Interview With Author Marsha Mildon
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written all my life, and in several genres. My first book was a book of my poetry (paid for by my wonderful father). From poetry, I went on to stage plays, one full length, and several one act plays for a group that toured schools. Then came two mystery novels inspired by my time as a scuba diving instructor—scuba diving is a passion of mine as are mysteries. Somewhere in there were two fifty-year histories, first of the Edmonton Social Planning Council where I’d worked, and second of the Edmonton Women’s Shelter I’d helped start. Most recently, I’ve written two literary adventure novels, set in Peru, a country I love where I have trekked as well as volunteer taught in a free school for children of poor families, during eight six week long visits.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Beware When the Cormorants Dance is my recent novel, set in the North Coast area of Peru. I’d already written one Peru novel and thought it was my last. Instead as a dog lover, I was creating ‘photos’, of several dogs and dog people I was in touch with daily on Twitter. I called the dogs the Indiana Bones Group, and they were doing great deeds all over the world. At one point, I was reading about new archaeological discoveries in Peru and I created a photo of the Bones Group protecting a real life archaeologist who had been shot once by squatters who had been living on the land she’d started excavating. That ‘shot’ hit my writer mind and I started this new novel about two characters from my previous Peru novel and a whole group of new ones excavating a previously unknown ancient culture while also competing in the annual (real life) Trujillo Marinera Festival—great fun writing this one with excavations, dancing with beautiful horses as well as humans, and dangerous enemies, new and old.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am basically someone who simply turns on my laptop and writes. However a little King Charles Cavalier Spaniel came into my life three years ago, named Tupac after the last Inca Emperor who fought the conquistadors. Tupac absolutely HATES it when I turn away from him to work on the laptop. So to manage my two great loves—dogs and writing—I wrote most of this recent novel between 3 and 7 a.m. while Tupac sleeps. People shake their heads at me when they hear about that, so I suppose it’s a little unusual.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was very lucky back in 1976 to attend the six week writing workshop at the Banff School of Fine Arts where Canadian authors W.O. Mitchell, Sylvia Fraser, and Alice Munro were all teaching. Their teaching turned me from an amateur into a real author who works every day at my profession. I had read W.O’s novel ‘Who Has Seen The Wind’ in high school, the first Canadian novel I ever knew about. I had loved that amazing novel, the first I knew of set in my country, the first time I realized a Canadian could be a real author, and that was what brought me to the Banff school.
What are you working on now?
I just launched Beware When the Cormorants Dance on November 15, my 79th birthday, so I’m mostly catching my breath at the moment. However I have over a thousand photographs I’ve taken through my life, and I’ve decided to take some of them—one at a time—to head short stories from my life. I’ve just started with a photo I took in Esmeraldas Ecuador where I was teaching a group of street kids, Los Chicos de la Calle, computer and Internet use plus English so they could work in an Internet centre. That was a wonderful time with wonderful children so should make a great little story.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not brilliant at promoting anything, but my website is probably my best: marshamildonwriting.ca
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Even more than talent, you need persistence. No matter how wonderful your writing is and no matter how hard you’ve worked on your story, getting published will be difficult. Never give up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I heard came from both W. O. Mitchell and Alice Munro. Basically, the both said write what fascinates you, then revise and revise and revise until it will fascinate readers.
What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading ‘Insistent’, the non-fiction story of how Joey Ramp-Adams managed to learn to live again after a devastating brain injury with the help of a Golden Retriever Service Dog and went on to a career getting Service Dogs into science laboratories. And I’m also rereading Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet, books brimming with the most beautiful prose I’ve read.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As I mentioned above, I’m planning to write some short autobiographical stories. However, I was planning something like that before being inspired to write my most recent novel…
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d bring Durrell’s “Alexandria Quartet’ and Alice Munro’s ‘Dear Life’. And I’d add to those two the ‘Desert Island Cookbook’, by Samantha and Don Lindgren, and ‘The Best of Agatha Christie.’
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