Escarpment: Your book is Historical Fiction intended for a
Young Adult (YA) market (ages 13 -18). Your characters are
compelling.Whydidyoudecideon thisgenreandwhydidyou
set thestory inSerbia?
Judith:
Thegenre reflectsmypersonal interest in reading. I likeabook that
engagesmewith thecharactersandeventsbut educatesmeat the same time.
Although therehas been lotswrittenonWW II in various European countries
especially, little, if anythinghas beenwrittenonSerbiaduring thisworldwar.
PeoplearegenerallyawareofHitler’s campaignagainst the Jewsof Europe,
but fewerpeopleareawareof hishatred for theSlavsand thegypsies. InSer-
bia, theatrocitiesofwarweremagnifiedby thepresenceof three factionsstrug-
gling for power and control over Serbia: the Royalists, the Partisans, and the
Nazis. For those living there, lifewasput onhold indefinitelywhile theycoped
dailywith the terrorizationofwar—anespeciallydishearteningsituation for the
country’syoungpeople.
Because thebook targets primarilyaYA readership, the story is told from the
point of viewof themaincharacterwho is, herself,a teenager. (Personally,as
an adult, I enjoymany books that are designatedYA. Some, like the recent,
“TheFault inourStars”makegoodmoviematerial.)
Escarpment:Howmuchof your story isbasedon fact?
Judith:
Themain events in the story actually happened. I had toaddmore
characters to roundout the storyandpull all the strings togetherbut theprinci-
pals in the story arebasedon the real lives of the familymemberswho lived
through thewar. Here I usedmywriter’s imagination tocreatecharacters that
I thinkare likableand realistic.
Escarpment:What didyoudrawon for inspiration?
Judith:
Thematerial for thebook, the real life scenarios,was from stories of
myextendedSerbian family throughmarriage.
Escarpment:What isyourwritingbackground?
Judith:
For many years I wrote articles for various publications andmaga-
zines including thesectionon teachingchildren in theCanadianSki Instructors
Alliance’smanual. Tug-of-War ismy first novel.
Escarpment: Pleasepiqueour readers’ interest bygivingusa
brief summaryof ‘TugofWar’.
Judith:
Fifteen-year-old Miriana, an only child, lives in a small, two-bedroom house in Bela Palanka,
Serbia, with her parents, who farm and run a saw and gristmill. Their tiny home now accommodates her
mother’s sister and nephew, who have been forced to evacuate fromGerman-occupied Belgrade. Miriana’s
aunt is frequently calledupon by theGermans to translate for them—a taskmademore stressful by the fact
that the family is alsohidingaPartisan soldier in the cellar of the house. Being caughtmeans certaindeath.
Meanwhile, Miriana’s best friend, Stefan, supports his widowedmother and aging
grandparents on a nearby farm; he resents having to
abandon his aspirations for an education and his passion
for the violin to run the farm.
Their existence is fraught with the angst of evening curfews,
blackout curtains at night, unforeseen air raids, and
conflict with the Nazis, but family, friends, and small
pleasures propel them through a war that threatens
their happiness and their lives on a daily basis.
|E|
109
WINTER
2015
|
“The author exposes her young
audience to the fears and
barbarity of war without scarring
themwith unduly graphic
dramatizations of events.”
~Goodreads
JudithSomborac isanoccasional teacher
andaski instructorwhoworks inboth
capacitieswithchildrenand teenagers.
JudithhasaBA inEnglishand
French from theUniversityofGuelph.
Judith lives inCollingwood.
