June 14, 2025 • 48 mins
Join us for a soul-stirring episode of Off The Shelf Books as we welcome the remarkable Marcia Peck—retired cellist, award-winning author, and creative powerhouse. With over 40 years performing with the Minnesota Orchestra and more than 50 with the Grand Teton Music Festival, Marcia now turns her artistry to fiction.
In this inspiring conversation, Marcia opens up about her debut novel, Water Music, a story as rich and layered as a symphony. We talk about the creative bridge between music and writing, her journey from concert halls to the page, and how decades of performing shaped her storytelling voice.
If you love music, literature, and stories that celebrate passion and perseverance, this episode is a must-listen.
Tune in now and discover how one woman transformed a lifetime of musical mastery into literary brilliance.
In this inspiring conversation, Marcia opens up about her debut novel, Water Music, a story as rich and layered as a symphony. We talk about the creative bridge between music and writing, her journey from concert halls to the page, and how decades of performing shaped her storytelling voice.
If you love music, literature, and stories that celebrate passion and perseverance, this episode is a must-listen.
Tune in now and discover how one woman transformed a lifetime of musical mastery into literary brilliance.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the winning literary show Off the Shelf
Books Talk Radio Live with host Denise Turney, author of
the books Long Walk Up Portia, Love for Over Me,
Spiral Love Has Many Faces, and Rosette Us Great Hope.
Turn up your dial and get ready for a blast
of feature author interviews, four one one on book festivals,
(00:21):
writing conferences, and so much more. Ready let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
So welcome. Welcome to our office, self listeners, and I
want to let you know that you are listening to
the winning book podcasts Off the Shelf. As I always start,
I want to thank our loyal listeners who've been with
us now eighteen years. It's just, I mean, time gets by.
It's hard to believe. It's cloudy here where I live.
(00:50):
I'm in the southeastern part of the United States. But
I want to welcome you to this Saturday, June or fourteenthest.
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, and
thank you for all you do for our loyal listeners
who've never missed a show always catches at eleven am
Eastern Standard Time on Saturdays. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
(01:14):
If this is your first time here, I want to
thank you for joining us today as well. We have
a wonderful author on deck for you this morning. But
before we introduce our author, I just you know you, guys,
I asked you how good of a mystery sloop are you?
I love a mystery. I love to see what the
inner workings and a person to make them do what
(01:36):
they do. But I also value relationships, and if you do,
there's a soulmate relationship in here. And these five guys
meeting college in Pennsylvania. One of them is a well
actually two of them are athlete athletics standouts, and one
is also academically very very very gifted. But something happens
(01:59):
that Kylee soon as this one guy who's on his
way to the Olympics soon as six you get there.
He's a middle distance runner and he's an amazing runner.
He witnesses something as soon as he gets there that
later one of these five friends he meets is connected to.
So there's a mystery in this story. And there's a
(02:21):
complicated father son relationship, but this beautiful, beautiful soul mate
relationship as well. If you value relationships and you love
a mystery, I encourage you to get a copy of
Love or Over Me by yours truly, Denise Toorney. It's
an ebook and in paperback and an audio book, Love
(02:42):
Pour Over Me by Denise Attorney. Please go get a
copy and let me know how you enjoy Love for
Over Me. And now let us go and meet our
very special office shelf guests. And this morning's guest, it's
Marsha Peck. She is a retired sellers who has played
with the Minnesota Orchestra for more than forty years and
(03:05):
the Grand Tatan Music Festival for more than fifty years,
which is impressive. This award winning author has painned their
first novel, Water Music, and is busy working on her
second novel. If she has been writing for more than
forty years. Marsha's work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines.
(03:27):
She earned her Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute
of Music and Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. She
also studied in Germany in the masterclass of the renowned
the Italian sellers Antonio John Nigro. Hopefully I said his
name right. And it's just a delight to have Marsha
(03:47):
on off the shelf with us this morning. And I
think you will absolutely enjoy visiting her website, so encourage
you to check her out online at marshapat dot com.
And that's spelled mar c I a p e c
k dot com. And again that's m a r c
I a p e c k dot com. She has
(04:10):
this book, very conversational writing style. At our website, you
feel like you're just chatting with us. I think you
would enjoy checking out marshapeck dot com. So we want
to welcome, welcome, welcome you to off this Shelf this morning.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Marsha, Oh, Denise, what a pleasure to talk to you.
Thank you for having.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Me, and it's a looking forward to what you share.
It's a pleasure to have in you. I always learned
something from every guest, as I'm sure our listeners do.
Which way they keep coming back, and so I'm just
curious and excited to see what you will share this morning.
So to begin today's show, Marsha, can you tell off
the Shelf listeners where you grew up and what life
(04:51):
was like for you growing up.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
I grew up in New Jersey, just outside Newark. It's
so I'm a Jersey girl at heart, although my family
was from New England and that always kind of flavored life,
uh in our house.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
And I grew up in New Jersey. Uh, it was
a typical, typical town, a typical family. My father. My
father was a teacher, and I had a couple of sisters.
What else can I say?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
So you had a fun what do you call like
a traditional I guess childhood and out living outside of Newark,
New Jersey. For our listeners, that's more like the closer
to New York City. It's not right there, but it's
closer to New York City. Part of the New Jersey
is a small state. You know, you got your beaches
(05:50):
and board walks and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
But yeah, that's right. And my family, you know, in
New Jersey, people said why we spent our summers up
on Cape cod because of our uh family links to
New England. But our friends in New Jersey always said,
why would you go there? You can go to the
Jersey Shore. But yeah, so we missed out on that
(06:17):
part of it. But we always had to be in
in the house when the street lights came on. Of course,
at that time, it never occurred to us that that
the street lights came on at very vastly different hours
depending on the season.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yes, yeah, I've heard so many people say that when
that light comes on, you better be you better be
an half. When you were a little girl, Marsha, what
did you want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Oh, what a good question I I had. I didn't
aspire too much of anything. My parents were musicians, and
the rule in the house was I had to practice
one hour and then my time was my own. So
I had to do that hour every day. But then
(07:10):
I got out of chores and things like that. So
if I did my hour on the cello, So I
kind of fell into my career as a musician. It's
by the time I was in high school. It seemed
to me it was the only thing I was good at.
So it I guess. I guess it chose me or
(07:31):
my parents kind of chose that path.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Interesting. That is interesting of all of ours, of all
of our guests, that's not very many have said that.
So that's very interesting. Who or what inspired your love
for writing books. Oh.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
I fell in love with books at a very young age.
I can remember reading this book has stayed with me
my whole life. It was called Blue Willow by Doris Gates,
and I found out recently. It's still in it's still
in print. It was a book about depression era family,
(08:09):
kind of itinerant doing farm work here and there in
this in the western southwest Oklahoma and Utah, and that
the family had one possession that was there. It was
sort of their load star. It was a plate, a
(08:31):
china plate, and the pattern on it was blue willow.
And the mother said, we'll always put this where we
can see it, but we're not going to use it
until we have a house of our own, and it
will be so it was their touchstone for finding a
more stable, better life.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Interesting, Oh my goodness, thanks for sharing that. Now, music is,
they say, the universal language music. Just what is it
about the cello that attracted you more than any other instrument?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Well, I wish I could say I chose it. My
father chose it for me, and he chose it because
he said I had big hands, which I guess is true.
But I do love the cello. I have grown to
love it more than any I think it's the best
instrument of all it. People say that it has a
voice like the human voice. It's the closest thing to
(09:29):
the human voice of all the instruments. We hear beautiful range.
