Q&A with Katrina Tangen

  

 

 

Katrina Tangen is the author of the new children's picture book Ramp It Up!, part of the Steamworks series. She also has written the book Copy That, Copy Cat!. She lives in Southern California.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Ramp It Up!, and how did you create your character Zoe?

 

A: When I saw Charlesbridge’s call for Steamworks submissions, I looked at the list of topics they were especially interested in and brainstormed a few. Pretty quickly, I knew I wanted to write about wheelchairs and ramps, because there’s so much hands-on science involved and it’s something I have real-life experience with!

 

At first, I thought I’d have a kid build a ramp for her wheelchair-using dog. But when I started researching, I discovered that dogs only use wheelchairs for short periods of time, to exercise outside. There are ramps to help little dogs get up on beds or couches, but since there’s no rolling involved, they’re not really like wheelchair ramps.

 

Plus, I wanted Zoe to experiment with different ramps, but I didn’t want the dog to get hurt. So, I started thinking about who could test ramps safely and realized toys would be perfect!

 

Then I had to figure out what kind of wheelchair Zoe should use. I have some experience being pushed in a manual hospital-style wheelchair, and I currently use a power wheelchair. But power chairs don’t roll freely, and you wouldn’t want them to—they weigh several hundred pounds!

 

Instead, I gave Zoe a modern, lightweight manual wheelchair designed for an active user. Since Zoe self-propels, she can use her own wheelchair ramp to see what a safe angle feels like.

 

Q: What do you think Wendy Wen’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: I love how colorful and happy Wendy’s illustrations are! She did a great job bringing Zoe and her world to life.

 

It’s always interesting to see what new things an illustrator brings to a story. For example, I based Zoe’s building brick house on a Lego beach house I have, but Wendy made it a castle, which is even more fun!

 

Wendy also brought her experience as a wheelchair user to the illustrations—she definitely knows her way around a ramp!

 

Q: The School Library Journal said that the book “turns accessibility into practical, joyful problem-solving at a rooftop pool party.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that! It captures so many elements of Ramp It Up!. Disability joy is important—we need more of that in the world.

 

I hope Ramp It Up! shows that accessibility is an everyday problem with real solutions. Problem-solving is empowering, whether it’s a STEM problem like figuring out how to build a ramp or an advocacy problem like convincing people to install one in real life!

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?

 

A: I hope Ramp It Up! helps kids see themselves as scientists and problem-solvers. I hope it empowers disabled kids and expands non-disabled kids’ understanding of disability and accessibility. And I hope it shows kids that STEAM is fun and inspires them to build something awesome!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I always have a million picture books in the works! I’m deep into research on Florence Nightingale, who had a long chronic illness similar to mine. And I’m learning to write a graphic novel script, which is fun.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Ramp It Up! almost didn’t exist! When the Steamworks submission window opened, I submitted another story I already had. I also wanted to write something specifically for Steamworks, but I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to submit two manuscripts.

 

I finally decided the worst they could say was no! It’s easy to psych yourself out over all of the rules around querying and submitting, but sometimes it’s good to take a chance. I’m sure glad I did!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Marian Sandmaier

  

 

 

 

Marian Sandmaier is the author of the new book I'll Be Awesome Tomorrow: A Memoir of Chasing Perfection & Letting Go. Her other books include Original Kin. She lives in the Philadelphia area. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write I’ll Be Awesome Tomorrow?

 

A: Several years ago, I became aware that I was still vulnerable to occasional but intense bouts of self-castigation, often about relatively minor gaffes. I wondered: Why did I still go so quickly to self-blame, and was there some way to become kinder to myself?

 

I began to write the memoir to try to find some answers to those questions—or at least a little more clarity.  At the start of the writing process, I wasn’t aware that my bouts of self-criticism were rooted in perfectionism.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The title, I’ll Be Awesome Tomorrow, speaks to our difficulty giving up on perfectionism, even though the quest to be flawless is a hopeless one. We tell ourselves: “If I wasn’t amazingly successful today, well, let me try again tomorrow!” We keep hoping and striving because we believe that perfection is the only route to being a worthwhile human being.

