Ora's Farm is the touching story of three children, each dealing with emotional issues. Ora is their kindly old neighbor, a farmer who is their mentor, although he doesn't seem to realize it, offering sage, simple advice to grow on. Stephen is feeling the effects of his parents' divorce, Jessica is dealing with a new stepfather in her house and Kristin's mother has cancer. Ora steers them with a gentle hand and heart, making sure all three survive their storms, growing to adulthood. Ora is based on real life farmer and wonderful person, Ora Coleman.
Marcia was born on September 14, 1955, the eldest of four children. In the following years, she found herself a constant source of entertainment to her two younger sisters and brother with her writing. In high school, two English teachers discovered her talent and nurtured it. With their encouragement, Marcia knew that her writing could go much further than entertaining siblings. One of the teachers told her that she had the ability to turn words into pictures in the reader's mind and that this was no easy feat, that it was a God given talent.
Although Marcia never forgot her teacher's words, writing took a back seat to marriage and two children, Stephanie and Stephen. Between ice-skating lessons and little league games, there was only time for a paragraph now and then - paragraphs that over the years turned into hundreds of pages that have now been assembled into her next book, Both Sides Now. After a divorce and many years as a single parent, Marcia remarried and thought her life was better than ever. But - seven months after the wedding, she lost her son to a car accident.
Marcia's first book, Stephen's Moon, was published in 1999 and has made itself at home in the literary world. This tragic event in Marcia's life, the loss of her eighteen-year old son, Stephen, in April of 1997, served as a catalyst for her writing career. Turning tragedy into triumph, Stephen's Moon is about the loss of her son. It was written to help others who are dealing with loss. The book has been widely received in grief groups across the nation. Marcia is an adamant supporter of the group, The Compassionate Friends, as well as a speaker for many of their events.
Ora's Farm is the story of a kindly old farmer and three children who are fortunate enough to be his neighbors. Each child is dealing with an emotional issue and Ora is their mentor, although he doesn't seem to realize it, offering sage, simple advice to grow on. Children's issues are brought to light through these three children - divorce, a stepparent and the death of a parent. The book has been well received by all ages.
Marcia's son, Stephen, is a character in Ora's Farm. His personality is as enduring as hers, making him a well rounded and enjoyable character, good natured and caring, just as he was while on this earth. Stephen turns to Ora for comfort during his parent's divorce. The other characters are Jessica and Kristin, dealing with a stepparent and the death of a parent, respectively.
The character of Kristin comes from Marcia's stepdaughter, Kristin Carter, who really did lose her mother to cancer at an early age. The character of Jessica comes from Stephen's girlfriend at age four. The three children survive it all with Ora's help, growing to adulthood under his watchful, caring eyes.
