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Former Boot Campers Published

Former Boot Campers Published


Judson Roberts
(Boot Camp 2001)

Roberts writes: A very early draft of the opening scene of the Strongbow Saga was the writing sample that earned me a place in Mr. Card's 2001 Bootcamp. Several friends I made at Bootcamp served as wise readers on the first draft of the saga -- which in its first draft was a single, very long manuscript -- and one, Luc Reid, continues to be one of my primary readers to this day.

Between 2001 and 2003, I turned the first parts of the original draft into a single novel and acquired an agent, Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Ms. Rennert originally shopped the novel as adult fiction -- which is what I wrote it as -- then began sending it out to YA editors, also, because the protagonist is a teen on the verge of manhood, and there are strong coming of age elements in the story. In late 2004, I received a contract from the YA division of HarperCollins for the first three books of the series. Book 1, Viking Warrior, was released in June 2006; book 2, Dragons from the Sea, was released in June 2007; and book 3 will presumably be released in June 2008. The story is not finished at the end of book 3, so hopefully the series will continue.

The series follows the adventures of a fictional Dane through the latter half of the 9th century, and weaves his story into actual events and the lives of actual figures of that period. I have extensively researched the period and the Vikings' culture, and believe the series delivers not only an exciting and hopefully moving story, but also conveys quite a bit of history and information about the Vikings, a much misunderstood people.

http://www.hatrack.com/writers/news/judsonroberts.shtml


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