally known stage celebrity.
Bridget "Biddy" Mason: Born a slave, she won her freedom in a California courthouse, worked as a healer and midwife, and became one of the wealthiest citizens of Los Angeles.
Susette "Bright Eyes" LaFlesche Tibbles: A member of the Omaha tribe, she toured the country rallying people to the cause of Native Americans and their unjust treatment.
Susan LaFlesche Picotte: Susette's sister, she overcame prejudice to become the country's first Native American woman physician and also worked hard for the rights of her people.
Bethenia Owens-Adair: Arriving in Oregon territory as a child in 1843, she had success as a teacher and businesswoman before becoming the first woman physician in the Pacific Northwest.
Mary McGladery Tape: Sent from China to San Francisco as an orphan, she waged a battle against the segregation of Chinese students in public schools and became an artist and photographer.
Katherine Ryan: She mushed a team of sled dogs into the Klondike gold region on her own, then established a successful restaurant, staked her own mining claims, and was the first woman to be appointed to the Northwest Mounted Police.

What inspired you to write Into a New Country?

When I was doing research for The Gold Rush, I uncovered the stories of some fascinating women who had made history in different areas of the West. When I read about the accomplishments of these eight women, I was in awe of what they achieved, in spite of the great difficulties they had to overcome. I remembered the history books I read in school, which rarely mentioned the women who were so important to our country's history. I hope the stories of these pioneer women will be as inspiring to young readers as they have been to me.

FAQ: How did you pick the women for Into a New Country?

I chose them for a number of reasons:

First, I wanted women of remarkable achievement, women who had overcome great odds to pursue a dream, or who showed unusual courage and ingenuity in their lives.
Second, I chose women from different cultures and backgrounds who were examples of the diversity of our country's history.
Third, since all these women lived before the invention of radio, tape recorders, or video cameras, I looked for women who had left written documents behind, such as letters, diaries, drawings, or articles, or for women whose lives had inspired others to write about them, or whose stories had been passed down in family history.
Fourth, I searched for women who had been photographed, even if only once or twice. Photography was in its early stages when these women were active, so few people had their pictures taken. This proved to be the biggest research challenge in the book.

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Orphan Journey Home
Illustrated by C.B. Mordan

This serialized historical novel has appeared in 100 newspapers nationwide, with a combined circulation of 18 million. A new, expanded version of the story will appear from Avon Books in March of 2000. The book includes changes inspired by readers' ideas, suggestions, and questions. Learn more about this book

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The Gold Rush
Little Brown paperback
ISBN 0-316-49047-4

The Gold Rush. (Out of print, but check your library or online bookstore.) A juvenile companion to the Stephen Ives/Ken Burns PBS special on “The West.” On January 24,1848, a gold nugget was found at Sutter’s Mill in California. This tiny chunk of gold changed American history forever—and guess who found it? The Gold Rush answers that question—and others. In this book, you will meet some of the fascinating characters infected with “gold fever,” as well as the state’s Native Americans and Californios whose lives were turned upside down by the invasion. Illustrated with more than a hundred period photographs, prints, maps, and drawings.

National Council of Social Studies/Children’s Book Council Notable Book, 1997. New York Public Library list of “Books for the Teenage,” 1997. ABA “Pick of the List,” 1996.

“These books are a literary and historical tour de force. How lucky children are to have this chance to experience the Old West as it really was when it was still new!"” –Historian Jean Fritz

What inspired you to write this book?

I was invited to create this book as a companion to a PBS television series called "The West." I had learned a lot about the gold rush when I researched my first novel, West Against the Wind. But I had to do even more research for the non-fiction book, so that I could tell the story of this event from many different points of view.

FAQ: What was it like to write a companion book for a television series?

I enjoyed it more than I expected—even though I hadn't owned a TV in thirty years! I used the television script as an outline. Like the show's producer, Stephen Ives, I wanted to tell the stories of everyone involved. I used a combination of people I found while doing my research—as well as some of the fascinating characters described by the West Project.

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West Against the Wind
(ISBN 0-595-09200-4)

Fourteen-year-old Abigail Parker, traveling west in 1850, has a touch of "gold fever." A spirited rebel, Abby dreams of buying her own land and hopes to find her father, missing in California. Caught up in the danger and adventure of the journey, Abby befriends Matthew Reed, a mysterious young man with a secret. As the wagon train flounders in the snow, Abby and Matthew struggle over the Sierra Nevada mountains in a final attempt save their loved ones. Honor Book, Jefferson Cup Award. Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award list, and Iowa's Teen Award list.

"A wise, entrancing story with unusually well-defined characters, a strong point of view, and a rich web of conflicts. An exceptionally fine debut."-Publisher's weekly.

What inspired you to write this story?

What I was a teenager, I read The Personal Narrative of James Ohio Pattie, my ancestor's exaggerated but exciting story of his life as a trapper and gold seeker in the West. This book kindled my interest in Western history but I never traveled West until much later, when I was grown and my sons were little. We drove from Vermont to California, camping or staying in motels, and I began to wonder what that journey was like before there were roads, comfortable campgrounds, fast food restaurants, and gas stations. I lived in California for a year, and started reading about the California gold rush. Most of the books focused on the lives of men. What was it like for girls and women who made the difficult journey west in the 1840s and 1850s? I wrote this book to answer that question.

FAQ: Why did you make Abby such a rebel?

When I was Abby's age, I thought the rules about how girls and women should behave were silly or unfair, so I understood Abby's rebel spirit. During Abby's time (the 1850s) girls were expected to behave in ways that we would find confining today. Yet often, as girls and women moved West, the rules changed. Women who led sheltered lives in the East were suddenly facing wild animals, dangerous travel, sickness, lack of food, and serious accidents. Women and men had to work together to overcome these difficulties, and many girls and women became more independent. I decided that the most interesting character for my novel would be a girl like Abby who challenged the rules but also found the courage to help others as the wagon train struggled to reach California.

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Writer to Reader: About writing history

When I write a book about the past, I have to become a detective. Whether I am writing a historical novel, such as Orphan Journey Home, or a non-fiction book like The Gold Rush, I search for primary source material before I start to write. I want to find the voices of the people who created our history, which means I look for diaries, newspaper stories, journals, letters, quotes, and speeches from the period I am writing about. My search takes me to libraries, historical societies, and museums. I write letters, make phone calls, and send emails to historians and other experts in the field as I search for sensory details, for images and facts that will help me recreate a world we have left behind.

If I’m really lucky, I can visit the place I’m writing about. I spent some time in Kentucky in the spring of 1999, exploring the area where Jessie and her family struggled to find their way in Orphan Journey Home. I have traveled out west many times to do research for The Gold Rush, West Against the Wind, and for my new book, Venturesome Creatures: Eight Women of the West. My new novel, Where the Great Hawk Flies, takes place in central Vermont, in the town where my ancestors lived. I have walked over the pastures where my relatives farmed more than 200 years ago, snapped photos of the mountain views they must have seen every morning, and breathed in the smells of the wet earth. I stood beside my ancestors’ graves, and tried to imagine the thoughts and feelings of people who had just experienced the American Revolution. Visiting a site helps to bring the past alive more than any book I could read.

Can you guess what kinds of things I need to know about people in the past? If you can, leave me a message in my Guest Book.

Has your class or school come up with interesting activities to go along with Orphan Journey Home-or any of my other books? If so, leave me a message in the Guest Book.

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