The takeaway from my story is that if you keep working and believing in yourself, challenges can be overcome and a happy, productive, peaceful life can be the result.
Judge Marylin E. Atkins – 30 October 2018
The Back Flap
Baby Rosemary – born to an Italian teen and a married black man in Detroit in 1946 – is adopted from an agency by a black couple in Saginaw, Michigan The adoptive mother’s abuse instills in the girl, whom they name Marylin Elnora, ambition to achieve great things on her own. At age 19, Marylin sparks a racial and religious scandal by marrying former Roman Catholic priest Thomas Lee Atkins, who is white and 25 years older. Poor in finances but rich in love, they have two biracial daughters, Elizabeth Ann Atkins and Catherine Marie Atkins Greenspan, who look white. Team work makes the family’s dream work as Marylin attends the University of Detroit School of Law at night while she and Tom work full time; he becomes “Mr. Mom”– taking the high-achieving girls to lessons for swim, piano, and skiing. He journals nightly, inspiring the girls’ passion for reading and writing.
All the while, family rifts in the wake of their interracial union begin to heal, fostering harmony and healing. The family’s lifestyle includes friendships and associations with people of a cornucopia of race, religion, and culture, as Tom even serves as president of an American Indian association.
Marylin becomes an attorney, putting the girls through the University of Michigan. Sadly, Tom dies before seeing the girls earn graduate degrees in writing from Columbia University and University of San Francisco. And he never saw Marylin’s illustrious and highly respected career as a judge, which included 12 years as chief judge of Detroit’s 36th District Court.
About the book
What is the book about?
The book is a memoir about my life.
When did you start writing the book?
I began writing my book on December 19,2016, the day that would have been my 50th wedding anniversary if my husband were still alive.
How long did it take you to write it?
I finished writing my book on May 19, 2017, six months later.
Where did you get the idea from?
My daughters had been encouraging me to write my life story for many years. Five years after I retired, I decided to do it.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
There were no parts that I struggled with but during the process I sometimes laughed and cried as I recalled both the good and bad things I experienced throughout my life.
What came easily?
It all came easily. Not only did events come rushing back in chronological order but also in vivid detail. I wrote daily for about ten to twelve hours. I attribute my recall ability which I have had all my life, to my having to memorize thirty-two page piano sonatas composed by Beethoven and many other classical composers as a child and teenager taking piano lessons.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
All the characters in my book are real people who were in my life. Some names have been changed.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I was not influenced by any writers. Since my book is a personal, individual story, I decided that I would just share my life with the readers as if I was in a conversation with them. For clarity and to show the readers how I changed with each life experience, I decided that strict chronological order of events was the best way to write.
Do you have a target reader?
I believe that my story is for anyone who has faced challenges in life that sometimes seemed insurmountable. The takeaway from my story is that if you keep working and believing in yourself, challenges can be overcome and a happy, productive, peaceful life can be the result.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
This is the first book I have even written. I am a retired judge and I have been a lawyer for thirty-eight years. So before my book, my writing was confined to legal research and judicial opinions. Legal writing consists of an orderly chronology of events upon which a judge can find the facts. I did incorporate that process in my writing but I’m not sure it would be considered a writing “process” in the world of authors who write books all the time.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I did not outline. I simply recalled in my head what happened to me from the beginning of my life and career until I retired. For example, I thought about myself at age ten and picked out three important events I that experienced during that year that helped shape me into the adult that I became.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I edited after each paragraph to make sure that I was conveying the information to the reader in a way that they would understand and not have to figure out what I was trying to say.
Did you hire a professional editor?
My daughters’ writing and publishing company, Two Sister Writing and Publishing, provided the professional editing and publishing.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I mostly listened to Sirius Satellite Radio, Soul Town station which is all 60’s music from Motown. I also listened to their channel that plays classical music
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did not submit my work to agents.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I decided to publish with my daughters’ company because I respect them and trust them as professionals.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Yes, my daughters’ company hired a full-service graphic design agency to create my book cover. The idea for the layout and design, however, were my own.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Yes, I have hired JKS Communications.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Follow your heart.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Saginaw, Michigan.
Where do you live now?
Detroit, Michigan.
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I have been a fighter all my life for myself and my family.
What are you working on now?
Enjoying my retirement!
End of Interview:
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