Ask the Author: Henye Meyer
Answered Questions (8)
Henye Meyer
No, though of course I was aware of the original Irene Adler. It was just a good name that fit. And she was smart enough.
Henye Meyer
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a fan of villains (they never seem to have adequate motivation to be so nasty), and I've really shot my bolt with these detective stories, in any case, not being a writer of detective fiction by nature.
Maybe somebody else will take up the torch?
Maybe somebody else will take up the torch?
Henye Meyer
I often work on several projects at once, so that if I run dry on one, I can switch to something else. A good long walk also helps, though if you live in a city, head for a big park.
Henye Meyer
If you're very, very lucky, you can earn money from your dreams!
Henye Meyer
Read good literature of the previous two centuries. Read it some more. Then read more of it. Don't read modern "literature". Don't read frum "literature" - it will destroy your English. A good course in writing (adult evening classes, for example - but taught by a pro) is also helpful. There are a lot of books on writing, too - look into them. Then read some more great authors. Don't restrict yourself to adult literature. Children's and young adult books were written to a higher standard a hundred years ago.
Henye Meyer
Another historical and another preteen boys' book - plus some other stuff.
Henye Meyer
Not by any story, that's for sure! Usually there's either a question or some personal agenda I'm pushing, and it's more acceptable to cloak it in a story than to club people over the head with it.
Henye Meyer
Ooooh, that's a long one. While I was researching my first novel, back in 1984, I came across "Mediterranean Society", an extensive study of communities around the Mediterranean reflected in the fragments from the Cairo Genizah. Ovadya's autobiography was mentioned in several of the volumes, and what I found sparked my interest. But over the 35 years it took to actually finish the novel, more fragments and associated incunabula were discovered, so by the time I really got to work, I knew more about Ovadya, his personality, his travels, and so on, than I could have learned back at the beginning. Of course, the story wasn't the whole thing. Baalei tshuva and geirim are hypersensitive to hypocrisy, cognitive dissonance, and doublethink, and since that applies in any age, it became a core element. Flaws in our community are also more apparent to someone coming to it from outside - that was another theme.
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