Title: Tug-Of-War
Author: Judith Somborac
Publisher: iUniverse
Pages: 148
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Kindle/Paperback
In 1942, in the midst of World War II, three factions struggle for power and control over Serbia: the Royalists, the Partisans, and the Nazis. For those living there, life was put on hold indefinitely while they coped daily with the terrorization of war—an especially disheartening situation for the country’s young people. Fifteen-year-old Miriana, an only child, lives in a small, two-bedroom house in Bela Palanka, Serbia, with her parents, who farm and run a saw and gristmill. Their tiny home now accommodates her mother’s sister and nephew, who have been forced to evacuate from German-occupied Belgrade. Miriana’s aunt is frequently called upon by the Germans to translate for them—a task made more stressful by the fact that the family is also hiding a Partisan soldier in the cellar of the house. Being caught means certain death. Meanwhile, Miriana’s best friend, Stefan, supports his widowed mother and aging grandparents on a nearby farm; he resents having to abandon his aspirations for an education and his passion for the violin to run the farm. Their existence is fraught with the angst of evening curfews, blackout curtains at night, unforeseen air raids, and conflict with the Nazis, but family, friends, and small pleasures propel them through a war that threatens their happiness and their lives on a daily basis.
Can you tell us what
your latest book is all about?
“Tug-o-War”
is historical fiction intended for a Young Adult (YA) market (ages 13
-18). The genre reflects my personal
interest in reading. I like a book that engages me with the characters and
events but educates me at the same time.
Although much has been written on WW II in various European countries especially,
little has been written on Serbia during this world war. People are generally aware of Hitler’s
campaign against the Jews of Europe, but fewer people are aware of his hatred
for the Slavs and gypsies. In Serbia, the atrocities of war were magnified by the presence of three
factions struggling for power and control over Serbia: the Royalists, the
Partisans, and the Nazis. For those living there, life was put on hold
indefinitely while they coped daily with the terrorization of war—an especially
disheartening situation for the country’s young people.
Because the book targets
primarily a YA readership, the story is told from the point of view of the main
character, herself, a teenager:
fifteen-year-old Miriana, an only child, lives
in a small, two-bedroom house in Bela Palanka, Serbia, with her parents, who
farm and run a saw and gristmill. Their tiny home now accommodates her mother’s
sister and nephew, who have been forced to evacuate from German-occupied
Belgrade. Miriana’s aunt is frequently called upon by the Germans to translate
for them—a task made more stressful by the fact that the family is also hiding
a Partisan soldier in the cellar of the house. Being caught means certain
death. Meanwhile, Miriana’s best friend, Stefan, supports his widowed mother
and aging grandparents on a nearby farm; he resents having to abandon his
aspirations for an education and his passion for the violin to run the farm.
Their existence is fraught with
the angst of evening curfews, blackout curtains at night, unforeseen air raids,
and conflict with the Nazis, but family, friends, and small pleasures propel
them through a war that threatens their happiness and their lives on a daily
basis.
How did
you come up with the idea?
The main events in the book
actually happened, so that was the easy part. Then I had to add more characters
and events to round out the story and pull all the strings together. Many of
the scenarios, come from the tales of my extended Serbian family (through
marriage) but not enough to make a whole book. I had to use my writer’s
imagination to recreate characters that I think are both likable and realistic.
What kind of research did you do before and during the writing of your
book?
While the skeleton of the book
was derived from stories of relatives, I still had to add more material and
make sure my storyline was accurate. I began by sending the unedited manuscript
to a Serbian historian/teacher in Toronto (the late Paul Pavlovich) who read
through the book and made some suggestions. I remember, for example, that he
was adamant that Serbia be Serbia and made sure that I didn’t make the mistake
of writing about Yugoslavia (as the country was known before the death of
Tito). Other research I did on line because I needed to be precise about
climate, dates, politics, clothing, customs, food and more but, by far, the
best help came from the people who lived in Serbia during WW II.
Can you give us a short excerpt?
