My Book: How to Get It, What it’s About

I’m so grateful for all the interest in A Cradle in the WavesAbove, see a brief summary and a wonderful review from a local naturalist and author.

EVENTS

Release party at Village Books in Bellingham on Saturday July 9th at 4 p.m.
I’ll also be at the Edmonds Saturday Market on Saturday July 16th pretty much all day.
I’d love meet you, answer questions about the book and its background, and sign a book for you.

Ordering:

Ordering is now available through SwiftSong Press.

Click on this link to place your order

Who Might Enjoy this Book?

I hope you will love the story of A Cradle in the Waves. Readers of about 10 years (or 5th grade) on up who like history have loved reading this book. The story is set in a finely drawn world of conflict, beauty, danger and mystery, but is also an adventure, a love-triangle, the unfolding of a friendship forged in the midst of social and racial conflict.

The Cool Stuff at the Back

To help the reader sort through who’s real and who isn’t, I’ve included newspaper clippings, photos, journals and letters from some of the most famous people and events of the time.

The S’Klallam tribe has lived in this area for thousands of years and their tribal historian and story-teller kindly worked with me to bring unique details to the book; as well as an interview with a direct descendent of Chief Chetzemoka.

If you’re not a history lover or a child, I hope you will still take a look. So much can happen in a summer, between two people from different backgrounds, between two friends, between the covers of a book!

Coming Soon

I’ll be posting regularly with images and historical information, and a map of a tour you can take to visit all the sites on a day trip to Port Gamble, Port Townsend, and Whidbey Island.

Port Townsend, 1862…

Lucy’s curiosity has endless scope in Boston, but when her family moves to a tiny northwest town, she’s stuck with mud and trees. With a mouth quicker than caution, she soon betrays the only girl who’s helped her, defends a boy she resents, and lands herself in the midst of a simmering stew of conflicts between settlers and Indians, with sailors and miners swirling in the midst. A scalping, a green-eyed farm boy and the nagging feeling that her mother is hiding something leave Lucy thinking a little boredom might be welcome.

“A Cradle in the Waves is a remarkably well-told story with very believable characters based in a real town (Port Townsend) during its early development. The historical research makes 1860s Washington Territory come vividly alive. Although written for young people, Heckt grapples with very serious issues: race, politics, and the struggle to survive. What I loved the best: the petty fights, jealousies, bullying, gossip, and cliques of the teenagers—so contemporary, so real. I know these people!”

—Dr. Susan Zwinger, Author/illustrator of fine books of natural history