Interview with Jill Dobbe, Author of Here We Are and There We Go: Teaching and Traveling with Kids in Tow

TZ:  Just from the title I know your book is a fun read.  Describe it for us.

JD:  My husband and I are overseas educators and have lived and worked in seven different countries. My book is a travel memoir based on my family's first 10 years of living and working overseas in four countries (Singapore, Mexico, Ghana, Guam) and the crazy, hilarious, and sometimes scary adventures we found ourselves in.

TZ:  What inspired you to write the book?
JD:  My husband actually came up with the idea to write about our adventures and turn them into a book. Around that time I became more interested in reading travel memoirs, which led me to believe that I had one to write myself.

TZ:  Was it hard to remember your adventures or had you kept a journal?

JD:. While we lived in Ghana, Singapore, and Guam, my two kids were very little. I wrote journals so that when they were older they could read them and have an idea of what it was like when we lived together in those places. I also wrote from memory. During the writing of my book, I often emailed my college age kids to ask them if they remembered the name of a certain place or about something specific that happened. While I was writing my book the four of us enjoyed reminiscing together and I was often amazed at the different things my kids remembered that I didn't.

TZ:  Of all the places you lived, which was your favorite?

JD:  I think for each of us our favorite place to live was Ghana. Ghanaians were extremely friendly and we enjoyed the school that we worked at. We were there for five years and our kids completed all of their elementary years there while making friends from all over the world. With Facebook and Twitter now, they have also been able to reconnect with a lot of those same school friends.

TZ:  You must have many mementos from your travels:

JD: Yes, I am a shopper. I loved shopped in West Africa. There was just so much to buy and it was all handmade. I bought carved wood furniture that was built alongside the roads, Kente cloth that was hand woven by Ghanaian men, hand carved masks, and beautiful hand dyed clothing. Ghana was a shopper's paradise for me. When we left we had our things shipped to our home in Wisconsin. On the day they were delivered a huge semi pulled up in front of our lake cottage filled with all my Ghanaian treasures.

TZ:  What sets your book apart from other travel memoirs?

JD. There seem to be a lot of travel memoirs out there about single male and female travelers and their adventures. I haven’t seen very many books written by other overseas educators, but I do look for and read other travel memoirs. The one that comes to mind right now as somewhat similar to my book is Diplomatic Baggage by Brigid Keenan, which is actually a memoir about a trailing diplomatic spouse. I could relate to the different hardships that she experienced in her travels.

TZ:  What is your writing background?

JD. I always enjoyed writing, but as I taught fulltime most of my writing entailed writing letters to parents. Even more than writing, I believe that all the reading that I have done in my lifetime has been even more helpful. I also began reading more books from the genre that I wanted to write in and they gave me ideas to draw upon.

TZ:  Any advice for writers?

JD. My advice to writers is to just keep at it. Write about what you know and what interests you. Read other books in the same genre. Talk about what you're writing with others and ask friends to read what you wrote. I have a young friend who is writing her first memoir and she sends me her writings and I give her tips along with my honest opinion. She tells me that she finds it very helpful and motivating.

TZ:  What are you working on now?

JD. I am working on my second travel memoir now, which is about living and working in overseas schools in Gurgaon, India, Cairo, Egypt, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and wherever we end up next. In my second memoir, I am trying to include more writings about the schools that we worked in along with our adventures within the countries we were located in. This book is taking longer to write and I am listening to and incorporating advice from other authors.

TZ:  Where is your book available?
JD  Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I am also on Goodreads. My author page is www.facebook.com/JillDobbeAuthor.

Writing Our Lives : Interview with Nikki Meyer, Author of Game for Anything

Today I'm interviewing Nikki Meyer, author of the memoir Game for Anything.

TZ:  First of all, describe your book.

NM:  Game for Anything is my first book, and it covers the first ten years of my life adjusting to life in the bush, first in Botswana, then later in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.  It is a positive, happy book--because that is how I feel about nature.  It also contains a fair amount of humor and a few sad moments because life and nature are like that.

TZ:  What inspired you to write the book?

NM;  I was inspired by Kobie Kruger, Game Ranger's wife and author of Mahlangeni and All Things Wild and Wonderful.  She was a neighbor of mine at one stage in the Kruger Park, and also judged a short story competition that I had entered.  She encouraged me to write a book, and when I suggested that I might not have a story in me, she laughed and told me that all I needed to do was keep a diary and the book would write itself.  She was right, and I was too busy living to take the time to write it all down, and it took another ten years before I finally got around to doing it.

TZ:  Im intrigued by what you were doing before you went to Africa and what made you decide to go.  Your synopsis on Amazon mentions a bet.  Really?

