Last month I did a book
review of Run, River Currents by
Ginger Marcinkowski. This book is based on a true
story. Ginger was kind enough to do an interview on publishing such a heartfelt
story. Thank you Ginger.
You can follow Ginger on Facebook, blog, or view her website here. Today you can get her
book, Run,
River Currents FREE on Kindle.
1.
How did
you come to the decision to share your life story? Did you feel God lead you to
share your experience through writing?
I
think the decision chose me. In the very first class I attended at Wilkes
University, my instructor stood in the front of the class and said, “You all
think you are here to write the story YOU want to tell. Well, I’ve got news
folks, you can write all you want, but until the story that HAS to be told
comes out of you, you’ll never be able to fully write what you want to
write.” At the time, I thought he was
crazy. My story WAS going to be a humorous story about my mother and her
escapades. I wrote and wrote, what my mentor, Sara Pritchard fondly called “tid-bits.”
Everyday she’d call me out, telling me that my writing was good, but there was
more to the story than what I was telling. She challenged me to face what I was
trying to write, to dig deep inside and tell the story that was buried in me.
Out came Run, River Currents. I never knew I’d been holding such pain inside
until then.
2. Were you concerned about hurting family by
telling such intimate details of your growing up?
That
was another lesson learned from an instructor, Kaylie Jones, daughter of Jack
Jones, who wrote From Here to Eternity. An accomplished writer in her own
right, she encouraged me to just tell the truth and realize that whatever story
I wrote, it was MY story. But remember, I took great liberty in this book of
fiction. The places were real. The striking event was real, but the characters
were combinations of my siblings and people I love.
3. Even though you changed names in the story,
did get you get permission from family before writing?
I
actually didn’t feel I needed anyone’s permission to write this. This is MY
fictional story. My siblings are such a special group of people, all of them
loving and kind. We lived in the same household most of the time, but our
experiences were very different. Some of my siblings had no idea that this kind
of abuse had taken place as it didn’t happen to every child. We’ve only begun
to talk about it as adults.
4. Was your family supportive of your decision
to publish your testimony of coming to Christ in this manner?
Again,
because I didn’t feel like I needed permission, I wasn’t worried about my
family’s reaction. Each of us came to Christ in the manner God chose for us.
For most of us, it was an ugly journey to the Cross. I will tell you though,
that no one could have had more support than I did from their family. I did
warn them it would be a dark story. Most of them have read the book now. It’s
opened up some wonderful conversations and some beautiful memories as well as
dark memories. I’ve only had a little pushback from one sibling, but it is an
issue she has to deal with. I still love her to death and she loves me too!
5. How long did it take you to write Run, River Currents?
The
manuscript took me almost four very long, very stressful years. Living in that
dark place all over again as once-buried feeling rise to the surface is
difficult. Couple that with a full-time job that keeps you on the road for
several days a week and you’ve got yourself a basket case!
6. What’s one piece of advice you would offer
to anyone wanting to write a memoir or fiction based on real life experiences?
Memoirs
are difficult to get anyone interested in, UNLESS, you are well known or have
such a compelling story that it holds a publisher’s interest. Most first-time
authors are encouraged to turn their memoirs into fiction as a way to tell a
good story and get themselves known. Also, if you write a memoir, you can get
too close to the story and feel sorry for yourself, which is something no one
wants to read about. My piece of advice for anyone who has a compelling story
to tell is to first fictionalize it. I learned that I was able to distance
myself from Emily and yet was able to convey her feelings because I WAS Emily.
Writing about someone else is so freeing!
7.
Who is
your biggest inspiration and why?
Earthly,
I’d have to say my grandfather who passed away when I was around fifteen. When
I was a child, we visited his home most summers and often a lot of weekends. I
can remember sleeping in their old iron bed on the porch of that old house with
two or three of my brothers and sisters lumped together, the quilts piled high
over us and my grandfather coming out, thinking we were asleep. He was a
crippled up old man, but he got down on his knees at the bottom of that bed and
prayed for our salvation and our safety in such loving words that they still
bring tears to my eyes today. He was a quiet witness whose love and
faithfulness to the Lord was a powerful example of Christ’s love.
8. What’s your favorite Bible scripture?
Hebrews:
13:5 …For He Himself hath said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” That
verse saved my life in more than one way.
9. Will you write any other stories on this
topic and why or why not?
I have
no plans to ever write such a dark story ever again. It was the book that HAD
to be written, and now I can get on with my writing life. My next book is already
in progress. It will be a series based on a woman who is a travel agent. The
first story is a mystery. Here’s a little blurb.
When the husband of attorney Laura Eden, dies unexpectedly, she
withdraws from her life, blaming God for his death. When she resists help from
co-workers, her prestigious law firm fires her. With no job, no savings, and no
hope, the surprise arrival of an official letter presents her with the
inheritance of her grandmother’s historical house in Pella, Iowa, her place of
solace as a child.
Laura’s
unexpected arrival into Pella embroils her in a battle of eminent domain. A
crooked attorney sets his mind on building a commercial project that includes
bribing city officials and enforcing unwritten rules in an effort to take possession
of the historical homes in the way of the project. The ensuing battle to save
her new home without losing her life reopens the blind eye she had closed to
her faith. The setting for the women’s fiction manuscript is Pella, Iowa, known
for its Tulip Festival.
10. What advice/encouragement would you offer
someone suffering from a past filled with abuse?
I
know at times it might seem as there is no way out, that they might be better
just ending their life and being free of the pain and suffering. But there is a
way that will not only raise them above the situation from which they think
they will never escape, it will also give them an eternal hope. That hope is
the fact that Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, gave his life willingly on the
Cross for our sins, rose from the dead, and will come again to retrieve those
he so loves for eternity. Our job is to admit we are sinners before a Holy God,
accept the free gift of our salvation, and make changes in our life that
reflect our willingness to follow him. Without Christ and without repentance,
there is no hope of anything but eternal damnation. Tough truth for a world
that wants to preach everything but God’s Word.
My hope
for those that read this book is that they will see my struggles and understand
that there IS hope, and that hope is Christ!
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