'Her Quiet Revolution' is author Marianne Monson's latest novel.

Marianne Monson started writing when she was little, scribbling out poems and stories about fairies.

“I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing,” she said.

These days, her subject matter has changed but she’s still putting words on a page almost every day.

The Astoria-based writer recently released her 10th novel, “Her Quiet Revolution.” Monson has published books for both children and adults, and focuses on issues women have faced in history, especially in the frontier era.

The historical novel follows the life of Martha Hughes Cannon, a frontier doctor and the first female state senator.

As someone who furnished her childhood bedroom with antiques, writing historical fiction wasn’t a huge leap, Monson said.

“My mom always said I was born in the wrong era,” she said.

In fact, she wrote her first historical fiction novel when she was 14.

“It was set in France. I’d never been there and it was terrible,” Monson said with a laugh.

The book wasn’t great, but that process of researching helped Monson realize how much she loved to research and how it could pair with her love of writing.

Monson first learned of Cannon’s story when working on her earlier novel, “Frontier Grit,” which told the stories of 12 pioneer women who changed the American frontier. One of the women was Cannon.

When chatting with her editor about her next novel, Cannon’s name came up. Monson, who had already done a lot of research on Cannon, dived in.

Research isn’t easy with this subject, Monson said. She generally uses primary sources, like journals, but Cannon didn’t leave much behind. While alive, Cannon asked that her journals be burned upon her death. Her son complied.

Now, historians bemoan that decision.

Luckily, Cannon was a prolific writer, with a degree in oratory and theater, and wrote many letters. Monson was able to use the letters to pull together her story. She also used newspaper articles.

Cannon achieved some fame in her life, as she became the first female state senator 24 years before women could vote. Beyond that, she beat her own husband for the seat.

Monson traveled to Salt Lake City, where Cannon lived, during her research and looked through her notebook from medical school. The unpublished work offered a feast of information about Cannon. Quotes from the notebook start each chapter in the novel.

“She really was a remarkable woman who overcame barriers to become a highly trained and adept doctor,” Monson said.

As part of her research process, Monson traveled to Wales and visited the small seaside town of Llandudno, where Cannon was born.

Though Cannon and her family left Wales after they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cannon later returned with her daughter after being put in exile. She was found practicing polygamy, which was illegal. She fled federal agents and arrest by moving back to Wales.

While there, she went on a journey through southern Wales. Monson retraced that journey while doing her research. She said she was able to see “incredibly beautiful places” and find a connection with Cannon’s history.

While researching, Monson wrote along the way. There were times on her trips to Wales that she would sit in old cemeteries and other sites and write down thoughts and passages in a notebook, to be later put into her book.

Monson earned a degree in English literature in school. After graduating, she worked in a publishing house.

“I figured, if I couldn’t work as a writer, I might as well work with writers,” she said.

She learned a lot about the world of publishing and published her first book in 2000. The book, oddly enough, was about fairies.

Even when Monson wasn’t doing what she thought of then as “real writing,” she always kept journals. She has stacks of them, journals she used to process her feelings and work through things in her life.

“I started realizing that it’s basically how I learned to write,” Monson said.

Monson said for her, writing brings “self-expression, creativity, connection and communication.”

She has loved reading for as long as she could remember and has had an affinity for classics since first picking up books.

“I have been profoundly, deeply and totally changed by books that I have read,” Monson said.

Monson also enjoys creating a conversation between author and reader.

One of her dreams is to write a book that will mean something to someone.

“I am now part of this broader conversation that happens between writers and their readers,” she said.

‘Her Quiet Revolution’ By Marianne Monson

Shadow Mountain — 368 pp — $24.99