NM:  I have always lived in Africa, but in towns; my dad was a banker.  After two years of studying in Durban, I dropped out and took a job at a hotel which was originally the film set of the movie Shaka Zulu.  It was around that time that an old friend took a bet with me that I would leave that job and go and work with him in Botswana within three months.  I laughed it off, but lost.  I did end up joining him in Botswana, with no telephone contact with my family--cellphones hadn't reached South Africa yet.  Ultimately I think my parents were a lot braver than me.  It was for me a life changing experience, and I have never looked back.

TZ:  What was the hardest part of adjusting to such a radical cultural change?  Did you ever consider giving up?

NM; It was a pretty radical lifestyle change, and yes, even though I am a born and bred South African, a fairly big cultural change.  I think some of the first things I missed--other than my family, of course-- included not being able to get my hands on books, newspapers or magazines and having no radio or television.  I'll admit to wishing for a trip to the hairdresser once in a while, and it really felt odd to go from perpetually wearing high heeled shoes to flatties--I can't explain why it was such a profound change, but to this day I feel like I'm dressing up as someone else.  Probably one of the most difficult adjustments involved understanding the very different relationships involved in a patriarchal society and women in the rural African areas clearly still have great obstacles to overcome--that is, if they want to overcome them--that's often the surprising part.  I am still learning every day, and have another book planned about exactly that.  I can't tell you how often I have applied my way of thinking to situations only to be stunned by how inappropriate some western solutions are to African problems.  Giving up was never an option.  I feel in love with the bush immediately and would have done almost anything to stay.

TZ:  How did you meet your husband?  Did he have any input into the book?

NM:  I met my husband at, of all places, a golf club in northern KwaZulu Natal, at the time I was staying with my parents and desperately trying to get a work permit to return to Botswana, after having had to flee the country because of my illegal status there.  It's quite funny really to think that I was so happy to meet a man who shared my passion for the bush.  Usually it's the other way around--with men living in the bush hoping to find a woman who is "convertible."  He had a lot of input into the book--in that I was married to him for seven of the ten years that I wrote about, and he prodded and nagged me into finally sitting down.  He is my soulmate.

TZ:  What's your favorite part of the book?

NM:  That's a good question, because it's akin to asking me what my favorite part of my life has been.  Can I saw all of it?  I think I enjoy the fact that despite not trying to be funny, people keep telling me how much they laughed when they read the book, because it means that they also see and enjoy the humor in everyday situations.

TZ:  What has been the response to the book?

NM;  The response has been great.  When I first started out, I did a short print run of 500, then a second one of 1000 and it's been selling steadily as an ebook as well.  I've had some fabulous publicity which has really helped, and it's been really satisfying.  People are so genuinely interested that they have gone to the effort of looking me up on Facebook or email and writing to me.  It is great that people I've never met are so enthusiastic about it.  I think though that there is a strong link between people who are passionate about nature, and Africa in particular.  Despite being self-published, Game for Anything has been accepted by a distributor and at the major bookstores in South Africa.  The marketing and distribution company, Blue Weaver, even took it to the London Book Fair.

TZ:  Tell about your writing background.

NM;  I've always loved writing, mostly short articles, press releases and academic essays, and achieved best at it at school, college and university.  I love reading, too.  I think it comes from my mother, who is very articulate and creative--now there's someone who should write a book.  I have been encouraged often by teachers and professors.  My university English professor told me in a note when she retired that every professor has one student that comes along and makes their career worthwhile, and I was hers.  This was high praise indeed, and really encouraged me to take it more seriously.

TZ:  Any advice for writers, particularly memoir writers?

NM:  Probably the most important thing I learned was to show not tell.  I think I was inclined initially to over-explain things instead of leaving my reader to use his or her own imagination.  I was so worried that the reader might not get it, but people  are intelligent and need to have the freedom to draw their own conclusions.  It took some discipline (and courage) to rein this in, and allow people to judge for themselves.  I wish I'd known it right from the start.  I had to go back and do a lot of editing.  Now that I'm halfway through my second book, I feel that it comes naturally and I won't have to do so much editing this time.

TZ:  What's your next writing project?

NM;  I am busy with the sequel to Game for Anything, and am having such fun writing it.

TZ:  Where is your book available?

NM:  It is available on Amazon.com, both as a paperback and an ebook, as well as Amazon in Europe.  In South Africa it's available through most of the major bookstores as well as through Kalahari.net.

Writing Our Lives: Interview with Deb Levy, Author of Bury the Hot

TZ: First, describe your book.

