Nobody's Child (24 page)

Kevork grinned broadly. He was that much closer to Marta.

I
would like to thank Arsho Zakarian, who opened her heart, her mind, and her books to me. The fine details of Armenian and Turkish life would not have been possible without her assistance. Sincere thanks to Carl Georgian, whose stories of his father Kevork Kevorkian (George Georgian) were the inspiration for my character, Kevork. The late Aram Aivaizian was also instrumental in making this book possible. His stories of being an orphan after the massacres were vivid and crisp. Aram also loaned me dozens of books and read early drafts of my manuscripts. Sincere thanks also to Linda Eley and Denise Kirk of the Brantford Public Library, who provided me with materials for this novel via inter-library loan. Sincere thanks to Herminé Najarian who took me into her home and cooked up an Armenian feast and told me stories of her father's survival from the massacres. Also, a big thank you to Rosdom Yeghoyan, who clarified many small cultural
details for me. Hugs and thanks to Mom and Bill for their speedy reading and eagle eyes.

A big hug to my husband, Orest, who helped me out of more computer glitches than I care to admit. I would also like to thank the private kidcritters in Compuserve's Litforum. The timely and pertinent feedback from Polly Martin, Kate Coombs, Karen Dyer, Linda Gerber, Julie Kentner, Sheryl Toy, Lori Benton, Janet McConnaughey, Merrill Cornish, Linda Mikolayenko, and Rosemarie Reichel saved me much time and hair-pulling. I would also like to thank Natalia Buchok, Eliz Sharabkhanian, and Houri Najarian, who all read the completed manuscript and offered corrections for cultural accuracy. Sincere thanks to Dr. David Jenkinson, whose encouragement convinced me to try my hand at writing a novel set entirely in the past.

This novel would not have been possible without the encouragement and patience of my agent, Dean Cooke, and his assistant, Samantha North. I would also like to thank my editor, Barry Jowett, for his sharp eye and kind words.

A printable teacher's resource guide can be found at the author's website:
http://www.calla.com

The Armenian National Institute has extensive information on the genocide at:
http://www.armenian-genocide.org

Summer without Dawn

by Agop J. Hacikyan and Jean-Yves Soucy

Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2000

ISBN 0-7710-3752-X

A fast-paced historical novel set during the genocide.

Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide

by Donald E. Miller and Lorna Touryan Miller

Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999

ISBN: 0520219562

Compelling interviews with 100 survivors, including women.

Ararat

by Atom Egoyan (director), 2002

with David Alpay and Arsinée Khanjian

This award-winning Canadian film is partly set during the genocide.