Ginger Marcinkowski presents The Button Legacy

Today, we have Ginger Marcinkowski and her latest book, The Button Legacy: Emily's Inheritance.

Peep Rep: Are there any prizes to be had?

Liza: Yes. Ginger is offering a $10 gift card from Starbuck and a copy of her ebook, The Button Legacy, to a randomly drawn winner using rafflecopter.

Peep Rep: Cool! What's the book about?

Liza: Let's find out...

The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance

by Ginger Marcinkowski

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Based on the true story of one family’s spiritual saga revealed through buttons that have been secreted away in an antique box, and that ultimately hold the key to each generation’s salvation.

Ginger Marcinkowski’s first novel, Run, River Currents featured Emily Evans, who as a girl shared a special understanding with her grandfather, John Polk. Despite the scars of her father's abuse John taught her to look to the future in faith, promising Emily God's grace can be seen even in the simplest thing—a button.

Years after her grandfather John's death, the unexpected delivery of a decorated tin, still brimming with odd-colored buttons is delivered to Emily. The reappearance of the family buttons unlocks joyous memories and guides Emily to realize a secret her grandfather promised lay within the stories of that worn button box; the healing power of prayer. In The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance each button connects one generation to the next as their interrelated stories unfold across the timeless landscape of their spiritual journey.

She shook her head and tugged at the paper. In moments the unwrapped package revealed a cardboard box. She tore at the box until it gave way. It took Emily only a second to recognize the faded tin box tucked inside. She drew in a deep breath.

“Em? What is it?” Aaron asked, placing his hands on hers.

She turned to look at him, her eyes wide and dancing. “It’s the button box!” she whispered, her voice a singsong of joy.

“The what?”

“The button box. Gram and Grampy’s button box!”

Her hands shook as she pulled the container from the cardboard and dropped it onto her lap. The colors were just as she’d remembered them, a faded pastoral scene once alive with vivid tints of blue, green, yellow, and red. She gazed at the tin, taking in its beauty as she brushed her hands gently over the top of its raised design. She felt her eyes welling with tears.

“Honey, where did it come from?” Aaron asked, his face etched with questions.

She shook her head from side to side in tiny bursts and reached to open the box. The sound of the familiar creak as it opened took her breath away, and the light from the room slowly revealed the treasure inside. There were hundreds of buttons, all shapes and sizes, piled inside the rectangular container. A handwritten note was wrapped around a small, discolored envelope and taped inside the lid. Emily glanced at her husband, half afraid to pull the note and envelope from its place.

Peep Rep: Oh that was too short. I want to know what is in the envelope and why the letter was wrapped around it. Normally, people put the handwritten note inside the envelope, not around it. 

Let me go find the buy links so I can read more.

Amazon

Peep Rep: I'd like to know more about this author. Her book has 14 reviews already. Thirteen 5 stars and one 4 star. That's an impressive start from the gate. 

Liza: Yes, it is. Let's see what we can find out...

Ginger Marcinkowski was born as one of eight siblings in northern Maine along the Canadian border, a setting that plays a prominent role in her novels, Run, River Currents and The Button Legacy-Emily’s Inheritance.

Her debut novel, Run, River Currents, was published in August 2012, was a 2012 semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis Awards and a 2013 Kindle Book Award Finalist. The Button Legacy-Emily's Inheritance, will be released in July 2014. An interesting fact about Ginger is that she is a million-mile flier with United Airlines and had been a multi-million dollar travel agent in the past. Her travel experience will be the catalyst for a new series of mysteries whose main characters are travel agents.

Peep Rep: That's a lot of miles to fly. Her arms must be really strong.

Liza: Very funny. Now if you'll behave, I'll let you ask her some questions.

Peep Rep: Really? And she'll answer them too?

Liza: I certainly hope so, or this is going to be the shortest interview on record.

Peep Rep: I've been waiting for this day forever!

First let me address the topic of writing.

Will you tell us a little bit about yourself:  How did you start writing?  What has kept you writing?

Ginger:  I was a late bloomer and didn’t started really writing until the age of 53. It was in my mind to write, but time and life got in the way. When I started my Master of Fine Arts degree, the real desire to write emerged and now I have no problems wanting to write or having the time to write, as I am retired.