DL:  Bury the Hot is the true story of a boy who hid from Hitler, but could never escape the memories.  I grew up celebrating the holidays with Sal Wainberg and his family.  I trick-or-treated with his daughter.  He and his wife attended my wedding.  Yet I knew nothing ab out his past until he called out of the blue and asked me to write his story.  There was a reason I didn't know.  He hadn't even told his wife the details of his childhood.  Bury the Hot is the Holocaust story few have the tenacity or courage to share and explores both a traumatized childhood and how the repression it impacts a marriage.

TZ:  This is a story of someone else's life in great detail.  Do you think it's harder to write about someone else than about your own life:  With another person's story, there's some objectivity and emotional distance that I think would be hard to have when you're telling your own story.  What do you think?

DL: Writing about someone else has its challenges as well as its benefits.  On the one hand, I was beholden to Sal's memory and/or willingness to divulge emotions and details.  So I could only write what he was able to tell me, having not (thankfully) shared the experience.  But on the other hand, like you said, there is emotional distance and objectivity.  So perhaps I was able to delve deeper into painful moments that Sal might have if he were working on the memoir himself.  I couled also see, in some cases, a wider view of a situation or history that he may have had living it.  One of the first things Sal said to me when he asked me to write his story was, "Do not create some Hollywood version of my experience.  Do not embellish it for the sake of storytelling.  Do not make me into a hero.  I just want the truth."  So I felt a keen responsibility to honor his request and had somewhat strict parameters.  Also he was so young when the war broke out--he was only 8.  I had to find a way to draw out the details that would allow me to paint a picture for the reader, instead of using the typical journalistic "wh" questions (who, what, when, where) I asked sensory-based questions.  "What color was the sky?"  "What did the air feel like against your skin?"  "What did your shul smell like?"  These are the things that young children notice and these are the memories we carry with us into adulthood

TZ:  Was it difficult to make the decision to write this book?  Or did you agree right away?

DL:  Not at all.  after over half a century of repressing his past, Sal was finally ready to talk and leave his legacy behind.  When he asked me to write his story, I felt like i was given a gift.  I was honored, humbled, surprised that he asked me, and immediately said yes.

TZ:  You knew nothing about this man's background before he told you his story.  Was his family aware of it?  What has been the reaction of people who knew him to the book?

DL:  Sandy, his wife, knew when they got married (in the 60's) that he was a Survivor.  But that's all she knew.  She didn't quite understand what that meant, and at that time, no one talked about it.  There was a desire amongst American Jews to move beyond the past, and Sandy could sense a pain inside Sal that she wanted to protect him from.  It wasn't until 8 years into their marriage that he told her any of the details.  And even then, he left quite a bit out.  After that, they only spoke of the Holocaust a handful of times.  It was like the white elephant in the room of their marriage.  His kids knew he was a Survivor, but didn't know much beyond that.  Their daughter knew I was writing his story, but he didn't want her to read any drafts of the manuscript until it was completely done.  I was worried about her reaction the entire time I wrote the book--how will she feel reading about her father's suffering?  How will she feel reading about her parents' marriage?  How will she feel that I may have learned some of this history before she did?  As it turns out, her reaction brought tears to my eyes.  She said, "I fee like you and I are now related. I somehow absorbed this over 40 years.  But you got it in 1/10th that time.  And now you are my sister.This is why he chose you."  As far as non-family members who have known Sal for years--they have been incredibly touched by his story, and feel as if by gaining insight into his past, they can finally understand who he has been throughout his adult life, and why.

TZ:  What part of the book are you most proud of?

DL:  I'm proud of having written a full-length book.  I've always wanted to write a book and I did it!  I'm proud of how it turned out.  I'm getting rave reviews from readers all over the country and from all religious backgrounds.  But I'm most proud to have added to the preservation of history.  Every day that goes by, we get closer to a time when there will be no one left to give a first-hand account of this horrible and multi-faceted chapter of our human story.  We may think that when it comes to the Holocaust, we've heard it before.  But the truth is, we can never hear enough.  We must listen to those who survived; we must read their personal accounts.  We must recognize that the collective suffering is nothing less than six million and more unique stories of struggle, determination, tradition and fate--every single one of them incredible, all of them heartbreaking.

TZ:  What was the most difficult to write?

DL;  There were certain points of Sal's life that were incredibly difficult to ask him about.  And when our interviews moved past the war and to when he left Poland, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.  But I don't recall the writing of those moments as being difficult.  Maybe it's because I was so intensely focused on finding a way to get it on paper in an honest and compelling way, that I was weighed down by the process but not by my own emotions.  What I did find difficult was writing about a young boy in peril while raising three boys of my own.  I found myself constantly comparing and contrasting their lives with his, and wondering if my own sons would have survived the horrible things he experienced.  In trying to give my sons a good life, I worried that I was somehow diminishing their ability to stay alive if, God forbid, the world turned upside down.

