“Learn from Rejection” RPLA Showcase: Mark Newhouse

Getting professional feedback on a work close to your heart can be soul-crushing. You have two choices: give up or dive back in and do the work. Lucky for readers everywhere, Mark Newhouse pulled up his sleeves after getting his rubrics back from RPLA judges and revised his story. He turned his non-winning book into a winner, a big winner. The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose won First Place for Published Historical Fiction and also Published Book of the Year in the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Mark shares about the influence of the Holocaust on his family and work, his year of revision, and the importance of determination in this week’s RPLA showcase.

Mark’s Writing Journey

I think every writer has a shadow from their past that influences them. I was born in Germany to Holocaust survivors who lost their parents and most of our relatives because of hate. Arriving in America, with me as a baby, my parents struggled as immigrants and a difficult marriage.  A lonely and abused child, I discovered at an early age that the pen was a magic wand that could help me face my problems. Humor was my escape.

Abused children have scars that damage their confidence, so I didn’t show my writing to others. When I was teaching 6^th grade in Central Islip, Long Island, I developed a project to raise money for Ethiopia’s hungry children. My superintendent informed Newsday and I was asked to write about it. To my surprise, the director of Newsday’s Educational Department asked me to write a teacher guide for The Statue of Liberty restoration. I completed the activity book on a Commodore 64 computer in two weeks, (remember them?), that showed only half a page on the screen.  That was my first published book. I never thought that good deed would change my life, but soon, I was writing more teacher guides and articles for various magazines. And then, disaster struck.

I had to teach science and almost set fire to my classroom. (It’s a long story.) Many of my students couldn’t read the textbook anyway, so I created my first Rockhound Science Mystery. Science is a method to solve mysteries. My kids loved solving the crazy cases with simple science experiments. I was shocked when the first publisher I approached wanted them and they won Learning Magazine’s Teachers’ Choice Award and a media contract. I believed my future as an author was sealed, but things don’t always work out as you hope. My books became tied up in a corporate bankruptcy. I was devastated and almost gave up, but decided it was time to try something new.

I’d written plays for my so-called ‘below-level’ students to perform for other classes and senior centers. One of these plays, The Trial of Jack Beanstalk, became the inspiration for Welcome to Monstrovia, a mystery featuring Jasper Doofinch, the lawyer for mythical monsters and fantasy folk in a secret sector of the United States. It, and both of its sequels, that introduce law to children with fantasy cases, were honored with RPLA awards. I get a kick when parents say that their children now want to be lawyers. My goal with my children’s books is to make them laugh while they learn. It was after Mom died, that a 550 page ‘monster’ book, unexpectedly helped me solve the greatest mystery of my life and inspired my Best Published Book of the Year novel, The Devil’s Bookkeepers.

The Winning Entry, The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose

Logline: He will risk everything to save his loved ones as the Nazi noose tightens around the Lodz ghetto, in Poland, in a passionate story of love and sacrifice based on real events.

I was cleaning out my closet and found the ‘monster’ book mom gave me before she died. I noticed it was personalized to her and my stepfather, another Holocaust survivor. It was The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto, translated by Lucjan Dobroszycki, (Yale University Press, 1984), a collection of anonymous entries written by forgotten writers, who risked their lives writing them in the same building as the Nazi Administration. I never knew it existed.

My parents never talked about their experiences in the Lodz ghetto and Auschwitz, so I read every entry and began to understand what they’d suffered. I never planned to write a book. It’s difficult enough to write for children; this would be impossible, especially since I could learn almost nothing about the writers. But I was hooked. I visualized the chroniclers arguing over the controversial policies of the ghetto’s chairman, who forged this holding tank for 250,000 Jews, including my parents, into a manufacturing powerhouse for the Germans. But I didn’t think I was good enough to capture this powerful story. I couldn’t get it out of my head.

I decided to try and write it for my family, so they would know about their past I had known so little about.  Amazingly, I typed nearly 700 pages in a month! It took more than a year of editing, sharing chapters with my writing group, and getting the reaction of beta readers, before I decided to publish and enter RPLA. I felt as if the ghosts of my family had written it through me. I didn’t want to disappoint them.

