What inspired you to write your memoir?
As my dad got into his late 80’s, he had quite a few medical problems and became much less active than he had been. When there were occasions for gift giving, I wanted to give him something that would have special meaning for him. So I started writing stories for him, stories of my childhood and the various things he had done that had a lasting impact on me. Some were rather funny, some poignant, but they were all written to let him know how much I appreciated his efforts to be a great father.
Several years later, I found myself about as lost as I had ever been. We had been hard hit by the economy, like so many other people, and I was feeling pretty beat up by life. I came across hand-written pages of an experience with a tomato plant (of all things!) tucked away in a drawer. When I read it, I cried, smiled at the silliness of life and felt more hopeful. Embedded in it was an old lesson learned that I had forgotten. It seemed to be a “parable” and I realized I had a story to tell that I knew others could relate to.
By the way, the second chapter in my book is called “The Parable of the Porcelain Figurines” and it came directly from one of my gift stories to my dad.
About your Book:
The Kirkus Review gives the best synopsis of my book:
“Roberts strings together a series of autobiographical vignettes in her debut inspirational memoir.
The belief that anything is possible is something many people lose as they grow older. For Roberts, however, this belief always finds a way to resurface, even in bleak circumstances. Each short chapter of her memoir focuses on a single experience or lesson. Some of her experiences are quite extraordinary—such as the life-changing vision she claims to have received from God, detailed in “The September 13th Parable”—but others are fairly commonplace, like the story of her dog, Smokey, who trusted Roberts completely as she led him through a storm. The extraordinary stories highlight what Roberts sees as the miraculous nature of life, while the ordinary ones ground the overall narrative and make it believable. The author’s life hasn’t always been easy; she had a difficult relationship with her mother, a divorce and numerous financial struggles. Instead of dwelling on these negatives, however, Roberts uses them to illustrate how each circumstance opened the door for something magical: healing the rift between her and her mother, meeting the love of her life and finding unexpected solutions to her financial problems. Her voice is conversational, not stilted or academic, with a clear, uncluttered style that makes her memoir an easy, casual read. Moreover, she portrays many moments with a light touch, particularly when she speaks about faith-related matters, such as the power of prayer. At one point, she writes, “I know God always hears me when I pray. And I know I’m the happiest, the most peaceful with myself when it’s a two-way conversation, when I’m listening.”
An optimistic look at the magic of life.”
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
I had submitted my book to a significant number of agents and had received terrific responses, but no agent. Finally one agent took the time to write me a long email, explaining that she really wanted to represent me, but that the publishing industry had changed so much, she didn’t think she could find me a publisher. She told me that a publisher now expects a new author to have such a significant platform that they could sell 20,000 copies of the book themselves. I had “the beginning of a platform,” but not large enough to convince a publisher.
At this exact same time, a friend sent me a copy of an article in the Wall Street Journal about how accessible the whole e-pub world had become. The article literally walked the reader through the steps and explained how to do it. I decided that if I was going to be expected to sell 20,000 copies myself anyway, I might as well get the highest percentage possible for that effort, and that definitely is by publishing it yourself through the Kindle KDP program and other outlets, such as Smashwords, which makes your book available to Barnes & Noble, as a I-book, etc. My book is also in paperback by publishing through Create Space and is available through all major retailers through their easy-to-use system.
How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
A novelist invents characters and a plot, which includes, among other things, convincing dialogue, situations and conflicts. Then he tries to put it all together with a narrative thrust that will excite the imagination of the readers and make them want to keep turning pages. As a memoirist, you have to take existing people (including yourself!) and turn them into compelling characters the readers will want to spend time with. Experiences that are very personal must be changed into a kind of a “plot” that has a story arc. The end result should present a portion of your life in an engaging way that the reader can relate to, while at the same time providing insight into a broader sense of the human condition.
Author Bio:
Marsha began her professional career as a scrub nurse in open-heart surgery, but her gypsy spirit wouldn’t leave her alone. At twenty-three she walked away from that life to travel and seek new adventures, which she found all over the world. She worked as an art director, stage manager and film editor, but realized (quite by accident!) that she had a knack for selling creative projects. She then produced marketing films and elaborate Corporate Theatre presentations for IBM, Coca-Cola, Revlon, and Georgia-Pacific among others.
This led the way to developing and producing a full theatrical production, “Letters From the Front,” the only professional play to tour American military bases around the world. Her travels took her to Germany, England, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Japan, Guam and the Indian Ocean, plus virtually every major city in the states including those in Alaska and Hawaii – all with her kid in tow.
This heartfelt show touched hundreds of thousands of lives, toured for fifteen years and was the first play ever to perform in the Pentagon. The daunting process of getting this never-been-done-before production off the ground and onto a worldwide stage gave her a keen awareness of what it takes to overcome life’s obstacles and find the miraculous in the commonplace. Much of what she discovered can be found in her debut inspirational memoir, Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer and her Parable of the Tomato Plant. She is currently writing the second book in her Mutinous Boomer series.
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6037984.Marsha_Roberts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marsha-Roberts-Author/218916171540114
https://twitter.com/MutinousBoomer
