Category: News stories

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 Baird Lewis with three connected books
The middle book in this photo is beautifully illustrated by Robin. She works with people who have specialty book projects.

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.

enough

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:

All 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.

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.