People often ask me how I came up with the idea for Freedom Dues. It was 2008 when I heard Toni Morrison being interviewed on NPR. She was promoting her book A Mercy, and mentioned that as part of her research she read White Cargo: The Forgotten History of Britain’s White Slaves in America. I was intrigued!
I read White Cargo and became fascinated by the history of indentured servants. I sincerely thought the subject was so interesting that a movie must have been in the works. Two years later I wondered: “Where’s my movie?” So I thought I would write the movie I wanted to see. Then I remembered an interview I read years before in which a Hollywood producer said that the best screenplay ever written could very well die in oblivion. However — she claimed — a good book would find a publisher. I decided to write a novel.
Two years later, in 2012, I still hadn’t written a word. Then I found an article about Amanda Hocking, the writer who struck gold by self-publishing online. That’s it, I thought, no more excuses. A middleman isn’t indispensable anymore—if you build it, they will come. I decided to write a novel to the best of my abilities. From the beginning I resolved to give it my all. I didn’t want a half-baked, amateurish blob.
I enrolled in Creative Writing classes at UCLA and workshops with Creative Writing Los Angeles. I devoured books on how to write, and historical novels. More than anything, I read a lot of non-fiction. Immense amounts. When I began this project I thought I would only need to read White Cargo again, and I would be on my way. I had no idea what I was getting into!
I went to writers’ conventions and travelled to Northern Ireland, Pennsylvania, Colonial Williamsburg and Oklahoma. I lived on an 18th century replica tall ship—The Lady Washington—for two weeks. I reached out to a lot of people I found online, people who were experts in one aspect of the story or another, like 18th-century music or blacksmithing.
Although I knew that self-publishing is a legitimate and viable option, I first wanted to try the traditional route. Once I had what one of my creative writing instructors called “a showable manuscript” I reached out to 95 literary agents. I went down the list at agentquery.com until I reached the W. Most either said no, or didn’t reply at all. Two asked for the first 50 pages or so. One said no, and I didn’t hear from the second one. Two asked for the manuscript, one as a favor to a friend of mine they represented. My friend’s agent said no, thank you, and I never heard from the other one.
So here we are.
Why did I want to write in the first place? When I truly enjoy a book, I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster. It’s truly exhilarating. My goal is to elicit that feeling in my readers. It is my wish to make you smile, maybe make you laugh, make you shed a tear, to have you on the edge of your seat. Nothing will make me happier than if you reach the last page and exclaim: “That was a good ride!”
I read White Cargo and became fascinated by the history of indentured servants. I sincerely thought the subject was so interesting that a movie must have been in the works. Two years later I wondered: “Where’s my movie?” So I thought I would write the movie I wanted to see. Then I remembered an interview I read years before in which a Hollywood producer said that the best screenplay ever written could very well die in oblivion. However — she claimed — a good book would find a publisher. I decided to write a novel.
Two years later, in 2012, I still hadn’t written a word. Then I found an article about Amanda Hocking, the writer who struck gold by self-publishing online. That’s it, I thought, no more excuses. A middleman isn’t indispensable anymore—if you build it, they will come. I decided to write a novel to the best of my abilities. From the beginning I resolved to give it my all. I didn’t want a half-baked, amateurish blob.
I enrolled in Creative Writing classes at UCLA and workshops with Creative Writing Los Angeles. I devoured books on how to write, and historical novels. More than anything, I read a lot of non-fiction. Immense amounts. When I began this project I thought I would only need to read White Cargo again, and I would be on my way. I had no idea what I was getting into!
I went to writers’ conventions and travelled to Northern Ireland, Pennsylvania, Colonial Williamsburg and Oklahoma. I lived on an 18th century replica tall ship—The Lady Washington—for two weeks. I reached out to a lot of people I found online, people who were experts in one aspect of the story or another, like 18th-century music or blacksmithing.
Although I knew that self-publishing is a legitimate and viable option, I first wanted to try the traditional route. Once I had what one of my creative writing instructors called “a showable manuscript” I reached out to 95 literary agents. I went down the list at agentquery.com until I reached the W. Most either said no, or didn’t reply at all. Two asked for the first 50 pages or so. One said no, and I didn’t hear from the second one. Two asked for the manuscript, one as a favor to a friend of mine they represented. My friend’s agent said no, thank you, and I never heard from the other one.
So here we are.
Why did I want to write in the first place? When I truly enjoy a book, I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster. It’s truly exhilarating. My goal is to elicit that feeling in my readers. It is my wish to make you smile, maybe make you laugh, make you shed a tear, to have you on the edge of your seat. Nothing will make me happier than if you reach the last page and exclaim: “That was a good ride!”