It gets melodies, but it also gets supporting roles in
quartets and in the orchestra, and in popular music we
see cello's on stage. I think it's a gorgeous instrument.
(09:51):
And I would never have been a good violinist. It
was to the two. I don't know. I wouldn't have
been a sit for me.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Interesting. I worked with a colleague back when I was
at Maryland, going back years ago, and she started out,
excuse me, when she was young. I think it was
the violin she said she played. When she said, it
was really really tough, very competitive, and I'm thinking, really,
(10:22):
how many people play the violin? SHED say, you'd be surprised,
And she said it. I asked her, why did you
not pursue it? She's very sharp, bright, I just I
mean this thought she was just an amazing woman. She said.
It's when I tell you competitive, she said, I mean,
it's very competitive, and people who get into different sports,
(10:43):
whether it's tennis or whatever, they're like, once you start
going so far, it is so competitive and so hard
to stand out. She said, she just decided to go
down a different path. But I just wanted to ask you,
like I. When I was covering Really It's Writing in
Ben Salem, Pennsylvania. I got the privilege to cover the
(11:05):
Ben Salem Orchestra, which was a small orchestra, and I
always thought I wouldn't like orchestra music, but I actually
love it. I actually went there and got to sit
with them twice, and I was just amazed. Like the conductor,
the slightest little sound, I thought they sounded fabulous. He
paused and say, wait, wait a minute, wait a minute.
(11:27):
He could hear something and I couldn't even pick it up.
So I wanted to ask you, based on what my
colleague had told me, how competitive and difficult it can
be to make it even land on the orchestra, How
easy or challenging is it to a spot on an orchestra?
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Your colleague is completely right, one hundred percent right. I'm
so glad that I'm not trying to compete against these
kids today, because I'm glad I got my job when
I did. It's the especially violinists are just it's a
tremendously difficult instrument, and they start as young as three
(12:08):
years old. Now, I started when I was six or so,
which is already by today's standards kind of late for
stringed instruments. Winds are Winds are a little different because
they need to grow their their umbusure, their you know,
(12:28):
their teeth, and they et cetera, et cetera to play
a wind instrument. But so strings do start very young.
And oh gosh, the kids who are winning auditions in
our orchestra these days are fabulous.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Oh my goodness. So I want to ask you next,
how did plane in an orchestra impact you over the
years and influence your writings? And next we're going to
start talking about water music. But how did it plane
in the orchestra? How did it influence you and your writings? Oh?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I loved playing in an orchestra. I loved that. I'm
an introvert. I maybe most writers are, I don't know.
But I loved being a part of this family that
was creating something and we had this this this common
mission or common work too to do our best and
(13:29):
to work as a team and to make things, make
things sound good. But let's see where was I going
with this? Oh, the orchestra. There was something about rehearsals
that concentrated my mind so that without but without actual thinking.
(13:53):
If that makes any sense I could, I could draw
on my imagination when I'm making music, and somehow that
would feed into the writing later. I'm not I'm not
being very articulate about this. I'm sorry. It's a It
(14:14):
was a kind of a kind of working working to
work mind and body. You know, when you're when you're
playing an instrument, you're working with your fingers and you're
and you have to stop. Sometimes you don't have time
to think about what's coming next. Notes are flying by,
(14:37):
but there is some kind of inner inner mind that
kicks in and and I think that's true of writing
as well. Sometimes they call it being in the flow
when you're writing, and yeah, I think that's a real thing.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Actually, Okay, now where did you get the ideal for
the book Water?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Well, as I said, we spent our summers on Cape Cod,
and I fell in love with Cape Cod as a child.
It was just a magical place. And I suppose many
of us who've been to camp or or had little
summer trips or outings, it's easy to see how one does.
(15:26):
But we did it. Year after year we returned to
the same little acre on a on a salt pond,
and it was magical. My father. My father dug clams
and he caught flounder, and he always grew tomatoes and cukes,
and he it was hard on my mother. I will
(15:50):
say that she had to wash dishes and pump pump
water and wash dishes on a under a tree. So
that wasn't her greatest her favorite thing. But I don't know.
We just create had this little magical world there. So
(16:11):
that my love of Cape Cod is where I think
the book started.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Okay, So I wanted to our listeners to they can
start visualizing the story the makings of water music. Where
and when does the story take place? And why did
you choose this setting.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
The story takes place in nineteen fifty six, and I
chose that because it's a story when Lily, our main character,
is about eight years old, no sorry, she's eleven years
old going on twelve. And it's a time when life
(16:55):
was hard for women, and Lily's mother is having a
particularly hard summer. I wanted it to be that particular
summer because that's the summer the Andrea Doria sank. I
don't know if our listeners remember the Andrea Dooria, but
it was a beautiful, beautiful, very young Italian ocean liner
(17:18):
that sank not far from Long Island Sound and that
plays a part in the sinking of the Andrea Dooria.
Happens during this summer, and for me it was a
little symbolic of the troubles that Lily's mother is having.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Interesting, very interesting. So can you give our listeners without
giving too much of the story away. It's a brief overview.
You know, you told us it takes place in nineteen
fifty six, the connection between the sinking of this Italian
ocean liner. But can you get us just a little
bit more of a synopsis without giving this story away?
(18:04):
Because I have certainly more questions to ask you about
a lot of music.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I'll try so. Lily's family picks this pond, this salt pond,
because her father's brother, Lily's uncle, lives across the pond
on the other side, and he's there are family problems.
(18:31):
As much as Lily's father is a sturdy, reliable teacher,
his brother is his brother is brash and competitive. Lily's
family is having money troubles and a lot a lot
of this creates tension between those two families, and it's
(18:52):
an important time in Lily's life because she's about to
turn twelve, she's growing up. And to me, the sense
of that little pond that can follow a creek out
to a bay and then finally to the ocean. They
could They could do that on a rowboat, if they
(19:14):
with a rowboat, if they tried, And that that was
an image for me that I felt mirrored Lily growing
from this small world. But she's got to find her
way into a bigger world. And she's got lots of
problems with the family across the pond.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And this is her ancles family. Does her auncle's family
have money? You said he's competitive bility.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Yes, they do have money if he lets them know it.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Oh, is he the older of the two brothers.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Actually he's the younger. He's the younger.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Interesting and that's interesting. Just this is why I love
doing a off the shelf because when you start to
you can't put everything in a book description when you
write it, when you listen to the authors say these
types of things, it makes a story that much more
intriguing to me. So you just introduced us to Lily Granger.
She's Elaven going on twelve, and you told us her family.
(20:15):
They live pond across the pond. Is her brotherless, But
that's why they chose to move there. So that's my question.
If her brother is competitive, he's got this money, they're
financially struggling. He throws this up in their face. Why
would they want to live close to him?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Well, aren't families like that? I mean, they're either enmeshed
in ways that they can't kind of quite separate out,
or there's there or they sometimes just divorce each other.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Right, But.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I think I think Lily's father is a devoted family
man and he and he can't help they. He has
a history with his brother that that also ties him
to his brother. They have a Lily. Lily's father has
(21:14):
had polio as a child, and that that very much
influenced their relationship.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Wow, the more you talk about this story, now Lily,
she's eleven years old, she does, how many brothers and
sisters does she have? And what's her what's her personal
that I can tell you from what you said so far,
but her, I'm picturing this quiet little girl who's kind
of scared to just let go of her mother's uh
(21:41):
the ham of her mother's skirt skirt. This is how
I'm pitching her, So what's her Does she have brothers
and sisters? Is she the youngest or the oldest, and
what's her personality? Like?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Uh, Lily has an older sister and the older sister
has UH is best friends with the cousin, her cousin,
her girl cousin across the pond. Lily would love to
be a part of that as a threesome, but she's
the youngest and so they tolerate her sometimes. So that's
(22:15):
one of the things Lily faces in the summer. Her
mother is troubled. She has her own issues with her
own mother and Lily Lily longs to capture her mother's attention,
but her mother is very distracted. That summer, Lily's required
(22:36):
to practice her cello, and which she does, and she's
fortunately she has a marvelous cello teacher. He's about one
hundred years old and he's just a delightful, delightful character,
and that's kind of a lifeline for Lily during this summer.