TZ:  What is your writing background?

DL:  I am an advertising copywriter/creative director, which comes in two varieties--the one who wants to write a screenplay, and the one who wants to write the Great American Novel.  I was the latter.  I've also written articles and essays that have been featured on many parenting websites and in Lilith Magazine.  Bury the Hot is my first book.

TZ:  Any advice for writers, especially non-fiction and memoir writers?

DL:  For any writer, I'd say:  read a lot.  Take your writing seriously, even if you feel no one else does.  Introduce yourself as a writer.  Put writing time on your calendar; put it before all the other distractions that will keep you from doing your job.  For writers of memoir/non-fiction:  when it comes to telling the story, the craft is only half of it.  The hardest part is finding the framework in which to tell the story.  What are the themes that hold it together?  Where do you begin the story?  (It may not be at the beginning.}  From whose point of view will you tell it?  With what voice? (Will it be from a place of reflection and understanding?  Or will the reader have a greater insight into the events of the story than the narrator?  Don't expect to get it right on the first or second draft.  Just get it on paper, and then go back and move things around. Solicit feedback from other writers and from readers whose opinion you respect.  Listen to their critiques with an open mind and with gratitude.

TZ:  What are you working on now?

DL:  I'm working on marking and promoting Bury the Hot :)

TZ:  Where is the book available?

DL.  The book is available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle format.  It's also available on Barnes and Noble.com And I hope that readers will support their local, independent bookstores by asking them to order Bury the Hot and purchasing it there.  Here is the Amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/Bury-Hot-childhood-lifetime-memories/dp/1484068637/ref=sr 1 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371350808&sr=8 -1keywords=bury+the+hot

TZ:  I hope the above link is okay.  If not I'm sure readers can just go to Amazon and type in the title.

DL:  My website is www.deblevywrites.com

Memoir Review: The Church of Tango by Cherie Magnus

Resilient, daring, impulsive, determined.  All these words apply to Cherie Magnus.  And oh yes, tango aficionado...and, of course, writer.  Shortly after her husband's death from cancer, Cherie Magnus impulsively decides to go to Paris to learn French.  And we are off with her on a whirlwind journey from Paris, back to Los Angeles, Paris again, Mexico, Argentina, and a brief visit to Holland thrown in.  Chasing her love of dance, she travels the world until she finds the love of her life--the tango--and settles in Buenos Aires (at least for now).  She brings her surroundings to life with vivid descriptions, she introduces us to the men who flit in and out of her life, and she makes us feel the rhythm of the tango.  Highly recommended.

Memoir Review: Reaching by Grace Peterson

As you may know, I'm focusing on the work of fellow memoirists and today I am reviewing Grace Peterson's riveting memoir, Reaching.  The product of a dysfunctional family, she refers to her parents only as "the mother" and "the father," clearly letting readers know how distant and disinterested they were in her and her siblings as well.  Traumatized by moves, bullying by schoolmates and the tragic death of her best friend, she struggles to find her place in the world.  Convinced that she is possessed by a demon or is perhaps a demon herself, she turns to a "healer" who is anything but.  Yet she manages to find love, raise four children and finally extricate herself from the healer's power.  Through courage and therapy she pulls herself together and invites the reader to share her journey.  I give this book 5 stars  It's available on Amazon and on Barnes and Noble.

C is for Characters

Character: a person represented in a drama, story, etc.


I used to be a romance writer; therefore part of my job was to create characters. My favorites were Sam (Samantha) and Wade, hero and heroine of The Great Chili Caper, a mystery spoof I wrote for Harlequin Temptation a number of years ago. Imaginary characters, of course, but they have to seem realistic, so they need back stories, faults, interests, careers, traits that will make the reader relate to them and enjoy their stories.

Quite different is the memoir I've finished and am shopping, because now I'm the main character. All those traits I had to create are already there, but in fiction, if one of them doesn't work as the story progresses, I am God: I can go back and change it. In a memoir I must tell the truth. But here's the problem. How much of the truth? And what truth? Mine is different from my husband's, the other major character in the memoir. Can I rearrange the truth? Once in a memoir course I mentioned that a scene I'd written in which I accompany my husband into the cancer hospital didn't exactly happen that way, and someone accused me of being a liar. But many times I did walk into the hospital with him, so was I lying or just rearranging to make a better story?


And is what I remember the actual truth? Some things I know I'll never forget: the cold voice of the doctor who spouted out Ralph's diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia, the smell of the hospital, the incongruity of tuxedo-clad "waiters" delivering unappetizing lunches from "Room Service." But some incidents and bits of dialogue are blurred in my memory so I write them as best I can. Still, I hope the story arc makes sense and (someday) readers will identify with the main character (me).