Rowena Through the Wall came about because I needed to find a world to escape to in order to cope with things happening in my own life that I could not control.
I was sitting in the hospital by my mother’s bedside in the palliative care ward. For the 36th time, she had been admitted to hospital, dying. Thirty-five times, they had brought her back to life. This time…
I have no sisters and my only brother is autistic. The burden of care was mine and this time the weight of it was almost too much. I looked at the dreary hospital room wall and wished I could walk through it to another world. That night, Rowena got her start.
Every day, I would go to work, then run to the hospital for my ‘shift’ with Mom. When they kicked me out, I would dash home, and escape into the world that I could control.
Rowena falls through her classroom wall into a medieval world, and the adventures start almost immediately. At my mother’s bedside, I would play a game of ‘what’s the worst thing that could happen to Rowena now?’ Or – ‘what’s the funniest thing?’ I would jot these ideas down in a journal in between attending to my mother’s personal care chores, and then, when home late at night, I would start writing.
Each new adventure Rowena had gave me a burst of energy that helped me deal with news that got worse and worse.
I could control the world of Rowena. I could satisfy my need for escape by putting Rowena in dangerous and sometimes riotous situations that she could use her wits to get out of. I could live vicariously through my heroine.
Mom died last month, but not before I put the published paperback of Rowena Through the Wall into her hands. She loved it. And now I am half way through book two of the series.
Melodie Campbell got her start as a comedy writer, so it’s no surprise that editors have called her work ‘wacky’ and ‘laugh out loud funny’. General Manager of Crime Writers of Canada, she has over 200 publications and five awards for fiction. Check out Rowena Through the Wall on Amazon and Smashwords. Learn more at Melodie Campbell's website and blog.
This was an amazing post. I had no idea that Melodie had gone through so much and that "Rowena Through the Wall" was the result of her need to escape the real world.
ReplyDeleteI lost my dad in May, after several months of in-out hospital stays, so I understand what Melodie went through. I also understand her need to escape and, like Melodie, writing (or reading) helps me to do that.
I too like to know a bit about the authors. I watched my dad do the nursing home/hospital dance for 5 yrs. Being an only child everything was my responsibility. I enjoyed Rowena and am waiting for the second book.
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