(23:00):
I actually had a very He is truly based on
a cello teacher I had when I was young, and
I just adored him. At the end of each lesson,
he would do some kind of a trick for me,
and it was happy, anything more than just a bird call.
But he was, Oh, he was so kind. I would
(23:21):
never have been a cellist without him.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I'm sure she is she bold? Is she tentative? Is she?
What is? What is her personality? Like?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
She's searching. She she looks for clues. She's looks for
clues on what's going on with people. She's I would
not say she's bold, she, but she's she's she looks
(23:51):
to see. She's she's caring, and she's earnest, and she's
not afraid of work. But she's really trying to under
she tries to understand what's going on, and especially what's
going on with her mother.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Oh my god, you've got a lot going on in
this story. The father and the uncle, and now her
mother's dealing with different things, and her mother's and grandmother
have their issues. So but just really see it as
her responsibility to salvage her parents' marriage.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
And if so, why, oh boy, you know, I think
you hit the nail on the head. She does. She
does interfere, she does, she does try to read what's
going on, and she often gets it wrong. She's, yeah,
she takes on a lot of what's wrong in the family.
(24:52):
And and and tries to tries to be a force
for good, but because she gets things wrong, she gets
in trouble.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Oh my god, this book sounds interesting. What her music?
What are what are what are Lily's parents? Like you said,
our mother has has her own issues. Again, I don't
want you to give anything away, but if you could
introduce us to her mother and her father.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Lily's mother and father, they they have they have their
own issues with each other. Although what the father is
is a typical fifties father. He's he's he's smart, he's
(25:43):
he kind of what his decisions have carry more weight
than hers. But and and the mother longs she she
also is a musician and kind of an unfulfilled in
unfulfilled ways. So that's a source of tension between them.
Is that kind of what you meant by that question.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Yeah, well, they're describing their personalities. It's like one of
them was like fun gregarious and when you said nineteen
fifties father, that kind of It's amazing how over the
decades and generations the women's roles in the United States
maybe not so much globally. People change. So you go back,
(26:27):
you say, oh, you know, your parents were very different
in the nineteen forties, nineteen fifties and what they are
are today. But just like some people are more they
just love fun like they love to socialize, and some
people like just being by themselves. They don't if you
had a party at your home, they would be very
(26:49):
disturbed by that.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yes, yes, for sure. The father is the more gregarious
of the two, but neither one is a partier. And
the mother really is has wounds from her from her
own mother, so she she tends to be a loner.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
And how I'm curious now, how old are they because
people became parents younger generations ago, are they liking the
twenty thirties.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yes, they would be early thirties.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Okay, today they might would be in their.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Forties, right right, Yes?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Can you introduce us to a few other major minor
characters who help to move this story forward in water.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Music, Well, you've already met the cello teacher. He's a darling.
And Lily has an aunt who's married to the brash
uncle across the pond. And she she she's smart, she's educated,
(27:57):
she's there's no way should she be married to this man.
To Lilie Tunkle. She's she's educated, she's thoughtful, she's a
little bit unstable, and and we've and gets taken advantage
of in that. In that way, she's very I have
(28:20):
a lot of love for that character in the book.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Are you a pants type of writer, Marcia, where you
just sit down and start writing? And if not, how
did you take water Music from a blank page to
finished novel?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Oh? Wow? Well, I I thought I was going to
write a short story. When I started. It just seemed
like a little anecdote that might turn into a story. Uh,
And then I owed that. But then there was this
other thing that happened, and well that could be a
(28:58):
linked story. Maybe it was two stories, and then three
and then and then I finally had to face the
music and realized, no, this really wants to be a novel.
And I had never written a novel. It's my first,
and so I had to put on my big girl
pants and see what I could do. Fortunately, I had
(29:24):
the luxury of not having a deadline. I could take time,
it could take. It could take as long as it took,
and it did take a long time. I bet from
start to finish it was probably ten years. But you know,
I had a job, and I found that with working
on a novel, the real challenge was that I couldn't
(29:49):
put it do work on it for a day, and
then put it away for two weeks and then come
back to it, because the whole thing had to be
in my mind at once, because everything was connected to
everything else, even just the rhythm of the language and
the and the imagery. So it wasn't just the storyline,
(30:10):
but everything had to cohere in a certain way, which
I was learning as to be. So so yeah, it
was wonderful for me that I could take time and
I as a musician, the the musicality of the language
was important to me. I often just took a morning
(30:33):
to read a couple of chapters aloud to myself, just
to hear how just to hear how it how it's,
how it sounded, and whether it whether it was all
in the same key.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I would say, Okay, what have readers been saying about
water Music? It certainly sounds extremely intriguing to me. What
have readers been saying about the book?
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Oh? Well, I'm lucky I've had some good reviews. The
readers respond to the to the language, readers readers respond
to the to the location, the imagery, the the I
guess my love for cape cod I hope my love
(31:25):
for cape CODs comes through just the rhythms of the
tides and the and the landscape. I live in Minnesota
and I really really do miss miss that.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Do you have plans to turn water Music into a
series so readers can watch Lily grow up and maybe
have a family of her own, If that's a choice.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
You know, you are not the first person to ask
me that, and I I have to give it some
serious thought. My next my next book, which is very
close to done, is completely different. It's about a stolen cello,
and it's it's it has a little bit of a
(32:12):
mystery to it. It is not a mystery per se,
but I would say it's a it's a love story
in a lot of ways. So I don't try to
write a genre fiction, so you know, I'm I'm not
trying to fit into a into a into a cake
(32:33):
pan or a form. I let this let the subject
go where it wants to go. And I've had a
ball writing this, this book about a stolen cello.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
What's the title of this book? And when when do? When?
Will you do you expect to have it on the market.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
Well, the title, the working title is unattended moment and
that moment, you know, that moment when you just look
away for a second and your life might change just
because you weren't paying attention. Wow, So yeah, it's i'll
have it. I'll have it finished soon. You're inspiring me
(33:14):
to get to roll up my sleeves on that one.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
And you said this one is pretty more like a
love story, right, yes, yes, very interesting? Who is this jealous? Okay?
Now you've also oh and does Lily make an appearance
in this.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Or though she does not know? So that's why your
question about a following Lily later in her growth that
that's very intriguing. I hmm okay.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Now you've also had work publishing journals, magazines and newspapers,
and I always imagine a journal having wing for a
journal to be tough. Uh? Has that been your experience
for those our listeners who might be interested in doing
that going down that path? Is it tougher or is
(34:12):
writing a novel? Is?
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Ah?
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Well?
Speaker 3 (34:18):
Both? And I I I was working on short pieces
simply because that worked with my with my work schedule,
but getting getting things into journals. You just keep trying
and and and something succeeds, and very often it's unexpected.
