Hi! I am Carolyn Howard Johnson, your trusty New Book
Review blogger and author of the multi award-winning HowTo Do It
Frugally Series of books for writers. This blog has heretofore been
exclusive for reviews but I thought I’d do a special series of interviews after
I chatted with Jeanie Loiacono, President of Loiacono Literary
Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary! I
thought sharing the interviews would help the many subscribers and visitors to
this New Book Review blog, including authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers
who just might find a new favorite author among the featured books and
authors.
So, today welcome Bracha
Goetz.
Bracha
Goetz is the Harvard-educated author of thirty children’s books, including Remarkable Park, Let Your Fingers Do the Mitzvos and The Invisible Book. She also coordinates a Big Brother Big
Sister Program for Jewish Community Services in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Her
first published piece was a poem that appeared in McCall’s magazine when she won
a Junior McCall’s contest as a twelve-year-old. Years later, she was the editor
of her high school paper, and later on, helped coordinate and contributed an
essay to the anthology, Women Look at Biology Looking at Women, while at
Harvard, which became a text for many women’s studies courses nationwide. Her
writing has, since then and up until now, almost exclusively been aimed at the
religious Jewish population; being interviewed twice (2009, 2010) on the Zev
Brenner Radio show in NY, the most popular Orthodox Jewish radio show. What Do You See on Purim? A fun way for toddlers to learn
vocabulary! Teaches toddlers about the holiday of Purim with a bright and
colorful word-and-picture book! Children will learn basic vocabulary while
becoming familiar with the objects and concepts that are unique to this special
holiday. It’s available from Judaica Press and in the local Jewish
bookstores!
She
also has a chapter entitled “From Harvard to Homemaking” in new release from
Coffeetown Press called Torn: True Stories of Kids, Career & the Conflict of Modern
Motherhood.
She
has recently released What Do You See At School? and Because of a Smile . Available online and in Jewish bookstores
– What Do You See On Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur?
Her
latest release is Hashem’s Candy Store
“What
do you think you would see if you opened the door? What would you find on the
shelves in Hashem’s Candy Store?
In
this adorable book by bestselling author Bracha Goetz, kids will learn the most
amazing things about some of the yummiest “candy” available on the market –
namely, the delicious fruits and vegetables that Hashem
created.
“Children
will devour the captivating rhymes and illustrations…and don’t be surprised if
you soon find them beginning to devour their fruits and veggies, too!” —
Bracha
Hashem’s
Candy Store is available both online and in Jewish
bookstores.
2. What made you want to be a writer? I love reading children’s books, and I wanted to write the kind of books that I wished I could have read when I was a child—spiritual children’s books with answers to life’s deepest questions, presented in a delightfully simple way.
3. Of all the authors out there, who inspired you most? Anne Frank
4. What is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? When ideas pop into my head, I jot them down, even if it is in the middle of the night. I keep a pad and pen near my bed for that purpose so I can go back to sleep after writing it down. Then when I have some time, like when I am a passenger in a long car ride or taking a plane trip, I play with the ideas that I have jotted down and see where we can go.
5. Do you write every day? How much? How long? I probably write something every day, whether it’s editing a piece I once wrote, or communicating about my writing to others.
6. Do you think reading is as important to writing for an author? Why? I think reading is as important because it opens up the writer’s mind to go in new directions.
7. What are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? As soon as I get a rejection, I try to do something with the manuscript, whether that means sending it to a different place or revising it. If I don’t respond quickly, then it will just sit and go nowhere, and I wrote it to get it out into the world.
8. Do you have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Email blasts are still very effective when new material is published, but the emails need to be kept short as they are often viewed on phones now.
9. Do you think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? I attended conferences when I began writing professionally and found them very helpful at that time. I think they must have helped me learn how to get my foot into doors.
10. Where can we find you, your books and when is your next event? All of my books can be found on my Author Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/spiritualkidsbooks-brachagoetz . These are picture books for Jewish children, but soon I will have spiritual kids’ books for all children (and their parents and teachers) to enjoy as well! My next event that is open to the public (not at a school) is on Sunday, December 12 from 10 to 11:30 am at the Leon Weiner Jewish Library in the Young Israel of Houston in Houston, Texas. I will attach a flyer I just received about this event. Amazon Author Page – Bracha Goetz David Clarke Blog Talk Radio Interview Bracha Goetz books/images Listen to Bracha reading her books
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono
'
MORE ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono
represents over eighty authors. Her forte is mystery, romance, thrillers,
historical/military/southern fiction, and all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her
passion is to see her authors succeed.
“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one
of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and
privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the
world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE INTERVIEWS--TO FIND GREAT READING OR TO NETWORK WITH AUTHORS--PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG. YOU ARE A WELCOME ADDITION TO THIS FAMILY WHO LOVES BOOKS! YOU'LL FIND A WINDOW TO DO THIS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG PAGE.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