When The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose, didn’t place in last year’s RPLA, I was disappointed, but seized on the judges’ comments and  made significant changes. When I re-entered this year, I never suspected it would win. I’m still stunned but so grateful, because I want people to learn about the Chronicle and experience the emotions I felt as they share this gripping story of  what it was like to live with unrelenting suspense and terror as the noose tightened. The human beings in this story of love, courage and sacrifice, want what we all want: family, friends, love and peace. You honoring my story proves we must never give up on our dreams. For my son and friends to win the same night, was unforgettable. I only wish my parents, grandparents and all those lost during the Holocaust, could have witnessed one of the proudest nights of my life and the end of my search for what happened to my family, and to too many others because of hate. Thank you, Chris, judges, and FWA.

Read an excerpt from The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose here.

“Dear Me,” (Advice to My Younger Writing Self)

Last year, my book, The Devil’s Bookkeepers, a finalist, didn’t win. Disappointed, I could have given up. Instead, I used the judges’ comments to make important changes. So, my first advice is to never give up and learn from rejection. Criticism and rejection are painful, but if you have a passion for your writing, you need to be open to learn from others. I wish I could thank last year’s judges for helping me earn this honor. Instead, I’ll thank everyone who volunteers, as I do, to help judge RPLA.

My second piece of advice is not to let anything, or anyone, destroy your confidence. I’m amazed at how many writers tell me they are shy and hate promoting their work. I was, am, too. It was only by accident that my writing was discovered by others. I realized one of the things that helped me gain confidence was sharing my work with my writing groups. It wasn’t easy, and I resisted criticism, but I’ve learned so much from these friends and from running my own Writers 4 Kids club for more than twelve years. Working and learning from others is the best way to become better at your craft and develop confidence. As one author advised me, when you promote a book, don’t think of it as selling, but as your way to help others, either informing them or to entertain. After all, isn’t that why you wrote your book in the first place?

My third piece of hard-learned advice that I’d share with young Mark is, don’t write for money or fame, but because you are passionate about what you’re doing. Most writers don’t get rich or become famous, but if you are passionate, you’ll want to learn the best ways to improve. Nothing pleases me more than when a reader of The Devil’s Bookkeepers says, “You put your heart into this book.” I try to put my heart and soul into everything I write and do. Otherwise, why bother?

Other Works by Newhouse

We recently released The Devil’s Bookkeepers 2: The Noose Tightens, which won a Bronze medal for unpublished Historical Fiction this year and is getting great reviews. Book 3 will be given to beta readers soon. Writing these novels was an amazing privilege, but emotionally draining. Someone said I was born to write this. I wish I didn’t have to. I hope reading this haunting series is making people say, “never again to anyone anywhere.”

Once Book 3 is complete, I want to get back to my humorous children’s mystery series. Welcome to Monstrovia; The Case of the Disastrous Dragon and The Case of the Crazy Chickenscratches, were all honored with RPLA awards, as well as the Benjamin Franklin and Readers’ Favorites awards, so I’m eager to add the Case of the Fire-Breathing Firefighter and The Case of the Killer Knights as the next fun reads. Jasper Doofinch, is my Perry Mason, a role model for kids today, and I love writing these fun-filled adventures that empower kids and show them that intelligence and courage, not violence, are the best ways to solve problems. Oh, yes, and laughter.

All of my books may be found on Amazon/Kindle or from www.newhousecreativegroup.com

Connect with Mark

I’m always happy to hear what readers think of my books and to help others with their writing. You can learn more about me at www.markhnewhouse.com or at www.newhousecreativegroup.com where you may sign up for our newsletter and receive freebies and updates. I’m proud to be Chairperson of the Florida Writers Association Youth Program (FWAY), and invite middle/high school students, parents and teachers to use the contact form at floridayouthwriters.org or visit our Facebook page, Florida Youth Writers, to learn about FWAY and our great annual conference. I welcome new friends on Facebook (Mark H. Newhouse or Mark H. Newhouse Author). You can also find me at Bully Stoppers Club and on Instagram @markhnewhouse, as well as on Pinterest and Twitter.

More about RPLA

The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. Judges include literary agents, publishers, film producers, current or retired professors, teachers, librarians, editors, bestselling and award-winning authors, and journalists from across the nation. Entries are scored against the criteria set by RPLA using rubrics tailored to each genre. Winners are announced at the annual FWA conference during the RPLA awards banquet. The 2020 guidelines will be posted in January.