I was lucky
enough to grow up in Alaska, and like many before me I fell in love with it.
The scenery is beautiful, the history is fascinating, and the people have an
independent yet friendly attitude. It’s home, but it’s also a great place to
write about. I am working on a young adult historical romance series set in the
Alaskan gold rush. For me, it’s an ideal setting. The time in history is
exciting, and the place is full of drama itself.
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| Lynn Lovegreen |
My first novel
is set in 1898 and the last takes place in 1916. During that era, lots of
interesting things were happening in this country; Teddy Roosevelt and other
reformers were making life better for common folks, the first aviators were
flying in the sky, and people were buying automobiles and telephones for the
first time. Of course women were coming into their own in many ways, from the
Gibson girl riding bicycles to the suffragettes fighting for the right to vote.
In Alaska,
women were a little more liberated because of the Last Frontier attitude. Folks
were more interested in people’s abilities than their position in society.
Women were hunters, pilots, entrepreneurs and more. The first Alaska
Legislature gave women the right to vote in 1912, before the 19th amendment
passed nationally in 1920. There were some restrictions, but it was easier for
women to lead different lives up here.
There are so
many amazing places in Alaska. Within the Gold Rush, there are lots of
boomtowns and motherlodes. I chose four to follow the main strikes
chronologically. The first novel is set in 1898 in Skagway, the first big boom
town during the Klondike strike. The
second book is set in Nome in 1900, where the gold in the beach sand and the
claim jumpers’ conspiracy made it distinctive. The third book is set in 1906
Fairbanks, now our second biggest town, with its own colorful characters. My
last book in the series is set in Kantishna Mining District in 1916, where
tension between conservation and mining developed when Mount McKinley National
Park was being created next door to some prospectors.
Building
stories against this backdrop gives me lots of material to work with. I can set
my main characters in the middle of an Alaskan gold rush, and these young women
have lots of opportunities to challenge themselves and create the life they
want to live. They can find their own
path in this great land. Their hearts know the way once they’ve learned how to
listen, and Alaska gives them a place to do just that.
What is your
favorite time period to write about? What do you enjoy about it?
Lynn
Lovegreen is an Alaskan author with Prism Book Group who enjoys sharing her passion for Alaska and
its history. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and www.lynnlovegreen.com.
