Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Heather Stemp. Take it away, Heather!

I began writing Amelia & Me, the first book in the Ginny Ross Series, when Amelia Earhart dropped into my family history. The convergence of Amelia’s history with my own was an opportunity I couldn’t ignore. It was 1932, and my aunt, Ginny Ross, met Amelia when she arrived in Harbour Grace Newfoundland to depart on her solo transatlantic flight. The book describes how Amelia convinces my aunt, and so many other young women, that anything is possible if they refuse to give up.

The second book, Under Amelia’s Wing, is set in 1936 at Purdue University. Amelia is hired as a part-time career counsellor for women and an aviation advisor. This is a logical next step for Ginny who longs to follow in Amelia’s footsteps. In spite of everything she has accomplished, even Amelia Earhart has critics who think women belong in the kitchen, not in the cockpit. But both Amelia and Ginny refuse to give up until Amelia disappears in 1937 during her round-the-world flight. Ginny is then faced with the additional challenge of trying to carry on without her mentor and friend.

The third and final book in the series, Beyond Amelia, explores Amelia’s legacy. It’s 1940, war is raging in Europe, and Ginny Ross longs to join the fight against Hitler. She’s a capable pilot, thanks to mentoring from Amelia Earhart and her training at Purdue University, but she’s not allowed to use her skills in the US Army Air Corps, which only allows men to fly.

When a new service is created to secretly fly bombers from Newfoundland to the UK to join in the fight, Ginny realizes how she can help. She cuts her hair, changes her name, and heads to Canada as Jimmy Ross. In her disguise, Ginny takes part in the risky and vitally important mission to bring more air power to the allied forces.

Although she is determined to face down any danger, from engine failure to Blitz bombing, Ginny never anticipates that another danger lurks much closer…in the secret she’s keeping from the men around her.

Based on the true history of the heroic Ferry Command, Beyond Amelia is a story about the sacrifices so many young people made to turn the tide in a terrifying war.   

Like others who write historical fiction, I love the research that takes me to places I’ve never imagined going. In writing this series, I learned so much more about my own history as I explored Amelia’s. Writing historical fiction for young people is an important opportunity. By opening new worlds to our readers, perhaps we can help them to develop new ways of thinking.

Thanks, Lindsey, for this amazing opportunity to share my story. The Ginny Ross Series, Nimbus Publishing and Vagrant Press, is available now.