This is a gentle middle grade, Star Trek-ish tale of spaceships and alternate reality travel (think the MCU & Loki with all the different timelines and versions), but with horses.
Twelve-year-old twins Diane and Robin's adoptive father, Captain William Marsh, commands a starship, the Polaris. Rather than exploring the stars, the girls have grown up on their grandparents' farm on Earth, riding horses.
They go out for a ride one morning and one of their father's newly-made enemies kidnaps them, leaving behind only the charred ground where they were transported to the alien's ship.
The girls find themselves in a holding cell with an enormous jailer who brings flavorless food and doesn't say much -- at all. When the ship reaches a colony, they manage to escape only to find… they're not where they thought they were.
Well, they are. But in this reality, things are very different.
For one thing, they don't exist.
So when they reach Capt. Marsh, he doesn't know what to make of them. The girls aren't put in serious danger until the very end, when alternate-Captain Marsh devises a plan to get the girls back to the portal they crossed through -- and must confront their kidnapper to do so.
I won't spoil how it ends.
Enjoy this gentle space opera/sci-fit read!
10 Question & Answer Interview with Doreen Berger,
author of The Captain's Daughters and the sequel,
Beyond the Stars
This interview is part of a periodic series of interviews with successful indie-published authors, hoping to shed some light on the indie publishing path to book, and specifically middle grade, publication.
1. What was your inspiration for writing The Captain's Daughters? The Captain’s Daughters was inspired by my relationship with my lifelong friend, Robin, and our spirited childhood escapades.
2. What were your most significant challenges when writing The Captain's Daughters? In any science fiction novel, the challenge is to write something that is believable even though it takes place in the future, and the advancements can only be imagined. The Captain’s Daughters tells about a time when the weather is programed, dust and dirt in a house are immediately sensed and irradiated, and meals are cooked with a voice command. There are flying cars, starships, and aliens! And, parallel universes!
3. Did the challenges change while you were writing book 2? Yes. Beyond the Stars describes in detail the starship Polaris and all the things I can imagine being on a starship. Believable? I don’t know, but I’d love to find out!
4. Did you pursue a traditional publishing route for The Captain's Daughters at any point? Querying agents, etc.? Why or why not? I did a lot of research before choosing indie-publishing. One of the main reasons I decided against traditional publishing was the time factor. It could take years to get an agent, and even if I were lucky enough to sign with one, it could be a long time until the agent is able to get a publishing contract. And if that does happen, it could be another couple of years before the book is actually published. Let’s just say that I’m not a spring chicken and I didn’t want to wait that long. There is also the fact that I would be signing away the rights to my book, and if the editor wants to change my characters/story, then that is what I have to do. I freely admit that I am a control freak and that notion bothers me…a lot! Also, from what I have read, traditional publishing houses spend their big promotional bucks on their top-selling authors, and expect the lesser-known authors to do the majority of their book promotion themselves. If I have to do that, I might as well reap all the benefits.
5. What led you to go the indie-publishing route? All of the above!
6. Can you discuss, briefly, some of the challenges of the indie-publishing process? What was most difficult and why? Indie-publishing has been quite an education. I didn’t want to go with an “all-in-one” company that does everything because I couldn’t find one that I thought did everything well. I became my own contactor and hired all my own sub-contractors. After researching about the different kinds of editing available, I interviewed and picked an editor. Then I learned about cover-design and formatting and chose a company that fit my needs. They exceeded my expectations…I love the cover of my books! I use Amazon and Ingram Spark to print. But, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the hardest thing (at least for me) is marketing and book promotion. There are about 1 million books published every year (and from what I have read, almost half of those are self-published). Getting your book “out there” and into the right hands is Herculean task.
7. My blog features books that kids can get through their public library. Many indie-published works, unfortunately, are not approved for library purchase. Did you make any publishing choices to consciously ensure The Captain's Daughters could be bought by libraries? If so, what were they? I purposely chose Ingram Spark because libraries can order through them, but won’t order from Amazon. As of now, numerous libraries are carrying my book.
8. What middle grade books and authors inspired your writing? My favorite book of all time is A Wrinkle in Time. It was the first science-fiction book I read, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
9. What do you most hope readers of The Captain's Daughters walk away with from Diane and Robin's story? Diane and Robin are mischievous, but mischief comes with consequences, and that is the one thing I want the intended audience (9 to 12-year-old readers) to understand. In The Captain’s Daughters and Beyond the Stars, Captain William Marsh loves his daughters beyond measure, and instills in them the importance of taking responsibility for their actions, and the consequences that come from those actions. And the most important point…family is everything.
10. How important are reviews? Reviews are hard to get, especially for indie authors, but you can’t sell books without reviews. I have sent over 700 (yes, 700) requests to bloggers asking for a review. I can’t tell you how many will not read, let alone review, a self-published book. I targeted middle-grade book bloggers…most didn’t even reply…they are swamped. I am so appreciative of those who did answer, even if to say they didn’t have the time or that the book wasn’t a good fit for them. Marketing is a thankless, but necessary job. Thing is…I love it! I believe in my books!
Bonus questions:
11. How can young readers help authors if they can't buy/purchase your books? A couple of the bloggers I contacted are using middle-grade students to review books. I think that is a fabulous idea!
12. If you have any words of wisdom for new/budding authors out there...please share. Keep writing when you are stuck! All writers have experienced writers-block at some time or another. It can be paralyzing. For me, the “spaghetti-on-the-wall” approach has worked best. As they say, if you throw enough spaghetti at a wall, eventually something will stick! When I am at an impasse, I keep writing. Most of it is garbage, but then something miraculous happens…something sticks…an idea I can work with, and I’m off and running (well, writing…I don’t run anywhere anymore!).