(34:40):
But it gave me a big boost every time a
piece was accepted or I did a couple of op
ed pieces for the for the paper, and you know,
it's just a good ego boost and and and and
helps helps keep you going on a longer work. I
(35:04):
and the novel it's is, I would say. I would
say for me, it was important not to be impatient
about it, just to and and so and so in
the interim while while the novel was cooking along. It
was very encouraging to have something accepted by a journal
(35:27):
or a a an online design or something like that.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Okay, Now, would you recommend, based on your experience, that
writers submit their works to journals to expand their readership,
to build their audience.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
I wish I do. I uh sure. I mean, I
think now that water music is getting some uh some
some visibility that it's really wonderful to be able to
put on my website where they where people can find
other things. It certainly makes me feel credible as as
(36:11):
an author. Yeah, it's all good, it's all good.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Ie. One thing that I've really relied on during my
while I'm writing is my my excellent writers group who
meets once a month and we read each other's stuff.
And there's nothing like having that bond with some other
writers who who who are frank but kind, and if
(36:42):
any if Water Music is a success, I owe a
lot to it. Owes a lot to my writers group.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Oh nice, Now what type of writing did you do
for Musical America Strat Magazine and Strings Magazine. You have
quite a broad writing background.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Those were pieces. Those were nonfiction pieces that had to
do with certain uh maybe an orchestra tour. We toured
South Africa. I think that was what I did. That
was what I wrote about for Strings. It was a
monumentally wonderful trip for the orchestra and very meaningful in
(37:23):
every way. The other I did a piece about our
music director who retired, so and the orchestra has a
recent music director. Now both were Scandinavians and in fact
one was Finish and one is Danish. So yeah, I've
(37:46):
been able to do some nonfiction as well, which is good. Yeah,
it's good practice and congratulations.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
I used to read this years ago. When I saw this,
I was researching for your interview, I said, oh, my goodness,
congratulations on being a Glimmer Train of War finalist for
your short story The Flavor of Borts. Can you just
give us real, real briefly as we have a few
more questions about your short story, and again, congratulations on
(38:20):
making it as a finalist.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
Yeah, thank you, thank you. I that was one of
my early pieces that I wrote and I slaved over it.
But it was about it was about and it's uh.
It was a Russian violinist who went to went to UH,
became a soldier in World War two and was when
(38:42):
he got arrested. When he got arrested in Germany, they
sent him to play in the opera house UH on
his on his old violin and for the duration of
the war. I I just had a ball writing that
that was Yeah, Gresia was his name.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Oh, you are very humble, So for our listeners, another
congratulations to Marsha for having your short story long Distance
nominated for a Pushcar Prize. What's the inspiration behind the
short story long Distance? Oh?
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Long Distance?
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (39:21):
That was that was actually based on on on my
life with that was sort of semi autobiographical. When I
was doing competitions. I was studying in Europe and I
was doing competitions on the cello, kind of major competitions
(39:43):
and uh, that was that was based on a memory
of having to call my father and tell him that
I didn't get the prize. It was yeah, that one
makes my heart flutter.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Oh my goodness. I love the topics and things that
you do pick they had that emotional connect to them. Now,
while I was visiting your website, and I want to
give that out to our listeners again. And that website
for our listeners is Marsha Peck dot com. And when
I talk about these NEXTRAC questions, you'll be happy if
(40:20):
you go over the ass m A r c I
A p e c K dot com, Marshall Peck dot com.
So while I was doing research for this interview, I
discovered that you also appear to have a strong visual eye.
You have a strong ear and it's visual eye. And
then your writing. Are there any plans to delve into
(40:41):
photography as a form of storytelling?
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Oh? I, you know, I don't think of myself as
being good at visually gifted in any way photography. Well,
oh I I love great pictures, but I know that
just seems way out of reach for me.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Okay, okay, now speaking of like a visual eye, who
designed the cover for Water Music? And what was it
like working with the book cover designer?
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Oh? The real great benefit of being with an independent
publisher is I got to pick the title, which was
important to me, and I got to pick the cover.
And this is an artist, Tom Middlebrook from North Carolina.
He's a stunning photographer and artist. And I had asked him.
(41:48):
I've known him just slightly, but he was ever so
kind to agree to do the cover. And I asked
him for something that would give us the image of
movie from that small world of the salt pond into
a larger into a larger milieu. And I thought he
(42:09):
did a fabulous job. I love the cover and I
love the dark clouds that are that are a little
bit ominous. Yeah, I think he did a fabulous job.
Thank you for asking.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
Yes. Yes, Now, last couple, last few questions, please, Marcia,
Based on your personal experience, I like to ask this
question for our listeners who themselves might be writers. Please
share three or four steps that you've taken that you
have personally found to be effective at getting the word
out about your books.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
So I find myself pretty inept at social media and
I've had to learn a lot very quickly. I'm still learning.
I did hire a publicist again, I'm with a small
(43:07):
indie press and they don't have a big budget for
for media. Word of mouth I've been to, I've been
going to book clubs. I've been invited to book clubs.
Let me say, who have read the book and discussed it?
And I've loved doing that. I've loved having that feedback
(43:30):
from people. Yeah, people are very generous. Getting it into
libraries is important, and it's tricky, and and having an
opportunity to speak with you, I mean, this is just gold.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Thank you, Oh, thank you. Where can at the shelf
listeners get a copy of Water Music?
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Water Music? Is it well? Amazon, of course, any in
any bookstore. It's at Barnes and Noble, and if they
don't have it in stock, they're happy to order it.
Any bookstore would order it, and it's I'm happy to
say it's recently been released on audiobook with a great reader,
Emma Love reads it and she captures Lily's voice so beautifully.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
So yeah, okay, Now do you have any upcoming speaking
engagements if so, or any public appearances. If so, could
you share some sor listeners could support you?
Speaker 3 (44:33):
Ah, thank you. I'm not right now. I'm about to
go to my summer music festival in Wyoming and then
and then I've carved out a month for writing after that.
So no, I'm shoulder to the wheel right now.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
Okay. And if you're on social media, can you let
us know where people can find you on social media?
Speaker 1 (45:02):
Well?
Speaker 3 (45:02):
Links? Heer and on my website Marshapeck dot com. And
I'm on Goodreads, I'm on Facebook, of course. I guess
I need to do Instagram. I'm good. My daughter created
has helped me a little bit, and I'm going to
have to ask her to help me with Instagram.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
Okay, Oh, what a pleasure. You are very humble. We
have had the pleasure of speaking with Marsha Peck and
she is just very, very humble. She's a retired cellist
and she played with the Minnesota Orchestra and being in
for more than forty years, and that by itself is
very very impressive, and the Grand Tech Music Festival more
(45:44):
than fifty years. That an impressive musical career. And this
she's award winning author Glemma Chain, and I mean it's
just amazing. So her first novel is water Music, and
she said her sack novel should be out soon or
finished room unattended moment. So it's about the stolen cello.
(46:09):
It's like a love story. So we'll wait and see
when that comes out. But what the music, the story
that is little eleven year old Lily and what's going
on with her family. If you came in on a
show near the mid stream or near the end and
you're like, oh man, I missed it, no worries. Once
the show finished the streaming, you can go back and
(46:30):
listen to it as often as you like. Ensured with
booklovers and music lovers and people who just they love
family and a very engaging story. And again I encourage
you to visit Marcia Peck online at Marshapeck dot com,
m A r c I A p e c k
(46:51):
dot com. Thank you, thank you Marshall for being here
with us on Off the Chef.
Speaker 3 (46:57):
Your pleasure, oh.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
Absolutely, And we, as I always tell our listeners, thank
you so much for being here with us. Just set
your calendar. You're gonna catch Off the shelf. Off the shelf,
Books podcast on Saturdays. On Saturdays and once the show
from the streaming again, you can listen. We have listeners
from all over the world who tune in, and thank
(47:21):
you to our loyal listeners and to our new listeners.
