Q & A about My Father's Gardens

I am discovering that I truly enjoy answering questions about writing, specifically about writing My Father's Gardens -  it gives me a chance to look at the process and at the results it yielded quite differently than when I was in the midst of creating it all.

http://w3sidecar.tumblr.com/post/75734378036/karen-levy

Blog/radio interview!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/creatingcalmnetwork1



Interviews are one of many new experiences since having My Father's Gardens published. I find it very interesting to look at my book from others' perspective, answering questions that allow me to understand how one's writing is read by various audiences. Such experiences also emphasize what I've already understood - how powerful language can be and how words can reach audiences on so many levels, even when the writer is not aware of the effect.

New found appreciation

I have always loved to read, devouring books of all genres, earnestly collecting them, thrilled when I could add a new volume by a favorite author, refusing to loan them out (the empty space on the shelf disturbs me and people forget to return them), and running out of shelf space (much to my husband's dismay).  Dreaming of seeing my own name among them one day, I never gave much thought to the agonizing amount of work that went into creating these worlds in which I loved to get lost, and having written and published a memoir, still did not offer me an accurate idea of how difficult a task lay before anyone who chose to write fiction. The story I had captured between the pages of My Father's Gardens had already taken place - I knew the characters personally and had experienced the plot, certain of every gesture and the order in which it had taken place. But now people are beginning to ask whether a second book is in store, at which point I have to admit that the idea of one has been plaguing me for well over a year, and because I would like to try my hand at fiction, this notion has remained just that - an idea that has made itself a cozy little nest in my brain, and now that it has settled in, gives little indication of ever moving out. As if I wasn't already awed by the talents of the fiction writers whose creations line my shelves, I now have an entirely new found appreciation for the time and effort devoted to their craft.

Interview!

Tune in Thursday, January 23 at 7:30 a.m. for my interview with Dorit Sasson about My Father's Gardens.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/creatingcalmnetwork1/2014/01/23/giving-voice-to-your-story-with-dorit-sasson

One of the "perks" of having your work published is talking to so many interesting people around the country!

Tune in January 23 at 7:30 a.m. for my interview with Dorit Sasson - 


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/creatingcalmnetwork1/2014/01/23/giving-voice-to-your-story-with-dorit-sasson

Truth

When I sat down to write My Father's Gardens, there was no plot outline, no agonizing over how to develop my characters or how the story should end. After all, everything I wanted to say had already taken place, my characters had been created for me, their dialogue ready made, their fates determined by a different writer. All I needed to do is find a voice with which to recount it and decide on an order in which to present certain events in a way that would make sense, first to me and then to an audience. All I had to do was remember. What I did not anticipate was the immediate and visceral response from both those who could relate on one level or another, and those who found facing my truth painful and lashed out in anger. Apparently my version of the truth was not one they shared, and facing it meant looking at their own lives in ways they preferred not to. Who knew that even memoir could be open to interpretation... 

Both Sides of the Sea

Welcome to Both Sides of the Sea, my first attempt at blogging which at the moment, feels strangely like talking to myself. I hope you enjoy sharing in my thoughts about my published memoir, My Father's Gardens, Homebound Publications 2013, and in the experience following publication, from reading events to disgruntled family members... Join me on January 23, 2014 for my interview on Dorit Sasson's radio blog -
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/creatingcalmnetwork1/2014/01/23/giving-voice-to-your-story-with-dorit-sasson

About my Book

My Father’s Gardens is the story of a young girl who comes of age in two languages, and on two shores, between warring parents and rules that change depending on the landscape and the proximity of her mother. Struggling to find her voice and her place in the world as a result of her frequent travels between her native Israel and the United States, she feels that she must choose a place to call home. As her scenery alternates between warm Mediterranean and snow capped mountains, loud-mouthed Israelis and polite Americans, so do her loyalties: Is she more Israeli or American? How will she know when she has arrived? And while she chooses she is slowly transplanting bits of her father’s gardens on foreign soil.

My Father's Gardens is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Kindle, NOOK, Audible and through the publisher, www.homeboundpublications.com .