Daniel W. Homstad - Author

Contact Information

Address:
8085 - 134th Street West
Apple Valley, MN 55124

Book Category: Young Adult Fiction

Books

Hero's Heart: A Novella of World War II. Publish America, June 2005. Horse Dreamer, September 2001, America House Book Publishers

Highlights

Mr. Homstad has contributed two works of historical fiction to the young adult genre. Synopsis of Horse Dreamer: Sixteen-year-old Zakarias ("Zak") Hammer, born to a white father and a Dakota Indian mother, is considered neither fish nor fowl by an 1862 Minnesota frontier society. When the Dakota attack Minnesota's prairie settlements, Zak is unwillingly thrust into the conflict and sees it from both sides. After the Dakota are defeated by the U.S. Army, Zak's Dakota cousin his same age is captured and wrongly labeled as a "war criminal" to be executed. Zak takes drastic measures to save his cousin, and in so doing makes a choice about his heritage that changes his life forever. Synopsis of Hero's Heart: Jorge Ramirez is a thirteen-year-old migrant worker toiling in the sugar beet fields of North Dakota. Joe Jensen is the son of the landowner for whom Jorge works. The two boys come from backgrounds as different as night and day, but a love of baseball forges an unlikely friendship between them. Shortly after World War II erupts, Jorge runs away and lies about his age to join the Marines with Joe. Still only teenagers, they endure the grueling training that makes them soldiers. Together they endure the horrors of war until, on a tiny Pacific island called Iwo Jima, a moment of unbearable sacrifice changes their lives forever. Mr. Homstad is a 1990 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, and a 1993 graduate of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, MN.

Awards

Presentations

"Historical Fiction: Research and Writing" (45 minutes - 1 hour, middle school and up). Can be merged or adapted according to curriculum.

Fees

$100 per hour while in presentation ($100 minimum)

Added: 10/3/2001

Updated: 2006/07/18:0