Saturday, April 18, 2020

Interview with Author Rosemary Zibart

Interview with Author Rosemary Zibart

 Beatrice On Her Own (Far and Away) by [Odessa Sawyer, Rosemary Zibart]
1. What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and conveying it into a book?
I always intended  my book True Brit about an English girl who comes to the US to escape war-torn Britain to be a series that would cover the entire war years and only end when she returns to England. So it was a matter of figuring out what happened next after her arrival and the culture shock of her adjustment from being an upper-class Brit to the rough and ready, multi-cultural, small town Santa Fe of that period. I was attracted to the topic of the Japanese Internment Camp because it continued Beatrice's personal journey of opening up to new cultures. Plus, it’s an important piece of Santa Fe history that’s not well known.

2. What is it about and whom do you believe is your targeted reader?
Beatrice on Her Own
is about a young girl from a very privileged background who becomes more independent, more compassionate, more bold, and more autonomous. When I was writing it, I could really feel that Beatrice was a much more empowered heroine than the Beatrice in the first book. I’m writing for a generation of boys and girls with the hope that they’ll choose to take action in the world they live in — already many young people today are getting involved in social action and environmental action — and I hope that continues.

3. What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? What should remain with them long after putting it down?
The word prejudice means: "a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.” In this book, I try to show how Beatrice’s thinking on the subject of the Japanese Internment Camp changes as she strives to learn more on her own.  I hope readers understand how important it is for all of us to think for ourselves. How important it is to think period and not merely accept information that’s dished out to us daily.

4. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers?
You’re always growing as a writer. And this should be as important a goal as any acclaim or success you receive — trying to improve your own work. As I’ve said, Beatrice is much more empowered in this book than in my first book. She is a much less passive character. And I also felt much more empowered as a writer — and that’s a very good thing.

5. What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?
I don’t have a clue. Except there will be more tie-ins between books, television series, You Tube and movies. They all impact one another.

6. What great challenges did you have in writing your book?
It was a great challenge to balance indignation with the injustice of the Japanese Internment Camp with the very legitimate anger towards the Japanese experienced by local New Mexicans whose sons and grandsons were being attacked and later very cruelly imprisoned by Japanese in the Philippines. I can understand and sympathize with both sets of feelings and I needed to portray that fairly.

7. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours? Beatrice on Her Own is both a very entertaining story with lots of humor; it's a way to learn about an important chunk of history and it’s a story that’s totally relevant today with all the animosity being expressed towards refugees on the border. How can the United States behave decently, fairly, compassionately towards minorities who come to this country seeking freedom and economic security? Beatrice on Her Own addresses this on-going and very crucial issue in a very readable way.  


About The Author: Rosemary is a former journalist who now writes in almost every genre including picture books, articles, screenplays, plays and middle grade novels. Her plays have been presented at festivals in London, New York, Denver, Seattle and Albuquerque. Based on true accounts of child refugees, True Brit is about an upper-crust English girl who flees war-torn London for sunny Santa Fe. It won a New Mexico Book Award for Historic Fiction, a Mom’s Choice Award and a Silver Nautilus Award for books which inspire readers to imagine a better future. She recently adapted the book into a screenplay that won 2nd place in the StoryPros Annual Screenwriting Competition, Family Division. Her newest book, Beatrice on Her Own, is a stand-alone and a sequel to True Brit. Another award-winning middle-grade novel, Forced Journey, also based on true accounts, tells the story of 12-year-old Werner Berlinger who fled Nazi-dominated Europe for the streets of New York City. Rosemary lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.



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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.


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