Interview With Author Julia Antoinette Rosenstein

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? Jonathan was a wonderful artist, but was considered something of a pariah by the academic art world of the Bay Area. I am writing his biography because I am tired of the art world ignoring him. It's time to bring a little attention to him.

 

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? There must be a contingent of people who like to read biographies. People who enjoy art or reading about artists might enjoy it. I am going to include illustrations of his artwork and people in his life. Part 1, his early years, growing up with his father, and his first marriage is already published. Part 2 that I am working on covers his second marriage to a most amazing woman, Ona. 

 

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? An introduction to a man I think was extraordinary. He was also very different. I think it is good to have an understanding of a man who is so different he is not of the 'norm'.

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? Bohemianism can be an attitude or a clothing style, but living a bohemian lifestyle is difficult and seldom accomplished. How can someone live when money is not important, never thought about?  Life is too expensive to live that way! Yet here was Jonathan in all his eccentricity, living from hand to mouth his entire life span, trying to get things taken care of sometimes by exchanging a painting for work to be done (car repairs, house repairs, baby sitting, what not). The only reason why he could live as he did was because he had no mortgage and he was exceedingly frugal. The community Jonathan lived in has now gentrified, but in the last century, it was common for folks to help each other without expecting payment. It was, and still is a small community. I am also not saying a bohemianistic lifestyle should be common. Truly, it is so much easier being middle class and having the dollars to spend. I don't think anyone can live as Jonathan did any more. Thus, the moniker: Last Bohemian. The cover painting is his self-portrait, titled Self Portrait with Brown Hat. He painted it for a reason, but it is kind of a long story. Can't print it here.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? I am hardly one to give anyone advice. I can only suggest that people need to follow their hearts, and that is probably a cliché.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Oh wow. A hard question. One of my problems, and I seriously mean it is a problem, is my age. I love reading literature. When I moved in with Jonathan I was in heaven because of the infinite bookshelves and all kinds of books. If it is one wonderful thing living with him did, it gave me time. I read all kinds of literature. But now I am in my 70s and there is so much I haven't read! I just read 100 Years of Solitude and I feel like I should have read it years ago. Now I want to read more of Garcia Marquez's books. But a person has only so many hours in the day! I also haven't read Salman Rushdie yet. I just feel like I'm light years behind. I guess I digressed a little. Sorry.

 

I don't know where the publishing industry is headed. All I do know is I was able to publish Jonathan's bio on Amazon, and without Amazon, it would not have been published. Why do I say that? Because me, the one with few sophisticated social skills, could never have flown to New York.... Oh my God, just the thought of me flying sends zingers of fear through me. And then approaching a publishing house.... I would be terrified, I would say inappropriate things, I would just make a huge fool of myself! The same way I goofed up my young life in my twenties. Socializing is intuitive for most human beings, but not for autistics. I actually did call a publishing company in the San Francisco Bay Area, thinking they might be interested. They were, but, they also said they would take my illustrations and place them all together in the center of the book. I did not want that.

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Yes. I had one college class in writing. I can convey to you an entire semester in a nutshell: "Write whatever you need to say with as few words as possible." I also, at one point, read a book called Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. That was an epiphany for me.

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? Oh wow. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights. I honestly don't know. I mean, writers are supposed to write facts, correct? How many ways are there to write facts? I do see myself as sort of pedantic. Jonathan was a pedantic writer, too, only more so than I.

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? For me it was an issue of expense and time. I am now living in the state of Washington. Jonathan lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. All of my research took place in California. I literally funded my own research by traveling to California every two to three years to gain information. I stayed with friends most of the time which helped lessen expenses, and then those two or three weeks I spent down there were a whirlwind of places to go, people to see, and information to copy or photographs to take. Then I would return home, work on the book, and pay down my credit card travel debts. Jonathan's biography has taken me over ten years to write, and I'm not finished. I published Part 1 with Amazon, and Part 2 is coming up. I was hoping by the end of this year, but I have never been able to meet my goals. So, I just keep plugging away. Eventually, maybe three or four years away, I'll publish Part 3, and in Part 3, I would like to explain my life with Jonathan including my autism, so perhaps some people may grasp what being autistic can be like, at least, my form of autism.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? That is such a good question. I would never push anything on anybody. I'm truly hoping that whoever reads my book will enjoy learning about Jonathan and I sincerely hope they would find it interesting. I don't think I could compare it with any other book. Each author is different, don't you think?

 

I would like to add: I never expected anything from the London Fair, and I'm so glad you are in touch with me! This is truly a privilege. The reason why I entered in London is because they have an artist by the name of John Henry Batchelor, and I've noticed that sometimes online the two get mixed up. For example, in one website they were referring to my Jonathan, and yet they said he drew airplanes. No! John Henry Batchelor was a technical illustrator and he did all the airplanes and ships. My Jonathan did still lifes, landscapes, and portraits.

 

About The Author:  I and my siblings grew up in a family of artists and musicians. My mother was the artist, my father an electronics engineer who loved music and we all enjoyed listening to him sing and hum opera music around the house while we were growing up. He was never a professional musician, just a very musical person, as are all my siblings. Out of the five of my generation, three of us are fourth generation artists. So you can see there definitely is some sort of DNA connection. For me personally, I lived a comfortable middle class existence until my college years finished and then I was presented with the world. I did not know at that time, but I am autistic and so is everybody in my family. We are all on the spectrum! None of us knew anything about autism until my niece was diagnosed in the 1990s. I must have been in my late 40s by then. At first I was in denial (my gosh, I kept thinking, I'm nothing like my niece!) but everything gelled when I was in my 50s and I began to learn about autistic people. I normally do not talk about my autism, but autism is the reason why I lived with Jonathan David Batchelor, of whom I call my hero and savior. In my 20s I attempted to make a life for myself, but I could not navigate the world, could not 'read' people and could not communicate very well. I stumbled around a bit and by the time I hit Canyon (Jonathan's home) I was in my thirties, exhausted and tired of people and just wanted to shut myself off from the world. Jonathan allowed me to stay in his house in the woods. I thought I was there only temporarily, but I just couldn't leave the peace and quiet of Canyon, nor those times he took me sailing on the San Francisco Bay! I never dreamed I would live with a man older than my own father, but I settled into a life with him and thus his biography. 

Here is a link to a website that my older sister (Madeline) created for me: https://wildhorseart.com/ 

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.