I like this passage because it
shows some of the excitement in the story without being a spoiler.
Miriana could hear the roar of the engines. They were coming closer and
fast. It sounded as if they were almost overhead. She rushed to the door behind
Teta Lily. She could see one plane flying low over an adjacent lot. The next
one behind was on its way over their yard. It barely cleared the rooftops and
trees, its grey-green body attacking angrily through the air like a shark in
for the kill. ...
Miriana could see Zoran in the yard by the water pump. He stared at the
aircraft, watching their bullets pelt the dirt with a puft-puft-puft sound. The sandy soil shot up like miniature geysers. Zoran’s eyes were
round and wide. He stood with his chin turned to the sky, his arms dangling at
his sides.
Oh my god, Miriana thought.
“ZORAN!” Teta Lily screamed this time.
Zoran turned and looked at her.
“Zoran, lie down. On your tummy. Behind the rain barrel.” ...
Zoran dropped to his hands and knees and flattened himself against the
ground.
“Good boy; stay there. Don’t move until Mama tells you,” she shouted. ...
Zoran was obedient. He stayed down as Teta Lily, bent over in a crouch
against the house, and Miriana, squatting in the doorway behind her, watched
him nervously.
The din was so loud that the sound of the mill was completely drowned
out. Miriana felt choked, her stomach knotted. She gripped her hands tightly in
her lap until the roar of the planes became so unbearable she clapped her
sweaty palms over her ears.
In your own experience, is it hard to get a nonfiction book published
today? How did you do it?
I wrote the first copy of the book, “Tug-of-War” in the 1980’s when I still had
little children at home. I would get up
early in the morning while the children were still in bed. In the eighties, computer technology was in
its infancy: I used a modem to connect to the computer in the office because
there was no computer at home. The
response time between typing the words and their appearance on the screen was
sometimes as long as twenty seconds making writing a slow, laborious
process. Still, it was an improvement
over handwriting the entire script. When
I finished the novel, I made a printed copy to send to publishers, and that was
fortunate because that one, hard copy was the only record of the novel that
survived a move to two different homes and endured several life changes. Everything that was saved to floppy disk
became outmoded and eventually, lost.
When the book was finished and printed in the eighties, I
sent it off to two publishers. The first time it was returned, unread, with a
kind letter saying the publisher was not looking for this kind of material at
that time. The second publisher had the book for so long, I called to check on
the status of my manuscript and a rude secretary asked if I would like to have it
returned. I replied that, no, I would like to have the manuscript read. It was
returned to me that same week.
The printed manuscript sat in a file drawer until a few
years ago when I got the courage to revive it.
I retyped the novel into my home computer and what a refreshing change
that was from the first time I wrote on a computer in the eighties. As I typed, I edited. And after I finished my editing, I paid for a
professional editing. Although there
were no major changes to the novel after editing, it was a helpful process. Editors
pick up on subtle lapses, omissions or oversights that escape the writer even
after numerous readings. I also had a
Serbian friend read the book to verify the historical and linguistic Serbian
content of the novel and an Austrian friend correct my poor and limited German.
I made a choice to self-publish the book and sent it off to
iUniverse. At the very least, I wanted
this novel for my children because is the story of their heritage on one side.
I chose a publishing package that would provide me with just enough books for
them. But when the book was designated Editor’s Choice followed by Rising Star,
my confidence grew. I had more copies
printed and gave a copy of the book to the public library and the local
schools. The book is now available on
line and at local bookstores.
Hard to get a non-fiction book published? With my experience,
I would say yes. Recently I read an article by an author who had first book
published by a major publishing house (she didn’t say which one), but for her
second book, she chose the self-publishing route. Her view was she had to do
all the legwork for marketing and promotion anyway, even that even when her
book was published by a major publishing house. I can vouch for that.
Judith Somborac is an occasional teacher and a ski instructor who works in both capacities with children and teenagers. Judith has a BA in English and French from the University of Guelph. She currently lives in Collingwood, Ontario.