Living My Best Life
When in doubt, do something that fascinates you…
For an autographed copy of the prize-winning paperback, email me the name for the autograph. The e-book is now available on Kindle & free on Kindle Unlimited.
$20 for the novel and $5 for postage
If you can’t hand me a $20 in exchange for my book, signed for you in person, then the easiest way to pay is by e-transfer to me from you via online banking to mildonml@gmail.com
Dance Me a Revolution
A literary novel set in the lofty mountains of Peru as trekking guide Rosa tries to lead trekkers safely while still struggling with her past as a bomber who started a revolution.
$25.00
Dance Me a Revolution
Set in the lofty Andes mountains, Dance Me a Revolution follows tour guide Rosa Amaru as she struggles to reconcile her intense longing for the revolution that could return the Incas to power with the reality of Peruvian life for Andean peasants in the 1970/80s. While still a captive of her troubled past, she must lead Canadian videographer Kelly Davis and American coastguard Tony Comeau through the wild beauty of her colonized homeland for her family’s tour company. But this is to be no popular tourist trek to Machu Picchu—instead it threatens to destroy Rosa, her family, and the trekkers’ lives, as together they dance their way through a world of shifting morals and identities.
“Eighteen-year-old Rosa can shoot an AK-47 and cuddle her baby son, but can she save herself from the revolution that she started?”
An adult literary novel, Dance Me a Revolution may be seen as in the vein of The Poisonwood Bible and Bel Canto, with a touch of trek-ologue.
Sue-Ellen Welfonder on Bookbub
5 Stars ~ Globetrotters need this book! (and so do armchair travelers)
Dance Me a Revolution by Marsha Mildon is a must-read for anyone who loves to travel and, above all, wants to truly experience the heart and soul of a destination. Adventurous, atmospheric, and incredibly addictive, this story grabs you from the start and sweeps you along on a journey not to be missed. You’ll be immersed in heroine Rosa’s world, and Mildon paints that world with such skill, you’ll believe you’re actually there, trekking about in Peru of the 1970s/80s, seeing the grandeur of the Andes with your own eyes, exploring colorful marketplaces, smelling and tasting food that’s ‘exotic’ to most Westerners, and, as well, coming face-to-face with the danger and brutality that hovers just beneath the surface of so much beauty, legend, and fascinating history… (Go to complete review https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3792023469 )
Must read 🏆 Dance Me a Revolution 5 Stars Review by Susie Helmes
“In the colourful world of Andean treks and Inca artefacts, the revolution begins with a dance…
Rosa wants the revolution, wants to lead the Incas Pachakutiq—just…not New Year’s, with all the people dancing…I just love the title. The writing is gorgeous, and it’s well edited. The plot is exciting, working toward a beautiful climax. The gringos even play a role in saving the day, and Kelly gets it all on film… And it all ends with a dance—the marinera.” (read full review through link above)
Barb Schiola, reader from #DogsofTwitter“
Rosa and her uncle are private guides in the Andes. Inca culture and customs get introduced as they lead tourists Kelly and Tony on an excursion.We learn about their pasts, their reasons for taking the tour and the history of violence that plagues Rosa. She just wanted to dance with her true love and become an archeologist, but meeting Diego changed the course of her life.
It is a journey of personal discovery and self-realization, a passage of healing and a voyage to mending dark memories. I have been an avid reader my whole life and I have to say that Marsha’s writing style did something that not all authors can do, or maybe don’t do very well. She put me in the scene ALL THE TIME. With descriptions of the house, the brilliant colors in the market, and the wilderness of the Andes, I felt like I was there. I could smell bread baking, taste the bitterness of coca tea and enjoy the chicken soup and stews. How is this different than other writers?
Many writers gloss over the scenery while others add details that become overkill. Marsha works the description into the scene while expertly building each character. I trekked with the tourists, I climbed the Andes and I felt Rosa’s emotional and physical struggles. I enjoyed Dance Me a Revolution very much. I hope you’ll read this short review and get a copy for yourself. You won’t be sorry!
Jean M. Roberts The Books Delight
The author first enchants us with descriptions of the Andean region where Rosa and her family live. Stories from their ancient past, the glory days of the Incan Empire, are threaded through the book. I really enjoyed learning about the life of the campesino, the peasant farmer, and their relationship to the land and the belief system of the Incas which persists in modern times. (see full review https://www.thebookdelight.com/2021/09/book-review-dance-me-revolution-by.html)
About Me
A writer, a traveller, an adventurer, a dog mom—that’s me, happily exploring the world from prehistoric times right up to now. Over the decades, I have explored the Americas primarily, although in my teens and early 20s, I travelled in Europe and the Middle East. That travel has been one of the things inspiring my writing. I have written poetry, stage plays, short stories, novels, plus zillions of non-fiction articles and two histories—all published or produced. Most of my non-fiction has been on housing and women’s issues, plus legal information for the general public in my role as Editor-in-Chief of LawNow Magazine. My favourite project is my prize-winning novel, Dance Me a Revolution, published June 2021, and a prize winner in the Grindstone International Literary Novel Contest for 2021. The paperback is available here; e-book available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
My love affair with Latin America
As is obvious from the photos above, I am in love with Latin America, especially Peru and Guatemala, the countries where I have spent the most time. But I’ve enjoyed all of the South and Central countries I have travelled in. I have been blessed by the wonderful Latin Americans I have met, become friends with, lived with, volunteered with, helped build new schools with. My latest novel, Dance Me a Revolution, is set in the Andes. It grew over the decades from a two minute conversation with my guide at 16,000 feet on the Salkantay trek in 1987, a conversation that went like this:
Me: “I heard you went to university. What did you study?”
