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As I have for the last few years, I am once again participating in picture book author Tara Lazar's STORYSTORM challenge. The goal is to come up with 30 story ideas over the 31 days of January. The ideas can be short or long, illustrated or written. The idea is to set up the writing year with a bucket of ideas to turn to when needed. I have never reached 30 ideas; some years I get only a handful of ideas, but the exercise forces me to let my brain wander and see what happens. There have been some very vague ideas such as "penny ante" and some very detailed ideas that have become a loose manuscript. Good luck to all who are participating! 
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I was interviewed recently by Yitty Falk, who edits The Frum Books Newsletter for readers of Orthodox Jewish books. She usually focuses on books for adults, but wanted to focus on younger readers and included me and my work as part of her middle-grade round up. As Yitty wrote in her introduction, "This collection features the best of Middle Grades for girls, primarily for 4th and 5th graders. Bestselling authors Miriam Walfish and Faygie Holt join me to give you context on their genre and something to think about when choosing books for your daughters." Yitty had some great questions including why tweens like to read about real-life problems and issues. It was a fun interview and discussion. Here's a sample from the newsletter ...   Recently, several publishers have released nonfiction books to help young readers understand the history, pain and consequences of discrimination against minorities. Despite the high level of antisemitism across the country and worldwide, none of the books to date have dealt with antisemitism.
In response, I have launched a book imprint called "Jewish History Minute," which focuses (for now) on lesser-known moments in American Jewish history and how antisemitism and Jew-hatred occur amid larger national events. The first book in the series, "The Man Who Beat General Grant," is now available in paperback. It deals with the expulsion of the Jews from the town of Paducah, Kentucky during the Civil War. Book two, which is in the works, will deal with bombings in the South during the Civil Rights Movement. The book includes photos, illustrations, primary sources, a glossary, questions to think about and more, making it ideal for use in the classroom. The book is geared for older elementary school readers. CHAPTER LIST: INTRODUCTION COMING TO AMERICA GENERAL GRANT ARRIVES GENERAL'S ORDER NUMBER 11 CESAR TAKES ACTION VISITING THE WHITE HOUSE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT GLOSSARY THINK ABOUT IT TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE READ MORE ABOUT IT This is a completely fictional take on how news about a war may impact a child. The conversation is based on real tips. For actual advice on how to talk to kids about war, please check out this information from Chai Lifeline: https://blog.chailifeline.org/talking-to-your-children-about-war/  Layla is heading back to Vistaville! I'm happy to report that Layla's Vistaville Spring, aka Layla's Diaries Book #3, will be released later this year by Menucha Publishers. Layla will be reunited with her cousins just in time for Pesach. Get ready to meet Layla's family and learn more about the Alter Zaidy and his connection to Vistaville.
BTW, did you know that Layla makes an appearance in one of the Achdus Club books? How do you feel about characters and series crossovers?  One of the most important things a writer can do to improve their craft is to READ. Read books in the genre you want to write in. Read books in other genres. Read the back of the cereal box and the words on printed on the tissue box. Read news stories (in print and online). Read things that have been written in the last week, the last year, the last five years. Study how other writers put their stories together. Study what words they choose. Study chapter breaks and paragraph breaks; ledes and kickers. Then chart your own writing path: Read, Write, Repeat.
How is your writing going? Are you finding ways to be productive during Chanukah or are you juggling many events and time with family and friends? I have to admit that I haven't been producing much fiction writing these days. I'm enjoying a particularly busy Chanukah. Rather than be disappointed by what I haven't accomplished, I'm trying to focus on the beauty of having all these activities, visitors and events. Writing will still be there next week. Still, I don't want to lose too much momentum, so I am planning for a significant post-Chanukah fiction-writing binge to address my two in-revision novels. That will be my Chanukah gift to myself. If you email box is anything like mine you see a fair amount (OK a large amount) of spam and junk emails. Sometimes, though, buried deep among the weeds is a beautiful note and I've gotten a few of them over the last few weeks. (Thanks everyone for the positive feedback of the new website!)
While I loved each and every one of them, the best emails were the ones from fans of the Achdus Club, at least two of whom, wanted to know when Tova (one of the Green twins) would be off of crutches. Others asked for more books, and if I could send them a list of the books I've written. I am beyond thrilled that these girls not only cared about the characters and love the books, but that they took the time to let me know how much they value and appreciate the books. Letters like those make all the bad writing days and struggles worth it. And for even more on the positive impact of the Achdus Club books, check out this review of the series by Evalyn Broderick of Bookishly Jewish. Haven't tried the series yet? No time like now, check out all my books on the Menucha Publishers website. |
