Author: Marsha

I have promised myself that when I’m finished writing the manuscript for Daughter of War that I will reward myself by carving out some time to make pysanky — Ukrainian written eggs. I have already bought a lovely array of dyes and have also got about 18 beautifully smooth eggs in the refrigerator, waiting to be processed.

And yesterday, my father dropped by with a fresh turkey egg. It’s perfectly smooth and a fair bit bigger than an extra large egg. I’ll have to practice on the regular eggs before I tackle this one.

I wrote 3000 words yesterday and the same today, but I also deleted 3000 words over the last few days. I’m so close to the end of this novel that I can taste it. (It doesn’t taste like raw eggs …….)

I am so very pleased. Another one of my kidcritters has received a contract offer. I won’t use her last name or say who the publisher is yet because the contract isn’t yet signed. But this has been a stellar year for private kidcritters.

In case you’re wondering what private kidcrit is, follow the link to Books and Writers Community and you can find out. Books and Writers is the oldest literary community on the internet. It actually predates the internet. I have been the section leader for the two children’s writing sections there for more than ten years now. One of the sections is out in the public — YA/Children’s Lit — and the other — Private Kidcrit — is hidden. One must ask my permission to be granted entry. That’s why my avatar here holds a wand. In the last few months, three of my kidcritters have received contracts. Congratulations, James, Pat and now, Marina!! And Linda’s first book is coming out in September and Kate’s two books are coming out soon and Amy’s agent loves her newest manuscript.

What can I say? Private Kidcrit rocks.

I am proud of the fact that my Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has officially recognised the fact of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

This action has not been without repercussions. See this story for background info:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/realitycheck/20060509gray.html

I wish the Turkish government would come to terms with the fact of the Armenian Genocide. Blackmailing countries into denial doesn’t change history. I am not an Armenian and I am not Turkish. When I began my initial decade of research into the events of 1915, I had no preconceived ideas. What I found were hundreds of first-hand survivor accounts of Armenians. Every single Armenian in Canada today lost a family member during the genocide. How can that be denied?

And what also must be acknowledged is that this was a government action. These were not isolated incidents initiated by individuals. What also must be acknowledged is that there would have been no survivors had it not been for the heroic Muslims — Turks, Kurds and Arabs — who saved Armenians and risked their own lives doing so.

The F&Gs are in! That means the book isn’t much far behind.

“F&Gs” sounds rude, but what it means is “folded & gathereds” — or the pages themselves printed and collated but not yet sewn or bound.

And I ordered a whole whack of postcards today with the Aram’s Choice cover. I even ordered 50 magnets.

I like to have postcards on hand with all of my books listed on the back and also my website and contact info. I use them like a business card but also give them to kids when they want autographs. Much better than signing a scrap of paper (or someone’s hand or arm …..)

I have been getting my postcards from a place in Toronto, but I found a cheaper and QUICKER place (and may I add — much more polite place?)

Here’s the website of the nice new fast place:

http://www.vistaprint.ca

I am a former dog owner. We had a German Shepherd when I was a kid, and I had Pepper, my dear Miniature Schnauzer, for nearly 15 years.

I know that dogs need to run. And I also know that they’re woman’s best friend, but…

I resent it when I’m on a walk and a big unfamiliar unleashed dog comes bounding up at me. The dog MIGHT be harmless and MIGHT be friendly, and invariably, the owner will say, “He won’t hurt you.”

I’m sure most are completely harmless. But when Pepper was just a pup, he was attacked by two large unleashed dogs just as the owner was saying, “They wouldn’t hurt a flea.”

Pepper nearly died. He had puncture wounds all around his neck and down his back. I literally had to beat the dogs off him. After that, I began to carry a stick as protection.

I don’t have a dog anymore, but I do take 10 kilometer brisk walks three or four times a week. There are beautiful walking trails all over Brant County and I have walked on many of them. Usually, when a person with a dog approaches, they’ll quickly leash the dog til I pass. In addition to this being the law, it is also common courtesy.

A few years ago, I was jogging down the street. An elderly neighbour was walking her dog on the other side of the street. I was quite a ways away, but the dog pulled the neighbour, got away from her grasp, and lunged at me. The dog bit me in the butt.