I hope that you all will become amongst those who
are our loyal listeners who listen. Every year we've had
New York Time Bestselling Office, We've had movie producers on,
we had all types of people on off the shelf,
all things story and as I always tell you, you are incredible.
(47:43):
You really are. You are amazing. Please go out and
create a fabulous day for yourself and I see you
back here next Saturday, Marsha. I'll send you a link
to the show when it finishes streaming. Thank you so much,
bye for
Speaker 3 (47:58):
Now, many thanks Denise, thank you
You're listening to the winning literary show Off the Shelf
Books Talk Radio Live with host Denise Turney, author of
the books Long Walk Up Portia, Love for Over Me,
Spiral Love Has Many Faces, and Rosette Us Great Hope.
Turn up your dial and get ready for a blast
of feature author interviews, four one one on book festivals,
(00:21):
writing conferences, and so much more. Ready let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
So welcome. Welcome to our office, self listeners, and I
want to let you know that you are listening to
the winning book podcasts Off the Shelf. As I always start,
I want to thank our loyal listeners who've been with
us now eighteen years. It's just, I mean, time gets by.
It's hard to believe. It's cloudy here where I live.
(00:50):
I'm in the southeastern part of the United States. But
I want to welcome you to this Saturday, June or fourteenthest.
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, and
thank you for all you do for our loyal listeners
who've never missed a show always catches at eleven am
Eastern Standard Time on Saturdays. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
(01:14):
If this is your first time here, I want to
thank you for joining us today as well. We have
a wonderful author on deck for you this morning. But
before we introduce our author, I just you know you, guys,
I asked you how good of a mystery sloop are you?
I love a mystery. I love to see what the
inner workings and a person to make them do what
(01:36):
they do. But I also value relationships, and if you do,
there's a soulmate relationship in here. And these five guys
meeting college in Pennsylvania. One of them is a well
actually two of them are athlete athletics standouts, and one
is also academically very very very gifted. But something happens
(01:59):
that Kylee soon as this one guy who's on his
way to the Olympics soon as six you get there.
He's a middle distance runner and he's an amazing runner.
He witnesses something as soon as he gets there that
later one of these five friends he meets is connected to.
So there's a mystery in this story. And there's a
(02:21):
complicated father son relationship, but this beautiful, beautiful soul mate
relationship as well. If you value relationships and you love
a mystery, I encourage you to get a copy of
Love or Over Me by yours truly, Denise Toorney. It's
an ebook and in paperback and an audio book, Love
(02:42):
Pour Over Me by Denise Attorney. Please go get a
copy and let me know how you enjoy Love for
Over Me. And now let us go and meet our
very special office shelf guests. And this morning's guest, it's
Marsha Peck. She is a retired sellers who has played
with the Minnesota Orchestra for more than forty years and
(03:05):
the Grand Tatan Music Festival for more than fifty years,
which is impressive. This award winning author has painned their
first novel, Water Music, and is busy working on her
second novel. If she has been writing for more than
forty years. Marsha's work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines.
(03:27):
She earned her Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute
of Music and Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. She
also studied in Germany in the masterclass of the renowned
the Italian sellers Antonio John Nigro. Hopefully I said his
name right. And it's just a delight to have Marsha
(03:47):
on off the shelf with us this morning. And I
think you will absolutely enjoy visiting her website, so encourage
you to check her out online at marshapat dot com.
And that's spelled mar c I a p e c
k dot com. And again that's m a r c
I a p e c k dot com. She has
(04:10):
this book, very conversational writing style. At our website, you
feel like you're just chatting with us. I think you
would enjoy checking out marshapeck dot com. So we want
to welcome, welcome, welcome you to off this Shelf this morning.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Marsha, Oh, Denise, what a pleasure to talk to you.
Thank you for having.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Me, and it's a looking forward to what you share.
It's a pleasure to have in you. I always learned
something from every guest, as I'm sure our listeners do.
Which way they keep coming back, and so I'm just
curious and excited to see what you will share this morning.
So to begin today's show, Marsha, can you tell off
the Shelf listeners where you grew up and what life
(04:51):
was like for you growing up.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
I grew up in New Jersey, just outside Newark. It's
so I'm a Jersey girl at heart, although my family
was from New England and that always kind of flavored life,
uh in our house.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
And I grew up in New Jersey. Uh, it was
a typical, typical town, a typical family. My father. My
father was a teacher, and I had a couple of sisters.
What else can I say?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
So you had a fun what do you call like
a traditional I guess childhood and out living outside of Newark,
New Jersey. For our listeners, that's more like the closer
to New York City. It's not right there, but it's
closer to New York City. Part of the New Jersey
is a small state. You know, you got your beaches
(05:50):
and board walks and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
But yeah, that's right. And my family, you know, in
New Jersey, people said why we spent our summers up
on Cape cod because of our uh family links to
New England. But our friends in New Jersey always said,
why would you go there? You can go to the
Jersey Shore. But yeah, so we missed out on that
(06:17):
part of it. But we always had to be in
in the house when the street lights came on. Of course,
at that time, it never occurred to us that that
the street lights came on at very vastly different hours
depending on the season.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yes, yeah, I've heard so many people say that when
that light comes on, you better be you better be
an half. When you were a little girl, Marsha, what
did you want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Oh, what a good question I I had. I didn't
aspire too much of anything. My parents were musicians, and
the rule in the house was I had to practice
one hour and then my time was my own. So
I had to do that hour every day. But then
(07:10):
I got out of chores and things like that. So
if I did my hour on the cello, So I
kind of fell into my career as a musician. It's
by the time I was in high school. It seemed
to me it was the only thing I was good at.
So it I guess. I guess it chose me or
(07:31):
my parents kind of chose that path.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Interesting. That is interesting of all of ours, of all
of our guests, that's not very many have said that.
So that's very interesting. Who or what inspired your love
for writing books. Oh.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
I fell in love with books at a very young age.
I can remember reading this book has stayed with me
my whole life. It was called Blue Willow by Doris Gates,
and I found out recently. It's still in it's still
in print. It was a book about depression era family,
(08:09):
kind of itinerant doing farm work here and there in
this in the western southwest Oklahoma and Utah, and that
the family had one possession that was there. It was
sort of their load star. It was a plate, a
(08:31):
china plate, and the pattern on it was blue willow.
And the mother said, we'll always put this where we
can see it, but we're not going to use it
until we have a house of our own, and it
will be so it was their touchstone for finding a
more stable, better life.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Interesting, Oh my goodness, thanks for sharing that. Now, music is,
they say, the universal language music. Just what is it
about the cello that attracted you more than any other instrument?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Well, I wish I could say I chose it. My
father chose it for me, and he chose it because
he said I had big hands, which I guess is true.
But I do love the cello. I have grown to
love it more than any I think it's the best
instrument of all it. People say that it has a
voice like the human voice. It's the closest thing to
(09:29):
the human voice of all the instruments. We hear beautiful range.
It gets melodies, but it also gets supporting roles in
quartets and in the orchestra, and in popular music we
see cello's on stage. I think it's a gorgeous instrument.
(09:51):
And I would never have been a good violinist. It
was to the two. I don't know. I wouldn't have
been a sit for me.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Interesting. I worked with a colleague back when I was
at Maryland, going back years ago, and she started out,
excuse me, when she was young. I think it was
the violin she said she played. When she said, it
was really really tough, very competitive, and I'm thinking, really,
(10:22):
how many people play the violin? SHED say, you'd be surprised,
And she said it. I asked her, why did you
not pursue it? She's very sharp, bright, I just I
mean this thought she was just an amazing woman. She said.
