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Haley Elizabeth
Garwood wrote her first historical novel at the age of eleven that she
sold to a classmate for two pencils and a notebook. She was bitten by the
writing bug at the tender age of three when she wrote her first story, in
chicken scratches, about an Easter chicken. Her mother kindly translated
it and saved it.
Since that time, Haley has always written stories – a
few about her experiences as an airline stewardess, as a mother, and as a
teacher of special education students.
After her retirement as a high school principal in West Virginia, she
began to write full time. At present she has four completed novels in her
Warrior Queen Series.
Notes from Haley ~
I stood in the back of
the classroom and listened to a great presentation by the history
teacher, Mrs. Ervin, about life in the middle ages. As a high school
principal, I had the privilege of watching the students learn every day.
Unfortunately, it was what they weren't learning that worried me.
All the great heroes were men. Why didn't the text books talk about
women warriors? There were thousands of warriors from every country and
almost every generation who were women. Women had been left out.
I pondered this problem
for months until a friend suggested I write a novel about one of the
women I admired - Matilda, the last person to lead a land invasion of
England to get back her throne.
The Warrior Queen
Series was born and like any birth, came kicking and screaming into the
world. My motto became "Write Women Back into History," but I wanted it
to be fun. These women became real to me, and I wanted the reader to
feel they'd been transported back in time.
It takes a year to research and write one of these novels. It's
difficult to find information about women warriors in the traditional
way because they were systematically left out of the history texts, so I
turned to anthropology and archeology for help.
I've loved every minute
of the journey to our past. |
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