Schalesky, Marlo 1967–

PERSONAL: Born September 7, 1967, in Hollywood, CA; daughter of Larry (a manager) and Margo (a business owner; maiden name, Hazlett; later surname, Swedberg) Van Slate; married Bryan J. Schalesky (an engineer), October 1, 1988; children: Bethany, Joelle. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Stanford University, B.A., 1988; graduate study at Fuller Theological Seminary. Politics: Republican. Religion: Christian.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Moody Publishers, 820 North LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610-3284. E-mail—bryan2@ix.netcom.com.

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Named writer of the year, Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, 2001, for Cry Freedom.

WRITINGS:

Cry Freedom (historical fiction), Crossway Books (Wheaton, IL), 2000.

Freedom's Shadow (historical fiction), Crossway Books (Wheaton, IL), 2001.

Empty Womb, Aching Heart: Hope and Help for Those Struggling with Infertility, Bethany House Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Only the Wind Remembers (historical fiction), Moody Publishers (Chicago, IL), 2003.

Author of column in Power for Living. Contributor of nearly 500 articles to Christian magazines, including Focus on the Family, Today's Christian Woman, and Decision.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Firewall (tentative title), a novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Marlo Schalesky told CA: "The novel I'm working on now, tentatively titled Firewall, is set in 1894 in Hinckley, Minnesota, and explores a real historical mystery. On September 1, 1894, one of the worst fires in history ravaged east central Minnesota. It was the first firestorm in Minnesota history, destroying six towns, including Hinckley. Descending on the towns like a red demon, the fire consumed 400 square miles, killing 418 people in four hours. The maelstrom of flames caught the townspeople unaware. Five hundred were saved on the train to Duluth, with a bridge disintegrating into the fire only minutes after the train passed. Another hundred were saved in the gravel pit, where they desperately poured water on each other to keep their clothes from catching fire in the intense heat. A few others were saved in potato patches, water barrels, and by sheer grace. After the fire, the townspeople rebuilt their town, but in the midst of rebuilding, a rumor began of a hermit in the hills, who had been severely burned."

"The novel Only the Wind Remembers was inspired by the remarkable journey of Ishi, the last Yahi Indian, who walked out of the woods in Oroville, California, on August 29, 1911. He came to tell an ancient tale of his people. He came to change one woman's life forever. He was the last of his tribe, the only Stone Age Indian left in North America. He was alone, lonely, with no one who knew his name. Allison was abandoned as a young child and deprived of a place to call home. Loneliness brought them together. Prejudice drove them apart. This is their story, a story of finding hope in an alien world, of the beauty of unlikely friendships, and the wonder of discovering the only love that heals. Only the Wind Remembers invites you into a world where everything is not as it seems, where a simple story holds the key to hope, where only the wind remembers what it means to be free."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2000, John Mort, review of Cry Freedom, p. 1196.

Indian Life, March, 2002, review of Cry Freedom, p. 10; May-June, 2004, review of Only the Wind Remembers, p. 5.

Library Journal, April 1, 2000, Melanie C. Duncan, review of Cry Freedom, p. 86.

Presbyterian Record, May, 2002, Peter Bush, review of Empty Womb, Aching Heart: Hope and Help for Those Struggling with Infertility, p. 44.