Now and then local authors approach me and ask if I would be willing to read manuscripts of books they are writing in the hope that I will give them feedback on their work. I don't usually do it. No extra time — my reading load is constant — when I do read something that isn't related to this program or to writing book reviews for the newspapers I prefer to devote my spare moments to reading for pleasure. Brain breaks are crucial.
Over 20 years ago a woman I knew here in Yellow Springs asked me if I would consider reading the draft of a novel she was writing? I knew Marsha Bush socially. We had had a number of conversations about writing over the years. I reluctantly agreed to read it. Her draft was really good. It was dark stuff about a child abuser.
I gave her my feedback and encouraged here to follow through and try to get it published. The years rolled by-I forgot about it. In 2022 Marsha reached out to me by e-mail to tell me she had published a novel and asked if I would consider reading it? She was living in California. I said, sure, please send a copy. She mailed me the book. The moment I began reading it I recognized it, it was the same book I had read in draft form all those years ago.
I asked her if she would be willing to do a radio show with me? She initially declined. I kept asking her. She finally agreed, on the condition that I would not reveal her true identity and only address her by her pen name of "B.G. Arnold." I had no problem doing that. We recorded an interview. In honoring her request for confidentiality I could not mention that I knew her, that I read her manuscript years ago, that she was once a Yellow Springs resident, none of those details.
Marsha Bush died in November. I saw her obituary in the Yellow Springs News. It mentioned this book. Therefore I assumed Marsha finally decided to let people know she wrote it. Here's Marsha Bush talking about it.
Book Nook Bonus Segment: Remembering Ella Jenkins
Ella Jenkins also died in November. She was 100 years old. In 2001 she
was in Yellow Springs and we did an interview. Ella was the top selling
artist on the Smithsonian Folkways record label. She put out her first
record album in 1957. That day she brought along her harmonica and told a story about it. When I read her obituary in the New York Times it had that same story about her beloved harmonica.
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public.
