Book Worm By Antoinette May Common Thread Waves Most Uncommon Novel Marylin Hayes-Martin writes with her heart, soul and bloodline. “Common Thread—Uncommon Women,” Marylin’s debut novel, begins in 1863 and covers four generations of women beginning with her great grandmother, Minerva, who was Cherokee Native American. “Born and raised in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks, I’m descended from a long line of storytellers,” she says. “The tales I heard growing up were epic. I listened—mesmerized— but never imagined that I would one day share those stories outside my family.” It seems fair to say that Marylin was—is—a late bloomer. “I’ve always loved to read but never thought about writing until I was 62,” she told me. “My husband and I were enjoying a riverboat cruise. I’d been sitting on the deck reading ‘Cane River,’ an excellent family saga book. Suddenly I put it down and turned to my husband. ‘I can do this too. I’ve got great family stories of my own. I’m going to write a book too,’ I told him. “Frank wasn’t very impressed with the idea. He said I didn’t know how to write.” “That was true, I didn’t. I’d never written anything but letters and school essays, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. ’I’m going to find out,’” I told him and set about

doing just that.” Marylin’s dream developed legs when she began taking classes from author Bill Manville who taught her that every sentence she wrote should build character, advance the plot or provide a laugh. Marylin went on to network with other wannabe authors and ended up founding the Sonora Writers Group. “It was difficult at first,” she admits. “I was afraid to read my first chapter to the group, but they helped me. We helped each other.” The novel that evolved began with Marylin’s own story and worked backwards portraying the lives of four generations of women who lived through many of the defining moments in American History, such as the Civil War, the Great Depression and two World Wars. “I was two years into the writing before I figured out how the book should begin,” she says. “I’d wracked my brains trying to decide how to open the story. Somehow it didn’t seem quite like I was writing a real book till I had the beginning. “The breakthrough came one day when I was taking a shower. Somehow I just happened to remember a clipping I’d had for years. My great grandmother—she was somewhere in her 90s at the time— had written a letter to the editor of a newspaper describing a harrowing experience in her early life.” Happly, Marylin was able to find the clipping. It told

the story of how Great Grandmother Minerva was left behind in a cabin far from town with a nine-year-old and a baby when her husband was conscripted into the civil war. Wolves surrounded the house and howled through the long nights while Minerva stood at the door with a burning tree limb to frighten them away. Now, how’s that for a beginning? It would be seven more years before the novel was completed, but Marylin was off and running. The result of her effort is a rich tapestry of faith, goodness, love and tragedy. “I’m proud of my Native American heritage, of my great grandmother Minerva and the women who followed her. They endured hardships beyond modern comprehension, but still found joy and happiness in their lives.” * * * Marylin Martin is looking forward to a novel release event Saturday (April 27) at Legends from 2 to 5 p.m. at Legends, 131 Washington in Sonora. Phone: 532-8120 Her book, released by Author House Publishing, is $19.95 for the soft cover for and the hardback for $28.95. They are available directly from amazon.com or the publisher authorhouse.com. It’s a startling book filled with action and insight. It captures the enormous strenth, both physical and emotional, of the women who helped settle America. Some had only their Native American blood to draw on simply to survived.