“Dad had an old secret that he refused to tell anybody about,” Iris Munchinsky said, introducing her first novel of the inspirational fiction genre to an audience at Virden’s library.
About 35 people gathered at Border Regional Library, Saturday afternoon, Sept. 16, for the launch of Munchinsky’s novel Bridge of Shadows.
Karel and Iris Munchinsky operate Kimcairn B&B in the heart of Virden. Iris has worked in educational, she is an accomplished visual artist and in her spare time, acts with Phoenix Players in their yearly productions. As her interest in writing surfaced, she wrote and sold articles to magazine publications.
Born in Scotland to Scottish parents, she went on to explain to the audience how the seed of an idea was planted from her own father’s deeply held secret.
She said, “Quite a few years ago he was going to Acapulco with my brother, on vacation. Right before he left, he was talking to his siblings in Scotland saying, ‘I’ve decided, I’m going to tell you what the secret is, when I get back from Acapulco’.
“Well, guess what - he died in Acapulco and no one ever found out what the secret was!” said Munchinsky, with a sparkle in her eyes.
She recounted, after she recovered from the shock of her father’s sudden demise, it occurred to her this was fodder for a novel.
The story is written from a granddaughter’s perspective. Sela is the protagonist, and her grandfather, who is dead in the novel, is named Joseph, as was Munchinsky’s own father. She says the rest is pure fiction. However, in the novel Granddad Joseph is also going to Acalpulco.
Iris’ husband Karel spoke up, explaining how visiting Scotland was important for Munchinsky’s writing. He said, “For all that the book is a book of fiction, when we went to Scotland, we were in a place called Ullapool, and Iris did a lot of her research there.”
Ullapool is a port village of about 1,500 in the Scottish Highlands; an important tourist destination, and that is where much of the novel takes place.
Munchinsky read several pages of Bridge of Shadows, beginning at the first page where the book opens with a strange phone conversation.
Sela answers a phone call. A call that was not meant for her.
‘Hello,’ her voice was low and gritty, partly from sleep but mostly from standing in the pouring rain until her dress clung to her knees and her hands shook worse than old Mrs. Hardy’s with Parkinson’s.
‘Joseph’, the voice on the other end blared. ‘Sorry to call you at home. There’s not much time but we’re onto somethin’ big that might require yer expertise. Shades of Tanika, without a doubt.’
Sela stared at the phone...was this some kind of sick Joke? The accent was broad Scottish – an older man, like Granddad.
Hosted by the library and Mary Anne Lamy, there was an opportunity for questions. Several members of the audience already owned a hard copy or Kindle copy of the novel, and she was asked, “Do you have an idea for another book?” to which Munchinsky answered, “Yes. Sela has unfinished business. There is an ending to the book, but when you think back, you think, “I wonder what happened to ... this, or that.”
The new author admitted it has been a lengthy, but valuable process getting the book published.
“The re-writes and waiting on editors took the time. I got a real education from editors who knew what they were doing while I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Friends and colleagues urged Munchinsky along. In her book dedications, she specially thanks a retired Virden teacher, Rick Wark, for his ‘eagle eye’ help with proofing the book.
But firstly, she thanks her husband Karel for his generosity and support. It turns out Munchinsky got her start in writing from taking a university level writers’ course that Karel pointed her towards. From there she wrote and sold magazine articles.
She said, “I always just thought of myself as an artist. Then, Karel brought a thing home on novel writing. I thought, ‘I don’t think I could write a novel’, but he seemed to think so; so I started it, and here we are.”
Munchinsky has also attended several writers’ workshops in Toronto and the USA, meeting agents, editors and publishers.
Bridge of Shadowsis published by WestBow Press (westbowpress.com) and marketed through venues such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other book sellers. Munchinsky also has a website for her work; simply www.irismunchinsky.com.
She plans to travel and promote her novel doing readings and signing copies, as she visits family abroad.
