Last July, 11-year-old Linnea Cameron set sail in her imagination and began writing about the swashbuckling adventures of a ship crewed by a family of pirates. 

A year and a few drafts later, “The Pirates of the Mediterranean” has hit bookshelves. 

Set in Greece, the book follows the treasure-hunting adventures of Diana, a spirited 11-year-old. 

In the search for Zeus’s treasure, the family sets course on the Mediterranean Sea, “only to discover danger, deception, and a destiny far greater than gold,” as ancient secrets are revealed along the way, a book description states. 

“From talking monkeys to cursed islands and storm-battered shipwrecks, Diana must rely on her wit, courage, and the love of her family to stay one step ahead of the gods themselves."  

Cameron said she loosely based Diana on herself — both have big dreams — but magnified the character’s adventuresomeness. 

As an avid reader and writer, Cameron knew she wanted to write a book in third grade. But the soon-to-be Whitefish Middle School seventh grader didn’t think it would happen this soon.  

The opportunity finally arrived to set aside time to write with regularity when she enrolled in Whitefish School District's Growth and Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Studies and Habits program, commonly known as GO FISH. 

In the weekly class, her teacher, Addy Connelly, tasked students to choose a long-term project to work on. Some students worked on cooking, knitting, language and art projects, Cameron said. She took the plunge to start writing her first book.  

Familiar with writing short stories, Cameron wanted to grow her skills and take her talents further by tackling a chapter book. The ship-sized story arrived with 141 pages written for ages 8 and up. 

When she set out to write the book, she didn’t know yet how it would end. 

“I made things up as I went on, page by page, and if I had lots of inspiration, I wrote a lot of pages,” Cameron said. 

About two to three drafts went through the editing process, which she said was time-consuming and had Connelly and her parents reading the drafts. 

“The final product was a totally different read from the first draft,” her father, Reynolds Cameron, said. 

“I liked that it transported me into another world,” she added. 

For the subject matter, Cameron took inspiration from Greek mythology, having recently been immersed in the myths through a Kids College class on the topic at Flathead Valley Community College along with listening to the National Geographic Kids podcast, “Greeking Out.”  

“It’s interesting to see what the people in ancient Greece and the ancient world thought about the natural world and the order of it,” she said. 

She also took some inspiration from the “Percy Jackson” and “Harry Potter” book series, which are personal favorites. 

She has also dabbled in historical fiction and is the 2025 winner of the annual Montana State Library Historical Picture Prompt Writing Contest for the third through sixth grade division. Through the competition, participants were given historical photos as story prompts. Cameron wrote her fictional piece using a photo of the JE Ross City stables during the 1900 flood at Chinook from the Charles E. Morris Collection. 

As for the pirates?  

“I just watched ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ so I was thinking about something pirate-y,” she said, referencing the Disney movies.  

Her first book sale was at The Bookshelf, 101 S. Main St. in Kalispell, where copies are available for purchase. 

"It was exciting and inspiring that people want to read this book,” she said. 

In Montana, the book is also available for purchase at Royal Road Bookstore, 521 E. Peach St. Suite A, Bozeman. It is also available online at Amazon.com. 

Three book signings around the valley are planned this weekend. 

From 11 a.m. to noon Saturday she will be at Jersey Boys Pizzeria, 550 First St. E. in Whitefish and from 1 to 2 p.m., she will be at Astute Salon and Spa, 141 Main St. in Kalispell. On Sunday, she will be at Sonder Montana, 1189 Montana 83 in Bigfork, from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].