Guide: Oh we were all revolutionaries then. They closed the university.”
It tells the story of a family of indigenous South Americans trying to survive through a difficult time in their country, while also leading treks—for two N. Americans in this story. It’s not an easy story, but one that celebrates the strength of the human spirit.
I’ve been lucky enough to trek in Peru and Bolivia in 1987 & 2019, and to volunteer with two different organizations that help poor children, the future of South America. I taught English with photography to campesino children in Peru during six separate month long visits, and helped both physically and financially to build their new school, partly so I didn’t have to teach in the yellow brick hut with the family chickens or in the burro paddock with the burros.
I also had great fun being a temporary co-ordinator of a telecentre for Los Chicos de la Calle, homeless children in Esmeraldas Ecuador, teaching ESL, computers, and helping them make a video of themselves during an eight week stay. These children didn’t have shoes to wear, houses to live in, never mind mirrors, so seeing themselves on video seemed to be wonderfully exciting to them.
Many people, especially indigenous people, live with poverty, racism, and danger unimaginable to even poorer citizens in privileged western democracies like Canada. Even when I’ve been homeless, writing from my tent or car, l’ve rarely feared for my life.The urban street children in Ecuador were often frightened, but always resourceful hard-working kids with a thirst for education that might improve their future. In Peru, poverty and inequality, especially in the rural Andes, have led to many revolutions over the centuries. I’ve talked and listened to ex-Sendero Luminoso guerrillas, people who loathe SL, members of the Rondas Campesinas, and with some folks who tried their best to stay out of it all. I love and respect them all, regardless of their political/revolutionary philosophies.
It seems to me that when you feel there is no hope for you or your people, the intense desire to change your world for the better may push you to extremes. In Dance Me a Revolution, I explore the good, the bad, and the breakfast of acting during extreme times, and in that process, explore how we humans make decisions and how we live with them. Many people before me have felt the world was on the brink of revolution. I joined SNCC and the civil rights protests in the 1960s, protested Canadian involvement in the Vietnam war, and worked with Canadians who had family members close to the FLQ. I know a little about the feeling of wanting change so much you’d do anything to bring it. I’ve listened to friends talk about picking up the gun. However, my grandfather—hunter, fisherman, and realtor—taught me how to shoot his .22 calibre rifle before I learned to read; years later, I carried a .30-06 semi-automatic rifle to protect an arctic geologists’ camp from polar bears. I know the feeling of immense power that comes with simply holding a gun in my hand; so I know enough to never want to use one on another human being (or polar bear). Since those times, I have used only words and teaching skills to help people make change in a few small corners of their world.
If you want to ask me questions about my novel, Dance Me a Revolution, you can do so at mildonml@gmail.com. I also answer questions about the writing process when asked on email.
Publishing History
WINning: The Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs of Opening a Women’s Shelter (2020)
To order, go to http://www.enable.org/winning/index.html#contact
“What an interesting read – on so many levels – not the least of which is – as the Margaret Mead quote states – ’never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world’. The book gave insight into the times…women’s issues….social issues…political influences…” Laura from Edmonton Community Foundation
The Great Canadian Diamond Rush and Arctic Mirage (2010) poetic stories self-published, available from me as a pdf via email.
Stalking the Goddess Ship. (1999) Vermont, USA: New Victoria Publishers.
Fighting for Air. (1995) Vermont, USA: New Victoria Publishers, (loosely based on my wonderful 15 years as a scuba diving instructor, though minus the murders here & in Stalking the Goddess Ship).
The Case of the Purloined Socks. (1995) Edmonton AB: Catalyst Theatre.
Adventures in Figleaf Gardens. (1994) Northern Alberta Tour: Catalyst Theatre (1991) Edmonton AB: Catalyst Theatre
A Wealth of Voices: A History of the Edmonton Social Planning Council 1939-1990
Lightning Strike. Workshop West Theatre (1984) Edmonton AB: Access Theatre of the Air, Access Radio; (1986) New York: New York Women’s Theatre Co.; (1984) (loosely based on the first teacher’s strike in Edmonton, led by Mary Crawford, a highly respected Edmonton teacher.
Marsha Mildon Writing 