Author: Marsha

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

London Christian High

My final in-person visit of the school year was with Ms Weverink’s grade 10 English students on May 25th. The class had read Hope’s War together, but they also had Making Bombs for Hitler on their literature list so it was really neat to talk about both of these books because one was the seed for the other. In fact, Hope’s War was the seed for my two WWII trilogies. The students asked a lot of nuanced questions about character development and research and what compels me to write a story about a particular time in history. That led to a discussion about writing on topics that are suppressed and why it’s so important to advocate for people who have been silenced. I pointed out that every single one of them had been bullied at some point and so they should use that experience to put themselves in the shoes of others and advocate accordingly. Some of the students had the refugee experience in their own families so this was a resonant discussion.

I love the banner above that says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars.”

Maryvale Middle School

It was wonderful to do my first in-person US school visit since spring 2020 on May 19th with Maryvale Middle School in Cheektowaga NY. It was a busy day with three assemblies, two “donuts and discussion” roundtables with selected students plus a whole whack of book signings. There was a Scholastic Book Fair being held in the middle school library while I spoke in the high school auditorium, so students bought a LOT of books. Ms. Cortese was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough time for me to autograph them all but I assured her that I’d stay as long as necessary. I love face-to-face autographs. It’s such a neat opportunity to meet students. I thought it was also interesting that students with the same first name came in clusters to have their books signed. How nifty is that?

Maryvale has students from Ukraine, so it was also good to speak with them about the current war.

My hometown of Brantford and the Buffalo area are connected in an unusual way. The first 50 Ukrainian families came to Brantford not from Ukraine, but from Buffalo. They were employed by the Pratt & Letchworth foundry in Buffalo and when they opened up another foundry in Brantford, 50 of their employees from Ukraine settled here to work at the new plant. And the street many of them lived on in Brantford? Why Buffalo Street of course. Want to read more? Here’s an article I wrote about it way back in 1988!

The Cheektowaga Bee’s Elijah Robinson did a lovely interview and has given me permission to post it here.

This is how thick Oliver Twist (the first book I read) is. But I like to write shorter books because I try to leave out the stuff people skip over.
The photo behind me is of Rhea Clyman, one of the rare journalists who told the truth during the Holodomor. Most journalists took bribes from Moscow and suppressed news of the millions of deaths by forced starvation.
Students had fabulous questions.
Sometimes it’s nice to get right inside the audience to answer questions face to face.
Such an honor to sign books and meet readers face to face.
An author’s dream: a LOT of books to sign!
It’s so awesome having the opportunity to speak to small groups of students!
One of two donut and discussion sessions with selected students. Some really great questions.

Trauma through generations

My late father, Marsh Forchuk, who died in November, would have turned 94 tomorrow. This is a photo of him when he was about 12. He’s the one with the glasses, holding onto that bike.

Dad had to quit school at age 12 because his father was no longer able to run their Alberta farm because of injuries he’d sustained while interned as an “enemy alien” in Canada in WWI had caught up to him.

So because of my grandfather’s internment, my father’s future was forever changed.

CBC Ideas interviewed me and other descendants of internees about this. Here’s the link.

Dad, I’m thinking of you

Love, joy, renewal

Writing a pysanka is a time of quiet contemplation akin to prayer. It’s a time to think about hopes and dreams for a better future, for the things that are most important for the world and what our part is in making those happen.

Red symbolizes love and joy. Green is the renewal that comes with spring. Diamond and square shapes represent plowed fields.

A star, a cross, Ukraine’s colours

A star, a cross, Ukraine’s colours. A pysanka is written in hot beeswax with a kistka, which is like a fountain pen, only filled with melted wax rather than ink. The metal tip of the kistka is held over a candle flame, then dipped onto a cake of beeswax. The carbon from the candle darkens the wax so it’s the colour of black ink and it’s easy to see where the wax is applied to the egg. The first step is to cover up everything the artist wishes to remain white, then to soak the egg in the next lightest colour of dye – in this case yellow. Then the artist covers with wax everything that will be yellow, then soaks in the next lightest colour of dye. After all of the colours are applied, the wax is melted off.

St. John’s Kilmarnock school

Today I had the pleasure of revisiting St. John’s Kilmarnock School in Breslau ON. I met librarian Carey Gallagher (middle) two decades ago when she was a teacher and I was the writer-in-residence for a year. Back then, I met with every class at least once but spent much time encouraging aspiring writers. I still keep in touch with some of them. Today’s session was very neat because it was the first time that I met in person with students since the spring of 2020. I’ve done a ton of virtual visits but it’s just not the same. Today’s group were 10th grade History and English classes — could it be more perfect? Discussed writing about victims of atrocities in a respectful way, how to do research on topics that have been ignored and suppressed, and why risking failure is the only way forward. My favourite question was: What do you consider your best book? My answer? Dance of the Banished, which I feel is very much under-rated, but also the story is so very relevant right now. In Turkey there is a monumentally important election going on and Erdogan, who is a Putin-wannabe is finally effectively being challenged by a combined opposition led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, whose heritage is Alevi.

And then icing on the cake: Jean Mills, a writer I very much admire, came to sit in on the session. She’s on the right, holding up her newest novel.