Boardman students, teacher have hand in author's success

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Readers nationwide soon may be able to pick up copies of a book that, from cover to cover, is the product of Valley talent.

Laura Markovitch, 49, of Boardman published her first book, “The Waiting Room,” on March 18.

Thanks to its success on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com, and after she got it on shelves at the local Barnes & Noble, Markovitch hopes to distribute the book nationally.

The book chronicles the life of character Taylor Collier.

“She’s 30 years old and her life is out of control because she’s never faced her past,” Markovitch explained. “It takes you through her [therapy] sessions and flashes back to high school, college and the years after college.

“There’s some shocking things that happen, and the reader won’t see the ending coming,” she said. “I think Taylor’s story is pretty interesting. There are some dark parts. ... But I think her journey to healing, her journey to forgiveness — people can understand.”

Taylor is entirely fictional, Markovitch said, but she found a real-life model to pose as Taylor for the book cover: Boardman High School senior Ireland Blume.

Blume modeled for the cover, high-school senior Tyler Calpin took the photos and their teacher, Alyssa Birch, did the design and layout.

“It was just a cool experience — because I’m on a book!” Blume said.

“Most high-school students cannot say they’re on a book that’s on Amazon, or that they worked on something that’s for physical purchase,” Calpin said. “It was kind of surreal having something physical, that you can hold, that other people can hold, rather than just a file on your computer — it’s a book!”

Birch, who designed more than 100 versions of the cover before landing on the final one, said it was a great learning experience for her students.

“This is what you can do” with a photography degree, she said. Calpin and Blume both plan to study photography in college next year.

“I think it’s important that they could create something for other people but still have it be their art,” Birch said.

Markovitch first contacted Birch, a family friend, about the project in 2007 when she started writing “The Waiting Room.” The cover is everything she wanted it to be, she said.

“My editor wanted a human touch, so when I saw this [cover], I was blown away. Her eyes are amazing,” she said. “I mean look at it — it’s just amazing. I love it.”

Before she wrote the book, Markovitch didn’t write creatively. She was inspired to start while she was getting her master’s degree at Youngstown State University. She found time to write in between her teaching job at Leetonia High School, getting her master’s and raising two kids.

She finished the book in 2010, went through the editing process, and then she and her editor self-published the work.

The reception so far, she said, has been great.

“I had a signing at The Magic Tree on the 20th [of March], and the line was out the door. It was amazing. I sold over 200 books,” she said. The book also has a five-star rating on Amazon.

Now she’s working on her second novel, called “Klepto.” She plans to stick with a similar theme.

“Psychology has always fascinated me — why people do what they do and how they’re able to overcome life challenges,” she said.

As for Calpin and Blume, they might have another job lined up when “Klepto” is complete.

“I’d like them to do my next one,” Markovitch said.