Category: News stories

One day they will send for her, but how long must Van Ho wait for her family to find a way to get her out of South Vietnam?

During the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Van wakes up one morning to find that her mother, two sisters, Loan and Lan, and brother, Tuan, are gone. They have escaped the new communist regime that has taken over Ho Chi Minh City for freedom in the West. Four-year-old Van is too young—and her grandmother is too old—for such a dangerous journey by boat, so the two have been left behind. Once settled in North America, her parents will eventually be able to sponsor them, and Van and her grandmother will fly away to safety. But in the meantime, Van is forced to work hard to satisfy her aunt and uncle, who treat her like an unwelcome servant. And at school she must learn that calling attention to herself is a mistake, especially when the bully who has been tormenting her turns out to be the son of a military policeman.

Told with the help of award-winning author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Van Ho‘s true story strikes at the heart and will resonate with so many families affected by war, where so many children are forced to live under or escape from repressive regimes.

The War Below comes out in the US on April 24, 2018!!!

Are you in Canada? It’s published in Canada as Underground Soldier.

Check out this awesome book trailer:

Speaking with students from Katy Texas for #ReadAcrossAmeria:

Speaking in person with St. Bernadette students:

Such an honour to be invited to speak at the Reading for the Love of It conference. So many good people and great conversations.

Many thanks to the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter for sponsoring this book launch. We had a wonderful turnout.

One of the highlights was meeting the girls of a CYM book club. I suggested they arrive 45 minutes before the start of the launch so they could ask questions about my other books.

The other highlight was being given the opportunity to honour Krystia for her bravery. After my talk, the audience gave Krystia a standing ovation.

I asked her to sit at the table so she could sign books with me. It was also wonderful to meet three generations of her family.

Every once in awhile you get to have one of those perfect author visits. You know the ones I mean, when the teacher-librarian looks after ALL the details, from reserving a parking spot with an orange cone for you to asking you to text as you arrive so she can send students out to help you carry things in? And then you enter and are ushered into a room with a carefully prepared lunch? Iwona also invited Iryna Korpan, the daughter of the real Krystia from my newest novel, Don’t Tell the Enemy. She also invited an interviewer from a Ukrainian TV show.

When I walked into the gym, the students were abuzz with anticipation. They all knew my novels and loved them. Such a receptive audience makes it easy to present — the questions are so great.

And after the presentation there were a number of surprises. Iryna thanked me for writing the story of her brave mother and grandmother, and she also introduced the grandson of Maria, Krystia’s younger sister. He is a student at the school. He stood up and his fellow students went wild with applause.

But the surprise that brought me to tears was when the Grade 5 class sang to me the Kolysanka from Stolen Child and Making Bombs for Hitler. Their music teacher had downloaded the Ukrainian words and music from my website. I am so grateful to Cornelia Bilinsky for scanning this in and sending it to me. They’ve promised that they will record the grade 5’s singing it, and I will upload it here. I can hardly wait!