Pulitzer-prize winning columnist/ novelist Anna Quindlen has said the best preparation for writing fiction is journalism. For me, at least, that's been very true. I wrote for the Washingtonian magazine for almost twenty years before I tackled my first young adult novel. Writing factual articles taught me to spot stories in everyday events and heroism in everyday people; to use one word rather than three; to collect details that "show rather than tell" a character's personality; and to make characters speak as people truly do with errors, hesitation, and regional colloquialisms. It proved to me that research is FUN-the treasure hunt step of writing. And I learned to make deadlines-although I must admit I find that harder to do writing novels than magazine articles! (I think that's because I'm a Mom first and my children are very busy people.)

With the Washingtonian I enjoyed such variety-I profiled soccer star Mia Hamm, followed a woman during her bone marrow transplant, watched a choreographer create a ballet, observed doctors saving babies who were born three months early. It was a privilege to be invited into all of their lives. I learned so much. That's the best part of writing-you're always learning because to write about a subject convincingly you must really understand it. Topics I covered for the magazine-family relationships, emotional growth, ordinary people facing sudden crisis with courage-seem to creep into my fiction as themes. In fact, my first YA novel, Under a War-torn Sky, grew out of an article about my father's experiences as a B-24 pilot with the French Resistance during World War II.

I enjoy historical fiction because history is fascinating, truly! But it's more so when you learn facts without realizing it, while reading a good story about how people were affected by events-what choices they had to make, how they survived, what they discovered in themselves. I hope my books can do that for young readers.

I also have a lot of fun with picture books. Watching my own children deal with playground conundrums prompted me to create two raccoon friends who explore the issues of peer pressure, popularity, and competition. I've been blessed to be teamed with illustrator Lynn Munsinger, whose whimsical watercolors are so delightful.

My Novels

Annie, Between the States
HarperCollins, 2004, Ages 12 up, $15.95 ISBN 0-06-001211-0, Paperback: $6.99 ISBN 0-06-001213-7

IRA Teachers' Choice 2005
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
Junior Library Guild Y+ Selection
Virginia Readers Choice, 2006-2007 high school master list

July 21, 1861: The Civil War has erupted on the steps of Annie Sinclair's Manassas home. Fifteen-year-old Annie finds herself tending wounded soldiers in the first trial of a personal odyssey that consumes the next four years. While some of Annie's relatives remain loyal to the Union, her brothers join J.E.B. Stuart's Virginia cavalry and John Mosby's rangers. Determined to save lives, Annie conceals Confederate soldiers and warns them of Union traps. Yet, Annie's sense of what is right is constantly tested. She disapproves of slavery and begins to question Virginia's involvement in the war, in part because of her friendship with a Northern officer. When she risks her life to save an abducted freed slave, Annie is accused of treason and jailed in Federal prison. To gain her freedom, she must confront the largest quandary of all: choosing her own course.

"Part Ken Burns' The Civil War, part Gone with the Wind, Elliott's third novel will be devoured by fans of historical fiction….fiery, intelligent Annie remains a heroine to relish, and readers who encounter her story will find themselves pondering the same soul-wrenching questions she asks: "Had their war been a justifiable one? Could anything justify such carnage?"
-Booklist

"Scenes are so powerfully drawn that readers will be engaged from chapter one…. A rich experience for Civil War history buffs."
-Kirkus

"Against a background of authentic events peopled with true historic figures, Annie and her contemporaries are brought to life in this compelling book…. The author's note, time line, and bibliography are particularly enlightening and reflect Elliott's careful, thorough research. The result is high quality historical fiction."
-VOYA

Flying South
HarperCollins, 2003; ages 9 up, $15.99, ISBN 0-06-001214-5

Joan G. Sugarman Award for Children's Literature, 2003
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2004, Bank Street College of Education

In the summer of 1968, a year marked by assassinations, Vietnam War protests, and civil rights rioting, Alice faces some trying concerns of her own. Alice longs for a connection with her mother, who is beautiful but distant, caught up in the search for the right husband. Alice's friendship with Bridget, a tennis-playing Twiggy, introduces her to competitiveness and the prejudice many Americans still feel toward Blacks. It is Alice's friendship with Doc, the family gardener, that brings her back to the truths that will shape her life.

"This is both a poignant mother-daughter story and a comforting tale of the affection between a lonely young girl and an irascible but devoted old man. Readers will find poignancy, humor, and history in this story."
-School Library Journal

"Elliott creates a strong sense of time and place, with issues of feminism and civil rights woven into both plot and characterization…..the rose garden metaphor is subtle, but the hurt and comfort implicit in the thorns and flowers will stay with readers."
-Booklist

"Elliott's dialogue is right on target with the soft accent of the old Southern aristocracy….her sure hand explores a complicated chapter in America's ambivalence toward race."
-Kirkus

Give Me Liberty
HarperCollins, 2006, Ages 9 Up, $16.99 ISBN 0-06-074421-9

Laced with real events and leaders, Give Me Liberty explores the American Revolution through the eyes of a 13-year-old indentured servant, a loveable and slightly eccentric schoolmaster, a hot-headed apprentice, and a runaway slave in Williamsburg, Virginia. Life has been hard for Nathaniel Dunn. It presents even tougher challenges in 1775 as he labors in the shop of a loyalist carriage-maker surrounded by patriots awakened by the ringing words of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. Fearful of the trouble taking sides might bring him, Nathaniel is slowly coaxed into believing in his rights by the old schoolmaster’s music and books. When the apprentice, Ben, is injured in a booby-trap left by British soldiers in Williamsburg’s gunpowder magazine, Nathaniel knows he must take a stand. He joins the 2nd Virginia Regiment as a fifer. But his belief in the Revolution and its ideals is marred by the fact his friend, Moses, remains in slavery. Moses’ only chance for liberty is to run away and join the British Royal Ethiopian, a Redcoat regiment of escaped Virginia slaves. In the dramatic Battle at Great Bridge in December 1775, just south of Norfolk, Nathaniel will not only face well-trained British troops, he will confront his oldest friend. What is the meaning of liberty in a country that depends on slaves and indentured servants? Nathaniel faces crucial choices as his courage and sense of right and wrong are tested when rebellion explodes in America.

“Elliott’s engaging and highly readable novel is well researched and sprinkled liberally with renowned patriots of the period. Readers come away not only with an accurate glimpse into 18th-century life, but also with a better understanding of how the colonies cooperated. Particularly noteworthy is the way in which Elliott handles the paradox of colonial Americans fighting for their independence from England yet clinging to the practice of enslaving other human beings. She does not provide pat answers, and Nathaniel’s inability to reconcile what he sees around him promises to provoke thoughtful discussion."
"A rich and robust piece of historical literature."
--School Library Journal

"...a lively account of the times with a likable narrator and solid action. As Nathaniel gets involved in the war itself and wonders about fighting for freedom and independence in a land where so many are not free, readers will be prompted to ponder the contradictions of their nation's past. Elliott takes her readers seriously, and her author's note tells more about characters and ideas."
—Kirkus Reviews