It's when I tell you competitive, she said, I mean,
it's very competitive, and people who get into different sports,
(10:43):
whether it's tennis or whatever, they're like, once you start
going so far, it is so competitive and so hard
to stand out. She said, she just decided to go
down a different path. But I just wanted to ask you,
like I. When I was covering Really It's Writing in
Ben Salem, Pennsylvania. I got the privilege to cover the
(11:05):
Ben Salem Orchestra, which was a small orchestra, and I
always thought I wouldn't like orchestra music, but I actually
love it. I actually went there and got to sit
with them twice, and I was just amazed. Like the conductor,
the slightest little sound, I thought they sounded fabulous. He
paused and say, wait, wait a minute, wait a minute.
(11:27):
He could hear something and I couldn't even pick it up.
So I wanted to ask you, based on what my
colleague had told me, how competitive and difficult it can
be to make it even land on the orchestra, How
easy or challenging is it to a spot on an orchestra?
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Your colleague is completely right, one hundred percent right. I'm
so glad that I'm not trying to compete against these
kids today, because I'm glad I got my job when
I did. It's the especially violinists are just it's a
tremendously difficult instrument, and they start as young as three
(12:08):
years old. Now, I started when I was six or so,
which is already by today's standards kind of late for
stringed instruments. Winds are Winds are a little different because
they need to grow their their umbusure, their you know,
(12:28):
their teeth, and they et cetera, et cetera to play
a wind instrument. But so strings do start very young.
And oh gosh, the kids who are winning auditions in
our orchestra these days are fabulous.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Oh my goodness. So I want to ask you next,
how did plane in an orchestra impact you over the
years and influence your writings? And next we're going to
start talking about water music. But how did it plane
in the orchestra? How did it influence you and your writings? Oh?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I loved playing in an orchestra. I loved that. I'm
an introvert. I maybe most writers are, I don't know.
But I loved being a part of this family that
was creating something and we had this this this common
mission or common work too to do our best and
(13:29):
to work as a team and to make things, make
things sound good. But let's see where was I going
with this? Oh, the orchestra. There was something about rehearsals
that concentrated my mind so that without but without actual thinking.
(13:53):
If that makes any sense I could, I could draw
on my imagination when I'm making music, and somehow that
would feed into the writing later. I'm not I'm not
being very articulate about this. I'm sorry. It's a It
(14:14):
was a kind of a kind of working working to
work mind and body. You know, when you're when you're
playing an instrument, you're working with your fingers and you're
and you have to stop. Sometimes you don't have time
to think about what's coming next. Notes are flying by,
(14:37):
but there is some kind of inner inner mind that
kicks in and and I think that's true of writing
as well. Sometimes they call it being in the flow
when you're writing, and yeah, I think that's a real thing.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Actually, Okay, now where did you get the ideal for
the book Water?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Well, as I said, we spent our summers on Cape Cod,
and I fell in love with Cape Cod as a child.
It was just a magical place. And I suppose many
of us who've been to camp or or had little
summer trips or outings, it's easy to see how one does.
(15:26):
But we did it. Year after year we returned to
the same little acre on a on a salt pond,
and it was magical. My father. My father dug clams
and he caught flounder, and he always grew tomatoes and cukes,
and he it was hard on my mother. I will
(15:50):
say that she had to wash dishes and pump pump
water and wash dishes on a under a tree. So
that wasn't her greatest her favorite thing. But I don't know.
We just create had this little magical world there. So
(16:11):
that my love of Cape Cod is where I think
the book started.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Okay, So I wanted to our listeners to they can
start visualizing the story the makings of water music. Where
and when does the story take place? And why did
you choose this setting.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
The story takes place in nineteen fifty six, and I
chose that because it's a story when Lily, our main character,
is about eight years old, no sorry, she's eleven years
old going on twelve. And it's a time when life
(16:55):
was hard for women, and Lily's mother is having a
particularly hard summer. I wanted it to be that particular
summer because that's the summer the Andrea Doria sank. I
don't know if our listeners remember the Andrea Dooria, but
it was a beautiful, beautiful, very young Italian ocean liner
(17:18):
that sank not far from Long Island Sound and that
plays a part in the sinking of the Andrea Dooria.
Happens during this summer, and for me it was a
little symbolic of the troubles that Lily's mother is having.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Interesting, very interesting. So can you give our listeners without
giving too much of the story away. It's a brief overview.
You know, you told us it takes place in nineteen
fifty six, the connection between the sinking of this Italian
ocean liner. But can you get us just a little
bit more of a synopsis without giving this story away?
(18:04):
Because I have certainly more questions to ask you about
a lot of music.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I'll try so. Lily's family picks this pond, this salt pond,
because her father's brother, Lily's uncle, lives across the pond
on the other side, and he's there are family problems.
(18:31):
As much as Lily's father is a sturdy, reliable teacher,
his brother is his brother is brash and competitive. Lily's
family is having money troubles and a lot a lot
of this creates tension between those two families, and it's
(18:52):
an important time in Lily's life because she's about to
turn twelve, she's growing up. And to me, the sense
of that little pond that can follow a creek out
to a bay and then finally to the ocean. They
could They could do that on a rowboat, if they
(19:14):
with a rowboat, if they tried, And that that was
an image for me that I felt mirrored Lily growing
from this small world. But she's got to find her
way into a bigger world. And she's got lots of
problems with the family across the pond.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And this is her ancles family. Does her auncle's family
have money? You said he's competitive bility.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Yes, they do have money if he lets them know it.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Oh, is he the older of the two brothers.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Actually he's the younger. He's the younger.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Interesting and that's interesting. Just this is why I love
doing a off the shelf because when you start to
you can't put everything in a book description when you
write it, when you listen to the authors say these
types of things, it makes a story that much more
intriguing to me. So you just introduced us to Lily Granger.
She's Elaven going on twelve, and you told us her family.
(20:15):
They live pond across the pond. Is her brotherless, But
that's why they chose to move there. So that's my question.
If her brother is competitive, he's got this money, they're
financially struggling. He throws this up in their face. Why
would they want to live close to him?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Well, aren't families like that? I mean, they're either enmeshed
in ways that they can't kind of quite separate out,
or there's there or they sometimes just divorce each other.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Right, But.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I think I think Lily's father is a devoted family
man and he and he can't help they. He has
a history with his brother that that also ties him
to his brother. They have a Lily. Lily's father has
(21:14):
had polio as a child, and that that very much
influenced their relationship.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Wow, the more you talk about this story, now Lily,
she's eleven years old, she does, how many brothers and
sisters does she have? And what's her what's her personal
that I can tell you from what you said so far,
but her, I'm picturing this quiet little girl who's kind
of scared to just let go of her mother's uh
(21:41):
the ham of her mother's skirt skirt. This is how
I'm pitching her, So what's her Does she have brothers
and sisters? Is she the youngest or the oldest, and
what's her personality? Like?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Uh, Lily has an older sister and the older sister
has UH is best friends with the cousin, her cousin,
her girl cousin across the pond. Lily would love to
be a part of that as a threesome, but she's
the youngest and so they tolerate her sometimes. So that's
(22:15):
one of the things Lily faces in the summer. Her
mother is troubled. She has her own issues with her
own mother and Lily Lily longs to capture her mother's attention,
but her mother is very distracted. That summer, Lily's required
(22:36):
to practice her cello, and which she does, and she's
fortunately she has a marvelous cello teacher. He's about one
hundred years old and he's just a delightful, delightful character,
and that's kind of a lifeline for Lily during this summer.
