Ask the Author: A.Z. Zehava
Answered Questions (6)
A.Z. Zehava
I am plowing through books. I read all of Delores Cannon's canon, which I find fascinating. I am re-reading a lot of Victorian literature, such as Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolfe because I find it both soothing and stimulating. I read J.K. Jemison's Fifth Season series. I am reading Jung right now, and listening to Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan (and had to re-read a history of the Huns to get a fuller picture: The Huns by E.A. Thompson). Yeats. On my to-do list is re-reading some Zizek, SPQR, and Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Rovelli. I would like to get back to novels--I have a whole stack by Indian authors (suggestions welcome), also Red Plenty by Spufford, and Kindred by Octavia Butler. I am trying to avoid anything violent or depressing this summer.
A.Z. Zehava
I love Gubs, and always love to get a hello from him--no question about that.
A.Z. Zehava
Shifting Ground is a very complex book, so it has a number of ideas that have a relationship with each other--you can really go spelunking for miles in this book. However, the foundational idea of linking it to The Great Gatsby began with my high school literature class. Discovering literary criticism--that the best books were puzzles and mazes with bombs and wrapped packages sprinkled throughout them--was life altering for me. It was The Great Gatsby that we read that year, and while I recognized it's genius, I was frustrated by the limitations Fitzgerald placed on the story--limitations that were common to men at that time (and still exist today of course). It frustrated me that the story was entirely driven by three white males and the women and children and (barely one) person of color were one dimensional, tangential--they were objects. The desire to rewrite that story followed me for 20 years until I finally did it.
A.Z. Zehava
I have just moved back to the United States, so I am engaging with a great deal of focus on political issues. I am developing my second novel, which may end up being the first of a series.
A.Z. Zehava
Read. Read authors in the genre you aspire to contribute to, and also read outside your genre, to enrich and add depth to your writing.
A.Z. Zehava
I always remember Hemmingway's advice: write one true thing and then go from there. Another piece of advice that I think I remember also comes from him is: finish for the day before you are finished, so you know what you are going to write tomorrow. I don't typically suffer from writer's block. However, my definition of "writing" is broad. When I am actively writing a book, I am writing all the time--I "write" and rewrite long passages in my head when I am not at the computer. When I am satisfied with the passage, I write it down--in a separate document if it is a scene that will come later.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more