Now I’m not one to give up on my exercise easily, so I continued my run. When I got home, I realized that I had blood down my leg and a puncture wound in my butt. I called the neighbour and she told me I was a liar. She then said that if the dog did indeed bite me, then it was my fault for running past the dog. I further inconvenienced her by reporting the incident to the police and from then on, the dog had to be muzzled. I wasn’t so much worried for my butt as I was for the very small children in our neighbourhood.

Years passed with no more bad dog (or should I say bad dog OWNER) incidents.

Then a few weeks ago, a black lab bounded, unleashed, down one of my favourite rail trails. I stood stock still, holding my breath.
The dog bounded past me. The owner passed thirty feet later. I said to her, “I would appreciate it if you would leash your dog.”

She said to me, “He won’t f-ing hurt you.”

Hmmm. Very pleasant.

Since then, I have seen her a number of times, and she seems to take pleasure in having the dog bound right up to me while she lollies along, not even watching her dog. She has an extraordinary vocabulary of obscenities too, which she uses as she passes. Perhaps a muzzle is in order.

I got a photo of her and her unleashed dog last week. And I have reported her. HA!

Brantford Book Camps have their website up. Check it out. Go to my website at:

http://www.calla.com

and click on Bookcamps.

A version is also posted on the Wilfred Laurier University site here:

http://cubic.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=818&s_id=2423

The Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society hosted a wonderful event in honour of my novel, Nobody’s Child, on Sunday.

This event was unlike any I have ever been to. For much of the proceedings, I sat in the audience and listened. The master of ceremonies talked about my novel and my background and the fact that I’m not Armenian. Then he introduced a group of elementary students who had volunteered to be readers. Then he introduced Professor Lorne Shirinian, who is a writer, Armenian historian, and son of a Georgetown Boy.

Lorne got up and did a “review” of Nobody’s Child. I don’t mean the sort of review that you read in the paper. It was more like a detailed dissection of the novel. When he reached certain points, he would ask one of the students to get up and read a selection from my novel that illustrated his point.

It was a moving experience for me to sit in the audience and to listen to this. It was obvious that Lorne admires Nobody’s Child and his perceptive interpetation was interesting for me to listen to. The students’ readings were moving too. It was all the more moving because Lorne and the students had all lost family in the real life Armenian Genocide.

As I listened, I found myself close to tears. The characters in Nobody’s Child have been in my heart and mind for nearly 20 years now. They are real people to me. The selections chosen were the most heart-rending ones: those most difficult to write.

Then it was my turn to speak. I simply said a few thanks and then suggested people ask questions. The common theme of all the questions was, “What made you write about the Armenian Genocide when you’re not Armenian?” and “These characters, the setting, the geography is so accurate. How did you manage that?” Others wanted to know why I wouldn’t have written about a tragedy that was more accessible, like the Holocaust.

I explanined that this story made me write it. I did not go out in search of it. When I first interviewed Carl Georgian for a magazine profile way back in the late 1980s, I had never heard of the Armenian Genocide and didn’t know about the Georgetown Boys. What he told me of his father’s experiences chilled me to the bone. I couldn’t sleep at night because so many questions were swirling around my brain. That one interview started me on a ten year quest for information and answers. And it resulted in many books. In addition to Nobody’s Child, there is The Hunger, published in 1999 that also touches on the Armenian Genocide. And in June, Aram’s Choice will be published, and next year, Call Me Aram. And I am currently writing Daughter of War, the sequel to Nobody’s Child.

I hope that by illuminating the lives of these characters, I can put these ghosts to rest. What we forget, we are bound to repeat.

The reason I write about this and not a genocide that is more “accessible” is because the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century. It was shoved under the carpet and forgotten. Perhaps if that hadn’t been done, other 20th century genocides would have been prevented by public uproar.

Just wanted to let you know that the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society is sponsoring an event for Nobody’s Child on Sunday April 30th at 2pm.

It will be at the Armenian Community Centre
49 Hallcrown Place,
North York ON

Refreshments will be served before the presentation.

I will be there signing books and giving a short talk. Students from the ARS Day School will be reading selected passages.

It’s open to the public.

I got a lovely letter in the mail the other day. It was from the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations. This organization has been around for 122 years. This year, they have decided to honour six Canadian Ukrainian women who:

“have maintained their culture, language and heritage and who have attained or made a significant impact in their careers.”

I am honoured to be one of the six chosen. Here are the other five:

Lida Baday, Designer
Luba Goy, Entertainer
Laryssa Patten, Scientist
Mimi Kuzyk, Actor
Bohdana Zvonok — Mountain Climber