with Author Steve Sheinkin

Q: What made you want to write these books?
A: Frustration, basically. I spent years researching and writing textbooks and it was easy to find amazing stories and quotes that would make history fun to read. But it was hard to actually get this great material into textbooks. You may have noticed that textbooks are pretty packed with previews, reviews, charts, graphs, questions—not much room left for stories. I got really sick of seeing my best stories cut to make room for boring stuff. That's when I decided to try to write my own history books.

Q: How are they different from the textbooks you used to write?
A: These new books are all about stories. My goal is to pack each page with memorable people and details, and to connect all these little things into an fast-paced plot that pulls you though the action. I try to make these books sound like exciting novels (except I don't get to make stuff up). You still end up learning everything you need to know about history—but you won't realize you've learned anything until it's too late.

Q: What's the hardest part about writing a book? Which part is the most fun?
A: The hardest part is probably just getting through a first draft. I once heard a famous writer say, "If anyone saw my first drafts, they would think I was a terrible writer." I feel the same way. Sometimes I try so hard to get across so much information, the writing ends up boring, choppy, and downright textbooky. No one (not even my wife) gets to see these first drafts.

I think the most fun part is finding the stories. It's sort of like detective work. One book may mention an interesting-sounding person, for instance. Then you have to go track down more information, following leads from one source to another, from the Internet, to books, to old magazines or letters… until you've finally got the goods.

Q: What are you going to do next?
A: I just finished writing a third book in this series. It's the action-packed story of America's westward movement in the 1800s—Native Americans, mountain men, gold miners, cowboys, pioneers, railroads, and much more. This book should be out early in 2009. We'll update this site with more information soon.

Ask Steve