In honor of the newest time-traveling adventure to Revolutionary America, we have author, Eileen Schnabel for a fun interview!
These exciting upper middle grade / YA adventures bring history alive with a smart and lively team of time-travelers:
Kep Westguard, High school champion swimmer, Max, kid brother and history buff, Tela, vegetarian sharpshooter, and TJ, future star of stage and screen.
Book 4 in the series is out September 19, 2025!
1. Why do you write historical fiction?
I’ve loved history since I was a little girl — Caddie Woodlawn, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne of Green Gables. History always felt as adventurous as any made-up world in sci-fi or fantasy. The landscapes are real, the stakes are real, and yet the possibilities for story feel limitless.
2. Does history play a special role for middle grade or YA readers?
Absolutely. History informs every part of our lives. It deepens understanding of the world and reminds us that people have faced, and survived, incredibly tough times. Reading about courageous actions can give you courage of your own.
3. Who are your books for?
They’re upper middle grade/YA mystery-adventures, all grounded in real historical events. My goal is to let readers feel the excitement of history, with a twist of mystery for the mind and adventure for the adrenaline.
4. How did you come up with your team of characters?
That’s such an interesting question. They’ve lived in my head so long, I’m not sure I remember their exact “births.” But Kep and TJ are definitely a blend of kids I admire — my own sons, my brother, and a few others — all rolled into characters I thought would be compelling to follow into danger.
Meet Tela, the vegetarian sharpshooter
Meet Max, the kid-brother with mad history skills
Meet TJ, future star of stage and screen
Meet Kep, who thinks he can handle it all of his own. . .
5. Why is your hero, Kep Westguard, a swim champion?
I wanted him to start as an independent type, someone used to relying on himself, and have to learn to depend on a team. Swimming felt right, since it’s largely a solo sport. I was also a college swimmer, so it’s a sport I know well. No Olympic dreams, though!
6. You have "historical cameo appearances" in your books of real people from the past. How did that start?
This is one of my favorite parts — “meeting” real people from history and weaving them into my stories. My favorite cameo so far is Phillis Wheatley, the first Black author to publish a book of poetry in America, and only the second woman in the colonies to publish a book.
7. What's it like to drive a combine? Does it feel like traveling in a time machine?
Only a time machine when the AC isn’t working — which is too often! But it is empowering. My great-grandpa grew up with horse-drawn plows and lived to be 99, so I grew up hearing his stories. To his childhood self, a combine would have been pure science fiction.
Eileen Schnabel's quick combine-driving lesson:
8. Where did your villains come from?
Fox, my main villain, wants to change the outcome of the Revolution so the British win — because his family lost all their land and fortune when they had to flee as Loyalists after the war. His backstory was inspired by Loyalist legal cases I studied — I have a law degree — where people lost their land after the war and had to flee.
9. What's with the SECOND battle of Saratoga?
There really were two — the first was the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, the second the Battle of Bemis Heights. At the end of the second, British General Burgoyne surrendered thousands of troops, the first time a British army had ever surrendered. That victory convinced France to send money, troops, and a navy, all desperately needed.
10. Where can people find you?
Sign up for Eileen Schnabel’s email list so you don’t miss any secret memos.
It’s not easy to find books for ages 9 to 12. Time can be limited when you’re in a bookstore or library and you need ideas fast.
That’s why I share my favourite books for this age group here on my website, in my Readers List, and with free downloadable PDFs.
