The Railway Flower: Local author releases fourth book

The fourth installment in Lisa Oatway's Blue Crescent Moon series is out now

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Teaching children about Canada's history is a passion for a Bolton author.

Lisa Oatway is the author of the Blue Crescent Moon series, fantasy novels for junior readers that follow the adventures of the Stonehart family across Canada. 

The fourth book in the series, The Railway Flower, is out now at local bookstore Forster's Book Garden and online on Amazon.

There are four Stonehart siblings: Daniel, Veronica, James, and Victoria.

Victoria, affectionately called Tori by her family, has the ability to travel back in time to help people in need — and if that wasn't cool enough, she can talk to animals, too.

Each adventure the Stonehart family embarks on is in a different province. In the first three books, they traveled to Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Ontario (the latter of which was a staycation).

In The Railway Flower, the Stoneharts travel to B.C. and the children go back in time to help a young Chinese girl who becomes stuck on a frozen lake. It's set in 1883, a time when the labour of Chinese workers was exploited to build railroads. Chinese workers received half the pay white workers did, and were subject to dangerous working and living conditions.

In the early chapters of The Railway Flower, children are also taught about food insecurity and helping others as the Stoneharts volunteer at their local food bank.

Oatway said sharing her stories with children and seeing their excitement is all the motivation she needs to keep writing. She's an advocate for the power of writing and encourages everyone to give it a try.

“We all have a story that's worth telling,” said Oatway.

When she's writing a novel, Oatway aims to write 500 words per day. It's a number that works for her, and she said every writer has their own rhythm and way of doing things. Before writing a book, she'll usually do three or four months of research as all her books involve historical facts. Oatway will also complete a high-level plotline before starting to write.

Oatway has decided her next book will take place in Newfoundland, where Vikings visited Canada over 1,000 years ago.