Xlibris Publishing introduces Marie Thompson, author of Storm Sparrows.
About Your Book and Yourself:
Please briefly describe your book.
Storm Sparrows is a family saga taking place from 1900 to 1975. Frank and Maggie are full of hope when they marry, believing their two wages would guarantee a good future, but their dreams disappeared under choking poverty. War breaks out. Frank’s frustration turns violent towards Maggie and he abandons her and their six children without culpability. On the way to a pub, Frank helps rescue a woman called Lili from a bombed church. He becomes obsessed with her; they fall in love and eventually live together. When Maggie dies, they move the children in with them. Lili experiences Frank’s violence for the first time and becomes the children’s champion, vowing he must leave if he doesn’t change.
Things slowly begin to improve but the journey is full of heartache and tragedy. As adults, the children confront Frank about the past; his contrition earns forgiveness and releases love. War rages on. Two sons are in uniform, one daughter is nursing injured military, and the two youngest are evacuated to Wales. The consequences are disastrous. The soaring number of casualties and lack of adequate rations bring the British to breaking point. Frank breaks the law for extra money for food. He is arrested and sent to prison. Upon his release, the family rallies. Determination moves them all at last to peace and redemption, and a future filled with marriages, grandchildren and fulfillment.
Who is the author “behind” the book?
As a child, my siblings and I joined our parents in the sitting room, and listened to our father’s classical records in the firelight. Those evenings were instrumental (was that a pun?) in developing our imaginations and emotions. One favourite was Marie Callas singing the aria ‘Un bel dì vedremo’ (One fine day) from the opera Madam Butterfly, and the exquisite beauty of that experience brought a torrent of tears. Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture had us riding imaginary horses while the Russians fired cannons into Napoleon’s army in Moscow. Those wonderful occasions and the excellent stories I have encountered are surely responsible for my heightened sensitivity to all that surrounds me. Music literally lights up my whole brain and affects my emotions and mood; silent words tickle my mind, and create for me a feeling, a voice or an image – many times all three – and more. At fourteen I won my school district’s governors’ essay competition which encouraged me to pursue casual essay writing.
At college I was instrumental in producing and editing its first literary magazine. I attended script-writing classes that required writing and producing horror plays for radio, and thirty-minute stage productions. Enrolment in several workshops included one that had me pondering if documentary films present bias reporting. I’ve had several poetry readings, and short stories, poetry and essays were included in two published book collections. My first book, Clipton Secrets, was a murder/mystery, and received the publisher’s “Editor’s Choice” award. Having gone through a police academy, I was able to tap into my experience of crime scene investigation. Storm Sparrows was a surprise when I discovered the length of the finished saga. I could have continued on, as the characters and their challenges, although instigated by me, seemed to evolve independently, and their outcome brought me tears and laughter. I am about to start my third book – a collection of essays and poetry. I say it will be my last for a while, but my interests are many and varied, and already my mind is tweaking about a child’s book. Now that could be fun!
Xlibris Publishing will return with Marie Thompson in Part 2.
Xlibris Publishing trusts this helps
Please make sure to check out the Xlibris Publishing site for more advice and blogs, and be sure to follow us on Xlibris Publishing Facebook and Xlibris Publishing Twitter. Get your free publishing guide here.