I grew up in a Mennonite family, inspired by my relatives' stories. They told riveting tales about the "Old Country" (Russia), immigration to Canada, and early life in our farming community on the Saskatchewan prairie.
Years later, I wrote a memoir based on these stories and my own childhood experiences. I told my mother I planned to have it published.
"Oh no," she said, "you can't do that. There's too much private information in there."
"Okay," I replied, "I'll change all the names and have it happen in Montana."
"Oh, no," she said. "You can't do that. It happened here."
So, I used my memoir as a springboard for two novels, Consider the Sunflowers and Song for Susie Epp. If you'd like to know more, please visit my website. And if you've reached a roadblock in your writing career, take heart. Maybe there's a way around it.
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