Author Hope Marston reveals her many sources of inspiration:
I was inspired to become a writer by my mother, an inveterate reader. My interest grew when my oldest sibling, who also read voraciously, gave me my first two books. Further nourishment came when the county bookmobile visited the country school that I attended. That book buffet, served up by the driver, created an appetite for more. I decided right then that someday I would write a book.
In high school I volunteered as a student library aide. When I wanted to read a book that our library didn’t own, I sneaked down town on my lunch hour to the public library. I went off to college with very limited funds. I worked my way through four years of undergraduate studies doing most every campus job available. I enjoyed being a library aide most.
About forty years ago I began taking writing courses by correspondence. One of the instructors encouraged me to find a local outlet for my writing. I became a “stringer” for the Lewiston (ME) Daily Sun. My first stand-alone publication was a child’s daily devotional booklet published by Child Evangelism Fellowship.
While I was studying with the Institute of Children’s Literature, my husband and I moved to New York State. When I became a school librarian, my junior high students asked for books about trucking careers. Trucks, Trucking and You was written for them (1978). That book spawned eight more books about big machines.
My Little Book Series introduces children to nature. The first title was inspired by a line drawing I saw in an Animal Rehab Newsletter. My Little Book of Bald Eagles is the eighth one.
Against the Tide: The Valor of Margaret Wilson features Margaret Wilson. Margaret lived in 17th century Scotland and died for her beliefs which conflicted with King Charles II. I “met” Margaret when I was proofing a manuscript for a publishing house.
My husband learned about an eleven-year musher named Aisling Shepherd, when he was reading the online daily newspaper from back home. I worked with Aisling to tell her inspirational story of courage and resolve. Eye on the Iditarod: Aisling’s Quest was released this past December.
Where do I get my inspiration? From other readers, writers, and interesting people whom I meet when I read.
About the Author: Hope Irvin Marston is a member of the New York State Retired Teachers, the Greater Thousand Islands Literacy Council, the Jeff-Lewis Librarians Association, and the Adirondack Center for Writing, the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, the North Country Arts Council and SCBWI. She organized the Black River Valley Writers Club and served as its leader for several years.
In addition to writing thirty-two children’s books and several adult titles, Hope has been on staff for Christian Writers Conferences at Hephzibah Heights (MA), Montrose Bible Conference (PA) and at St. Davids Christian Writers Conference at Beaver Falls, PA. She has taught creative writing workshops at Jefferson Community College, the Jefferson-Lewis Teacher Center and the North Country Arts Council.
Her picture book series, MY LITTLE BOOK COLLECTION (Windward), has grown to eight titles thus far and has 125,000 books in print.
You can find out more about Hope Irvin Marston’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/HopeIrvinMarston.aspx. There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with Marston and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions. For each comment, you will be entered into the big Giveaway at the end of the tour.
