Author: Marsha

I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.

World Read-Aloud Day!

On World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) I’m donating 12 back to back 15 minute readings / quick chats with 12 schools. Many thanks to Kate Messner who helps distribute a listing of authors willing to volunteer their time on WRAD so that students who might otherwise never hear an author read, get to do so! My schedule filled up within a day or so of being posted. The final slot was an add-on because two Manitoba students (Zander and Chaz) wanted to interview me, so I offered them this instead. Their whole class is joining in.

10:15-10:28: Sterling Grade School

10:30 – 10:43: Colchester Middle School

10:45-10:58am: Tucker Creek Middle School, NC

11am to 11:13am: Batesburg-Leesville Middle School NC

11:15-11:28am: 6th grade Mamaroneck UFSD

11:30 – 11:43: Seneca East Local Schools, Attica Ohio

11:45 – 11: 58: S. C. Lee Junior High ccisd.com

12-12:13: grades 5/6 Gideon Welles School, Glastonbury, CT

12:15 – 12:28: 6th grade, Polly Ryon Middle School in Rosenberg, Texas

12:30 (9:30 pacific) – 12:43: 8th grade, Paakuma’ San Bernardino City, California

12:45 (9:45 pacific) – 12:58: Orland California, CK Price MS

1pm – 1:15: 8th grade, Melita School, Manitoba

The Lower Power — creepy awesome read! 5/5 stars

Reading this tense supernatural thriller set in NYC’s 1980s crack epidemic is like falling down a rabbit hole and hoping, praying that there’s some way out. Michele W. Miller creates an authentic cast of characters who will break your heart and make you sit up and cheer. Raven will stay with me for a very long time.

Cold 5/5

What could be more Canadian than a wendigo killer and an Indigenous hockey player hero? Wry, amusing, and so entertaining — this isn’t the usual description for a larger-than-life-horror-thriller but it fits Drew Hayden Taylor’s Cold perfectly. I loved the tight writing and the tension of this page-turning thriller. I also appreciated the homage to so many great Indigenous Canadian writers. This refreshing and entertaining novel will amuse every reader who is willing to suspend their disbelief for just a few hundred pages.

A visit with Riverside ES

My very first virtual visit was with Riverside ES in Gwinnett County, Georgia last Thursday and it was great to be back there, as I’ve visited a few times in the past. Ms Bartholomew always has her students prepped and it’s such a pleasure to answer their considered questions. Internet gremlins foiled us though. We got through the first session with just minor hiccups, and the second session was pretty much a wash. So this morning I did the second session again. It was nice to see the same students, sitting with smiling anticipation. I started where I left off last week and there was plenty of time for questions. And Zoom liked us this time! Here are some pics from last week’s session.

In what order should I read your WWII novels?

I’ve written two WWII trilogies. The first trilogy is Making Bombs for Hitler, Stolen Girl and The War Below.

What’s their order? You can read either Making Bombs or Stolen Girl first, but read The War Below last.

Audible edition

Here’s what the books looked like when they were originally published by Scholastic Canada:

underground

The second trilogy should be read in this order: Don’t Tell the Nazis, Trapped in Hitler’s Web, and Traitors Among Us. While there is enough context in each of the novels so that they can be read as standalones, to get a true picture of Krystia and Maria’s experiences in WWII, reading them in the order that I wrote them is best.

Don’t Tell the Nazis was originally published in Canada in 2018 as Don’t Tell the Enemy. After that, Scholastic Books and Scholastic Canada published my books simultaneously, and with the same title.

Don't Tell the Enemy CVR

Winterkill takes place before World War II, at a time in the 1930s when the dictator from Moscow implemented a plan to starve Ukrainians to death so he could replace them with people of Russian and Belarusian heritage. Millions of Ukrainians were killed. This genocide is called the Holodomor (holod = hunger; mor=death). This novel chillingly reflects what is happening in Ukraine now, with Putin trying to repeat history.

Georgetown Boys

Good to see this info page posted on the Georgetown Ontario site about the Georgetown Boys, who were Armenian orphans rescued by Canadians after the Armenian Genocide. When I wrote Aram’s Choice and Call Me Aram, it took quite a bit of sleuthing to gather the information. Now a lot of it is available online. Nicely done! The Georgetown boys were brought to Canada on July 1, 1923 and they represent Canada’s first international humanitarian effort. An all too timely piece of history, alas.

arams-choice
aram2

Scarcity Brain

This highly readable self-help book delves into our addictive behaviors — what they are, how they originated and how to understand and ultimately overcome them. I like the way that each chapter is a vignette with Michael Easter going to people and their experiences that personify the issue. For example, with overeating, visiting a remote tribe where no cardiovascular problems exist, or when discussing gambling, visiting the scientists involved in transforming mechanical slot machines into video-gamified ones, and how this video-gamified model has been applied to so many other areas of our lives. Readable, refreshing and helpful. Thank you, Netgalley and Rodale books, for the ARC.