I realized that I continued to see my childhood, my family members, my home, my very identity through the eyes of my parents and siblings, even though I had left my hometown more than a decade before. Writing the book enabled me to translate my childhood for myself, to reconfigure my identity by re-translating my life.

Linda Murphy Marshall – 17 June 2022

The Back Flap

After both her parents die, Linda Murphy Marshall, a multi-linguist and professional translator, returns to her midwestern childhood home, Ivy Lodge, to sort through a lifetime of belongings with her siblings. Room by room, she sifts through the objects in her parents’ house and uses her skills and perspective as a longtime professional translator to make sense of the events of her past—to “translate” her memories and her life. In the process, she sees things with new eyes. All of her parents’ things, everything having to do with their cherished hobbies, are housed in a home that, although it looks impressive from the outside, is anything but impressive inside; in short, she now realizes that much of it —even the house’s fancy name—was show.

By the time Murphy Marshall is done with Ivy Lodge, she has not only made new discoveries about her past, she has also come to a new understanding of who she is and how she fits into her world.

About the book

What is the book about?

The book is about a professional translator and multi-linguist who returns to her childhood home in the Midwest after the death of her parents. Fifteen years before, she had moved away from the patriarchal system in which she had been raised, and returns to help her siblings clean out the family’s home of forty years. In the process, she reexamines her life, translating memories, physical objects, the role of family members in her life. Perhaps for the first time, she is viewing her life through the lens of a translator, discovering numerous surprises in the process, among them the odds she overcame in escaping this world, and the realization that everything in her life was not what it seemed.

When did you start writing the book?

I began the book the summer of 2014 when I attended a writing conference. “Writing About Nowhere” was the assignment of the weekend conference and, what was originally a ten-page essay, gradually grew into the memoir I completed as more and more scenes, memories, and insights flooded into my mind, as I translated previously “foreign” memories and scenes.

How long did it take you to write it?

It took me about six years to write it, but I was also working on my MFA at the time, and writing and submitting essays, so it wasn’t full-time.

Where did you get the idea from?

I got the idea while completing the workshop assignment. I realized that I continued to see my childhood, my family members, my home, my very identity through the eyes of my parents and siblings, even though I had left my hometown more than a decade before. Writing the book enabled me to translate my childhood for myself, to reconfigure my identity by re-translating my life.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

The more traumatic events of the memoir were the most difficult to write, particularly since I hadn’t examined them closely before.

What came easily?

Remembering the happy times came more easily, those tender times when reality was suspended and I felt some degree of hope that they would represent a new reality.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Since my book is a memoir, my characters are completely real, as well as the events I describe, although it’s impossible to reenact exact dialogue and exact events with one hundred percent recall.

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’m an avid reader and was greatly influenced by Jeannette Wall’s The Glass Castle. The narrator also tried to guard secrets about her family of origin, until her past and her present clashed. There were obvious differences between us, but I saw myself in her struggle to walk a tightrope between those different lives. I was also influenced by a very different type of book: Robert Kolker’s Hidden Valley Road. Although it is not a memoir and is an extreme example of mental illness, I could identify with being exposed to family members who suffered from mental illness, and the challenges that entailed.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

My writing process involves cutting off a manageable “chunk” of what I’ve been inspired to examine, and then expanding that idea until it feels like I’ve sufficiently covered it. Before moving on to the next “chunk” I edit repeatedly, cutting back superfluous or erroneous words, adding in other places, where needed. I build on that original nugget of inspiration and often don’t know where I’m heading until I arrive. In that sense, the essay or story or book leads me, and not vice versa

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I don’t outline, although in Ivy Lodge, I knew the book would have individual chapters dedicated to the various rooms in Ivy Lodge, so that gave me a structure on which to build.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I write in the thematic chunks I mentioned previously, then go back and edit repeatedly, until I have it the way I want it, for the time being. Then I’ll return to the same material again and again, once I’ve made additional progress. So it’s write, edit, write more, edit from the beginning, write more, edit from the beginning, and so on.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I hired an editor before I submitted my memoir to She Writes Press, just to ensure that I hadn’t made any egregious mistakes. I think that, when you’ve edited and re-edited, and read and re-read something you wrote over the course of five-plus years, there’s always the possibility that you’ve missed something; you almost become numb to possible trouble spots. I wanted to make sure that I hadn’t missed anything.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I usually listen to music while I write. Spanish guitar is my favorite. When I’m struggling with a passage, however, I have to have complete quiet, so it depends where I am in the process.

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?

After reading about the various publishing lanes, and listening to numerous talks on the topic, and educating myself about publishing through extensive reading, I decided to go the Indie route. The philosophy and business model of the indie publisher appealed to me.

Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

It was a gradual process that occurred after attending numerous talks on the topic, and after talking to a number of authors, and educating myself on the various methods of publication. Part of it was the realization that the indie route fit more with my personality type, and what did — and didn’t — fit with my personal philosophy. It felt — feels — like the Indie publishing model allows me more control than the traditional publishing path, and that was/is important to me.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Julie Metz did my amazing cover, with input from Brooke Warner, I believe. I could never have done it myself and am so happy with it. I’ve received numerous compliments.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

For publicity I signed with SparkPoint Studio, specifically, with Crystal Patriarche, Hanna Lindsley, and Tabitha Bailey. Winging it didn’t interest me; I knew I didn’t have the experience, expertise, or patience to do it myself.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

I would tell other newbies to do their homework, to not be chained to the traditional idea of publishing, of trying to find an agent. I would also counsel them to ask for professional help along the way: the cover design, final edits, publicity, etc. Don’t try to do it all yourself, especially when you don’t have the background or expertise. Writing a book is such a difficult, time-consuming, sometimes soul-killing task; get help from others where you can.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Kirkwood, a small suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.

Where do you live now?

I live in Columbia, Maryland, a mid-sized community between Baltimore and Washington, D.C..

What would you like readers to know about you?

I want readers to know that my life — and my memoir —  isn’t black and white, that I attempted to tell my story fairly and accurately, to write my “truth,” despite the fact that this may displease some people who were unaware of the mythology in which I was raised, people who aren’t interested in my translation of people, places, events.

What are you working on now?

I’m putting the finishing touches on a second memoir that deals with my extensive travel to the continent of Africa, along with trips to Spain and Brazil. In my memoir I view these trips as vehicles for continuing to carve out my own identity. The title of that upcoming memoir is: Through the Windows of Words: A Memoir.

End of Interview:

For more from Linda Murphy Marshall visit her website.

Get your copy of Ivy Lodge from Amazon US or Amazon UK.