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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.
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