Peep Rep: Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written?  

My latest release, The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance was a work of love and a tribute to the way God has blessed my life. The novel is a collection of stories about an old button box my grandparents owned. When we would visit as children, they would allow us to pull the tin container down from the top of the oak hutch and choose one button. They would then relay a story about the button we had chosen. They are tender memories and although this is fiction, many of the stories are real.

Peep Rep: What was the hardest thing about publishing?  

Ginger: My journey into the publishing world was no tougher than any writer faces, except for the fact that I had written a dark novel and neither the secular market, nor the Christian market thought it was “acceptable reading.” The secular market did not like my inclusion of faith in the story and called it “too Christian.” The Christian market felt two of the scenes depicted more truth than their audience could handle, calling it “too secular.” They wanted something more lighthearted. That was tough hearing, but when it was picked up by Booktrope Publishing, it garnished awards in both the Christian and the secular markets. Because of that first book, Booktrope went on to create a Christian imprint called Vox Dei. They now welcome other Christian writers! Again, God was faithful.

Peep Rep: What was the easiest? 

Ginger: The easiest thing about publishing is targeting editors and publishing. 

Peep Rep: Tell me more about the hard stuff.

Ginger: Two really hard things are marketing once the book was published and reading reviews that judge my personal Christianity instead of the work I have written. That really happened. It broke my heart to see that a fellow Christian said I could not be a Christian and write about what had happened to me in Run, River Currents. I felt sad by the fact that the reviewer was so judgmental and attacked me personally, rather than the novel. When I asked her if the writing was good, she replied it was excellent. She just didn’t like the subject matter. I guess bad things don’t happen to Christians. Writers have to have thick skins.

Peep Rep: Next topic--Your Books 

Tell us a little bit about your latest book.

Ginger: The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance was written to balance out Run, River Currents, my first novel. In that dark book, which was based on a true event of abuse in my life, the main character, Emily Evans, carried around a tremendous burden of guilt, shame and anger because of her father’s sexual abuse. The book alludes to the fact that Emily’s grandparents were praying and witnessing to her, but it was not until the end of the book that Emily came to know Christ as her Savior. In The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance, the reader gets “the other side” of her dark story. It shows how God’s grace was holding Emily up during her dark times and in the end, allowed the character to see how God would continue to be passed on to her own son.

Peep Rep: That's nice. Do you have a favorite character in this work?  

Ginger: So much of this book has reality in it, so I’d have to say John Polk, as he was such a godly influence in my life. Unfortunately, it took me until adulthood to know or understand how important his quiet witness was to all of his grandchildren.

Peep Rep: What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?

Ginger: That God is alive and as real as you or I am. He gives us a faith that is to be passed on in whatever manner we choose to do it. For my family, it was with buttons.

Peep Rep: Final topic--Your Stories

Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters?  

Ginger: I write from my own life experiences, weaving truth and fiction, and adding a strong sense of place. As for inspiration, it surrounds me and I use it to its fullest advantage.

Peep Rep: When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories?  

Ginger: I didn’t have to think long about this one, as my hope with my writing is that God will be glorified and readers will come to understand the importance of believing in Him by not beating them over the head with the Bible. If they laugh or cry along the way, that just adds to my joy!

Peep Rep: What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing?

Ginger: I can think of two important things. One is to just write. Quit thinking about writing. Quit saying you want to write. Quit making excuses not to write. Instead…write. If it is important enough and not an afterthought, you will write. 

Secondly, write the truth. So many new writers worry about hurting someone’s feelings or about people not understanding their writing. I say, write the truth, no matter how hard it is to write, no matter who might believe you or challenge your faith. If you write the truth, God will honor that whether your truth is written in fiction or non-fiction.

 Peep Rep: Thank you so much for answering my questions.  Now let's make sure everyone signs up for the rafflecopter so someone (hopefully me) can have a java jolt on Ginger, plus get a fascinating book as well.

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER TO WIN

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And thus concludes my second interview. I wonder if Liza might allow me to write a review next?