(23:00):
I actually had a very He is truly based on
a cello teacher I had when I was young, and
I just adored him. At the end of each lesson,
he would do some kind of a trick for me,
and it was happy, anything more than just a bird call.
But he was, Oh, he was so kind. I would
(23:21):
never have been a cellist without him.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I'm sure she is she bold? Is she tentative? Is she?
What is? What is her personality? Like?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
She's searching. She she looks for clues. She's looks for
clues on what's going on with people. She's I would
not say she's bold, she, but she's she's she looks
(23:51):
to see. She's she's caring, and she's earnest, and she's
not afraid of work. But she's really trying to under
she tries to understand what's going on, and especially what's
going on with her mother.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Oh my god, you've got a lot going on in
this story. The father and the uncle, and now her
mother's dealing with different things, and her mother's and grandmother
have their issues. So but just really see it as
her responsibility to salvage her parents' marriage.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
And if so, why, oh boy, you know, I think
you hit the nail on the head. She does. She
does interfere, she does, she does try to read what's
going on, and she often gets it wrong. She's, yeah,
she takes on a lot of what's wrong in the family.
(24:52):
And and and tries to tries to be a force
for good, but because she gets things wrong, she gets
in trouble.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Oh my god, this book sounds interesting. What her music?
What are what are what are Lily's parents? Like you said,
our mother has has her own issues. Again, I don't
want you to give anything away, but if you could
introduce us to her mother and her father.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Lily's mother and father, they they have they have their
own issues with each other. Although what the father is
is a typical fifties father. He's he's he's smart, he's
(25:43):
he kind of what his decisions have carry more weight
than hers. But and and the mother longs she she
also is a musician and kind of an unfulfilled in
unfulfilled ways. So that's a source of tension between them.
Is that kind of what you meant by that question.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Yeah, well, they're describing their personalities. It's like one of
them was like fun gregarious and when you said nineteen
fifties father, that kind of It's amazing how over the
decades and generations the women's roles in the United States
maybe not so much globally. People change. So you go back,
(26:27):
you say, oh, you know, your parents were very different
in the nineteen forties, nineteen fifties and what they are
are today. But just like some people are more they
just love fun like they love to socialize, and some
people like just being by themselves. They don't if you
had a party at your home, they would be very
(26:49):
disturbed by that.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yes, yes, for sure. The father is the more gregarious
of the two, but neither one is a partier. And
the mother really is has wounds from her from her
own mother, so she she tends to be a loner.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
And how I'm curious now, how old are they because
people became parents younger generations ago, are they liking the
twenty thirties.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yes, they would be early thirties.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Okay, today they might would be in their.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Forties, right right, Yes?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Can you introduce us to a few other major minor
characters who help to move this story forward in water.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Music, Well, you've already met the cello teacher. He's a darling.
And Lily has an aunt who's married to the brash
uncle across the pond. And she she she's smart, she's educated,
(27:57):
she's there's no way should she be married to this man.
To Lilie Tunkle. She's she's educated, she's thoughtful, she's a
little bit unstable, and and we've and gets taken advantage
of in that. In that way, she's very I have
(28:20):
a lot of love for that character in the book.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Are you a pants type of writer, Marcia, where you
just sit down and start writing? And if not, how
did you take water Music from a blank page to
finished novel?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Oh? Wow? Well, I I thought I was going to
write a short story. When I started. It just seemed
like a little anecdote that might turn into a story. Uh,
And then I owed that. But then there was this
other thing that happened, and well that could be a
(28:58):
linked story. Maybe it was two stories, and then three
and then and then I finally had to face the
music and realized, no, this really wants to be a novel.
And I had never written a novel. It's my first,
and so I had to put on my big girl
pants and see what I could do. Fortunately, I had
(29:24):
the luxury of not having a deadline. I could take time,
it could take. It could take as long as it took,
and it did take a long time. I bet from
start to finish it was probably ten years. But you know,
I had a job, and I found that with working
on a novel, the real challenge was that I couldn't
(29:49):
put it do work on it for a day, and
then put it away for two weeks and then come
back to it, because the whole thing had to be
in my mind at once, because everything was connected to
everything else, even just the rhythm of the language and
the and the imagery. So it wasn't just the storyline,
(30:10):
but everything had to cohere in a certain way, which
I was learning as to be. So so yeah, it
was wonderful for me that I could take time and
I as a musician, the the musicality of the language
was important to me. I often just took a morning
(30:33):
to read a couple of chapters aloud to myself, just
to hear how just to hear how it how it's,
how it sounded, and whether it whether it was all
in the same key.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I would say, Okay, what have readers been saying about
water Music? It certainly sounds extremely intriguing to me. What
have readers been saying about the book?
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Oh? Well, I'm lucky I've had some good reviews. The
readers respond to the to the language, readers readers respond
to the to the location, the imagery, the the I
guess my love for cape cod I hope my love
(31:25):
for cape CODs comes through just the rhythms of the
tides and the and the landscape. I live in Minnesota
and I really really do miss miss that.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Do you have plans to turn water Music into a
series so readers can watch Lily grow up and maybe
have a family of her own, If that's a choice.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
You know, you are not the first person to ask
me that, and I I have to give it some
serious thought. My next my next book, which is very
close to done, is completely different. It's about a stolen cello,
and it's it's it has a little bit of a
(32:12):
mystery to it. It is not a mystery per se,
but I would say it's a it's a love story
in a lot of ways. So I don't try to
write a genre fiction, so you know, I'm I'm not
trying to fit into a into a into a cake
(32:33):
pan or a form. I let this let the subject
go where it wants to go. And I've had a
ball writing this, this book about a stolen cello.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
What's the title of this book? And when when do? When?
Will you do you expect to have it on the market.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
Well, the title, the working title is unattended moment and
that moment, you know, that moment when you just look
away for a second and your life might change just
because you weren't paying attention. Wow, So yeah, it's i'll
have it. I'll have it finished soon. You're inspiring me
(33:14):
to get to roll up my sleeves on that one.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
And you said this one is pretty more like a
love story, right, yes, yes, very interesting? Who is this jealous? Okay?
Now you've also oh and does Lily make an appearance
in this.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Or though she does not know? So that's why your
question about a following Lily later in her growth that
that's very intriguing. I hmm okay.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Now you've also had work publishing journals, magazines and newspapers,
and I always imagine a journal having wing for a
journal to be tough. Uh? Has that been your experience
for those our listeners who might be interested in doing
that going down that path? Is it tougher or is
(34:12):
writing a novel? Is?
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Ah?
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Well?
Speaker 3 (34:18):
Both? And I I I was working on short pieces
simply because that worked with my with my work schedule,
but getting getting things into journals. You just keep trying
and and and something succeeds, and very often it's unexpected.
(34:40):
But it gave me a big boost every time a
piece was accepted or I did a couple of op
ed pieces for the for the paper, and you know,
it's just a good ego boost and and and and
helps helps keep you going on a longer work. I
(35:04):
and the novel it's is, I would say. I would
say for me, it was important not to be impatient
about it, just to and and so and so in
the interim while while the novel was cooking along. It
was very encouraging to have something accepted by a journal
(35:27):
or a a an online design or something like that.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Okay, Now, would you recommend, based on your experience, that
writers submit their works to journals to expand their readership,
to build their audience.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
I wish I do. I uh sure. I mean, I
think now that water music is getting some uh some
some visibility that it's really wonderful to be able to
put on my website where they where people can find
other things. It certainly makes me feel credible as as
(36:11):
an author. Yeah, it's all good, it's all good.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Ie. One thing that I've really relied on during my
while I'm writing is my my excellent writers group who
meets once a month and we read each other's stuff.
