Thank you, J.P. Antonacci for this wonderful story in the Hamilton Spectator, titled, “A writer’s promise to her young readers — to tell the truth.”
Hamilton Spectator, Winterkill, Kobzar and Firefly & Fox
Author: Marsha
I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.
Book review: How to make herself agreeable to everyone, by Cameron Russell
A compelling look at the seamy underside of the fashion industry, told from the perspective of a vulnerable young person who had more of a backbone than most right from the beginning but was still manipulated and abused. Instead of letting herself remain a victim, she used her visibility became an advocate for others in order to help change the system. This book will also go a long way in doing that. Thank you, Cameron Russell, for sharing your experiences in what must have been a very painful memoir to write.
More pics from WRAD
World Read-Aloud Day
WRAD is always a very nifty day. It’s like running a race, hoping that no technical barriers or complications arise at the last moment. The wonderful Kate Messner posts author availability early each New Year and educators rush in to nab their brief free virtual sessions. It’s a great way for schools who could otherwise never afford an author visit to let their students interact with a live author.
On the other side of the screen, it can be a challenge for authors. I’ve heard stories of authors being booked for a full day and then when WRAD approaches, being faced with a string of cancelations when educators opt for a “better” author — how humiliating. Also, this can leave an author with an uneven day. I’ve heard of authors generously setting aside a 12 hour span to cover a wide number of time zones, carefully planning the day with brief intervals in between, but then when the day arrives, being confronted with no shows or last minute cancellations. This leaves the author in limbo, still needing to be on the ready, but having big gaps between presentations. Not a respectful way to treat authors who’ve kindly donated their time.
One way that I get around this is to not give a slot to any educator who sends a mass message to authors or who sends a canned message to me. In order for me to volunteer my time to speak to a school the educator must demonstrate that they’re familiar with me and my work and that their students want to hear from me. Also, I book short sessions — just 15 minutes each — and book them back to back with no downtime in between. This year I booked 12 in three hours. All of my slots were filled within 48 hours of them being posted. Today I did 11 of them. One educator had unresolvable zoom problems. But I was thrilled to speak with students for three hours straight and still have the rest of the day to concentrate on writing. A win-win all around.
Here are some students from today:
Firefly & Fox, Ryan and the Kobzar Award
Winterkill is shortlisted for the Kobzar Book Award, and in preparation for the event night, Ryan Boyko has been tasked with doing short videos about all of the nominees. I love supporting independent bookstores so it was a natural choice to ask Catherine if we could do the interview at her wonderful Simcoe bookstore, Firefly & Fox. That’s Catherine standing beside me with her son Gilbert.
Ryan and I have known each other for quite along time. We’re both passionate about shedding light on Ukrainian and Canadian Ukrainian history and we’ve both been banned by Russia. Ryan is best known for That Never Happened his searing documentary on WWI internment, but he’s done so much more than that! So good to compare notes with my creative friend.
Such a great experience all around, getting to know Catherine and catching up with Ryan. If you’re in Simcoe Ontario, be sure to drop by this fabulous store.
Philipovna
It was a six degrees of separation kind of day yesterday. I had lunch with Robin Baird Lewis, Brantford born and raised like me, and a book person. She’s the illustrator of the iconic picture book Red is Best, written by Kathy Stinson.
Robin was in town for a few days and emailed to see if we could get together. She had something for me: a book by another fellow book person, Valentina Gal, author of Philipovna a novel/memoir of the Holodomor, which is the same topic as my latest novel, Winterkill. Robin and Valentina are in the same knitting group!
I read Philipovna and LOVED it. I was thrilled to get a hard copy of the book from the author herself as I only had the e-edition, and it is such a powerful book. But also, I wanted to share with her, through Robin, another connection that we had, that both of our books had been discussed in Mateusz Świetlicki‘s groundbreaking work on Ukrainian Canadian historical literature for young people. I brought the book to our lunch to show Robin, and will be sending snaps of the pertinent pages so that Robin can read them to Valentina. How nifty is that?
An aspiring writer asks ….
Hey Marsha! I’ve contacted you before about a book, and decided to write a new one about XXX, this is what I have for now:
Chapter 1 (page or two of story ….)
My response:
Dear xxx,
First, congratulations on plunging into a story! So many people say they want to write but never get around to actually doing it. But I cannot read your story. If I read every story readers sent me, I wouldn’t have time to write. Years ago, as a solution to wanting to help aspiring writers but not having the time to do it, I created a private online critique group for writers.
You would be welcome to join it once you write the first draft of an entire chapter book and you are age 16 or over (I’d want an email from a parent to confirm permission). The critique group is free, but in order to stay in it, you give other participants feedback on their work in exchange for feedback on yours.
So, in the meantime, happy writing. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
all the best
Marsha
Zander and Chaz ask questions.
What inspired you to become a writer and author?
I have dyslexia and didn’t learn to read until I was 9 — taught myself with big fat novels. Once I got hooked on reading I decided to write the books I couldn’t find — on topics that others didn’t write about, and also the way I like to read them, which is action-paced.
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you, while you’re still working on a book?
Make a note of it and go back when I have time.
What was your favorite book to write and publish? Why?
My picture book Enough. I talk about that here.
What do you want to be known for or remembered for?
For honoring those who have been forgotten.
When did you publish your first book and how many books have you published?
To be clear, I don’t “publish” books. I write them. A publisher publishes them. There is a lot of misinformation online about what it means to publish a book. If you google it, the first 5 or more pages of your search are all scams and ads. In reality, an author submits a book to a publishing house. They look at thousands of submissions a year and out of all that, select a few for publication. The author signs a contract and is paid a percentage from each book sold — usually 10% of the list price. What you see online is really often people having their book printed, not published, and that means you can write anything of any quality, pay money, and have it made into a book.
Now, back to your original question, here are all my books:
Some have been republished in different editions and different titles and languages so hard to count them all. For example, my first book, Silver Threads, was published first in 1996, then in 2003, and again in 2023, and in Ukrainian and Korean editions too.
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.