And there's nothing like having that bond with some other
writers who who who are frank but kind, and if
(36:42):
any if Water Music is a success, I owe a
lot to it. Owes a lot to my writers group.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Oh nice, Now what type of writing did you do
for Musical America Strat Magazine and Strings Magazine. You have
quite a broad writing background.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Those were pieces. Those were nonfiction pieces that had to
do with certain uh maybe an orchestra tour. We toured
South Africa. I think that was what I did. That
was what I wrote about for Strings. It was a
monumentally wonderful trip for the orchestra and very meaningful in
(37:23):
every way. The other I did a piece about our
music director who retired, so and the orchestra has a
recent music director. Now both were Scandinavians and in fact
one was Finish and one is Danish. So yeah, I've
(37:46):
been able to do some nonfiction as well, which is good. Yeah,
it's good practice and congratulations.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
I used to read this years ago. When I saw this,
I was researching for your interview, I said, oh, my goodness,
congratulations on being a Glimmer Train of War finalist for
your short story The Flavor of Borts. Can you just
give us real, real briefly as we have a few
more questions about your short story, and again, congratulations on
(38:20):
making it as a finalist.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
Yeah, thank you, thank you. I that was one of
my early pieces that I wrote and I slaved over it.
But it was about it was about and it's uh.
It was a Russian violinist who went to went to UH,
became a soldier in World War two and was when
(38:42):
he got arrested. When he got arrested in Germany, they
sent him to play in the opera house UH on
his on his old violin and for the duration of
the war. I I just had a ball writing that
that was Yeah, Gresia was his name.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Oh, you are very humble, So for our listeners, another
congratulations to Marsha for having your short story long Distance
nominated for a Pushcar Prize. What's the inspiration behind the
short story long Distance? Oh?
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Long Distance?
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (39:21):
That was that was actually based on on on my
life with that was sort of semi autobiographical. When I
was doing competitions. I was studying in Europe and I
was doing competitions on the cello, kind of major competitions
(39:43):
and uh, that was that was based on a memory
of having to call my father and tell him that
I didn't get the prize. It was yeah, that one
makes my heart flutter.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Oh my goodness. I love the topics and things that
you do pick they had that emotional connect to them. Now,
while I was visiting your website, and I want to
give that out to our listeners again. And that website
for our listeners is Marsha Peck dot com. And when
I talk about these NEXTRAC questions, you'll be happy if
(40:20):
you go over the ass m A r c I
A p e c K dot com, Marshall Peck dot com.
So while I was doing research for this interview, I
discovered that you also appear to have a strong visual eye.
You have a strong ear and it's visual eye. And
then your writing. Are there any plans to delve into
(40:41):
photography as a form of storytelling?
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Oh? I, you know, I don't think of myself as
being good at visually gifted in any way photography. Well,
oh I I love great pictures, but I know that
just seems way out of reach for me.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Okay, okay, now speaking of like a visual eye, who
designed the cover for Water Music? And what was it
like working with the book cover designer?
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Oh? The real great benefit of being with an independent
publisher is I got to pick the title, which was
important to me, and I got to pick the cover.
And this is an artist, Tom Middlebrook from North Carolina.
He's a stunning photographer and artist. And I had asked him.
(41:48):
I've known him just slightly, but he was ever so
kind to agree to do the cover. And I asked
him for something that would give us the image of
movie from that small world of the salt pond into
a larger into a larger milieu. And I thought he
(42:09):
did a fabulous job. I love the cover and I
love the dark clouds that are that are a little
bit ominous. Yeah, I think he did a fabulous job.
Thank you for asking.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
Yes. Yes, Now, last couple, last few questions, please, Marcia,
Based on your personal experience, I like to ask this
question for our listeners who themselves might be writers. Please
share three or four steps that you've taken that you
have personally found to be effective at getting the word
out about your books.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
So I find myself pretty inept at social media and
I've had to learn a lot very quickly. I'm still learning.
I did hire a publicist again, I'm with a small
(43:07):
indie press and they don't have a big budget for
for media. Word of mouth I've been to, I've been
going to book clubs. I've been invited to book clubs.
Let me say, who have read the book and discussed it?
And I've loved doing that. I've loved having that feedback
(43:30):
from people. Yeah, people are very generous. Getting it into
libraries is important, and it's tricky, and and having an
opportunity to speak with you, I mean, this is just gold.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Thank you, Oh, thank you. Where can at the shelf
listeners get a copy of Water Music?
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Water Music? Is it well? Amazon, of course, any in
any bookstore. It's at Barnes and Noble, and if they
don't have it in stock, they're happy to order it.
Any bookstore would order it, and it's I'm happy to
say it's recently been released on audiobook with a great reader,
Emma Love reads it and she captures Lily's voice so beautifully.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
So yeah, okay, Now do you have any upcoming speaking
engagements if so, or any public appearances. If so, could
you share some sor listeners could support you?
Speaker 3 (44:33):
Ah, thank you. I'm not right now. I'm about to
go to my summer music festival in Wyoming and then
and then I've carved out a month for writing after that.
So no, I'm shoulder to the wheel right now.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
Okay. And if you're on social media, can you let
us know where people can find you on social media?
Speaker 1 (45:02):
Well?
Speaker 3 (45:02):
Links? Heer and on my website Marshapeck dot com. And
I'm on Goodreads, I'm on Facebook, of course. I guess
I need to do Instagram. I'm good. My daughter created
has helped me a little bit, and I'm going to
have to ask her to help me with Instagram.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
Okay, Oh, what a pleasure. You are very humble. We
have had the pleasure of speaking with Marsha Peck and
she is just very, very humble. She's a retired cellist
and she played with the Minnesota Orchestra and being in
for more than forty years, and that by itself is
very very impressive, and the Grand Tech Music Festival more
(45:44):
than fifty years. That an impressive musical career. And this
she's award winning author Glemma Chain, and I mean it's
just amazing. So her first novel is water Music, and
she said her sack novel should be out soon or
finished room unattended moment. So it's about the stolen cello.
(46:09):
It's like a love story. So we'll wait and see
when that comes out. But what the music, the story
that is little eleven year old Lily and what's going
on with her family. If you came in on a
show near the mid stream or near the end and
you're like, oh man, I missed it, no worries. Once
the show finished the streaming, you can go back and
(46:30):
listen to it as often as you like. Ensured with
booklovers and music lovers and people who just they love
family and a very engaging story. And again I encourage
you to visit Marcia Peck online at Marshapeck dot com,
m A r c I A p e c k
(46:51):
dot com. Thank you, thank you Marshall for being here
with us on Off the Chef.
Speaker 3 (46:57):
Your pleasure, oh.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
Absolutely, And we, as I always tell our listeners, thank
you so much for being here with us. Just set
your calendar. You're gonna catch Off the shelf. Off the shelf,
Books podcast on Saturdays. On Saturdays and once the show
from the streaming again, you can listen. We have listeners
from all over the world who tune in, and thank
(47:21):
you to our loyal listeners and to our new listeners.
I hope that you all will become amongst those who
are our loyal listeners who listen. Every year we've had
New York Time Bestselling Office, We've had movie producers on,
we had all types of people on off the shelf,
all things story and as I always tell you, you are incredible.
(47:43):
You really are. You are amazing. Please go out and
create a fabulous day for yourself and I see you
back here next Saturday, Marsha. I'll send you a link
to the show when it finishes streaming. Thank you so much,
bye for
Speaker 3 (47:58):
Now, many thanks Denise, thank you
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