 

Q: The writer Mary Pipher called the book “beautiful and heartbreakingly honest”—what do you think of that description?

 

A: That was big for me. First of all, I was deeply honored that Mary Pipher described my book that way. She is one of my writing heroes. I was very touched by her words, “heartbreakingly honest.” More than anything, I wanted this book to reflect my authentic experience, which meant plunging the reader into some pivotal moments in my life that I’d never shared with anyone before.

 

Throughout the writing, I wondered whether people would be shocked and appalled—and ultimately think less of me.

 

Instead, nearly every reader who’s gotten in touch with me has thanked me for being real and forthcoming about my experiences, because it’s helped them to feel less alone with the parts of themselves they still have trouble feeling compassion for. And it’s given them hope that they can move past their shame and embrace the person they are.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers will take away from it?

 

A: I wrote a lot about my childhood and adolescence, and I think it helped me get in touch with the young girl that’s still inside me--the shy, lonely kid who’s still crying out for unconditional love and acceptance.

 

Once I connected with that young girl, I began to feel caring and protectiveness toward the part of me that still, to this day, longs to feel loved for who she is.

 

What I hope readers take away from the book: If you’ve ever struggled with trying to be flawless—in your career, appearance, personality, relationships, anything at all--I hope this book will help you to choose a gentler, more self-embracing path.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Publicizing the book, of course! And after that, I hope to spend some time just taking it easy. I worked on this book for several years, often six days a week, and I need a break!

 

I want to breathe in and savor the ordinary moments of life, with minimal deadlines of any kind. The prospect of experiencing that kind of spaciousness feels—dare I say it—awesome.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There are some tough scenes in this book, no question. But there is also a lot of humor and joy. I tried to convey life’s delights and inherent goofiness as well as its challenges. To readers: please let me know if I’ve succeeded! If not, I’ll try to accept my imperfectly comic self.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Keith McHenry

  

 

 

Keith McHenry is the author of the new memoir Soup Street. His other books include Hungry for Peace, and he is the founder of the grassroots movement Food Not Bombs.  

 

Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir?

 

A: After spending five decades organizing for peace and social justice I though my life’s story might inspire others to see how rewarding living such a life might be and give them hope that they too could follow their heart.

 

I also wanted to share my experiences that inspired me to dedicate my life to ending poverty and war. I lived in a world before the Interstate highway system and fast food restaurants at every exit. I experienced the freedom of a childhood in a wilderness without borders enjoying an unblemished natural world.

 

I have been blessed to experience a world that is invisible to most and I wanted to share my insights so the reader can have some understanding of the obstacles that need to be navigated around to build a future that respects our dignity and provides access to the basics of life like food, healthcare and education that our political and economic systems currently withholds.

 

My mother’s father spent much of his life as an intelligence agent and taught me about how that covert world worked and as I became an activist I was directly interfered with by those same invisible forces. Even so while I faced many obstacles as a result I thrived and the reader can find hope that they can overcome such difficulties.

 

I also wanted those reading my text to see the beauty of those who are homeless. Not only feel compassion for their condition but realize that we are neighbors.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I presented a number of titles to my friends and fellow students in my book completion workshop at The Opening. One I floated was “Food Terrorist” after the mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyre, called us food terrorist during a TV interview but people thought the public would think it was a book about poisoning people.

 

I had a list of about 20 that included “Soup Street.” It was the most poetic and reflected those days I lived homeless on the street, my participation in street protests, and the years I volunteered sharing meals and groceries with the hungry.

 

Q: What do you see looking ahead when it comes to hunger issues?

 

A: Sadly, I believe hunger will increase. The war against Iran has disrupted oil and the minerals required to make fertilizer. This is already driving up costs not only for gas at the pump but for many consumer items including groceries.

 

The war against Russia is also interfering with food production with much of Ukraine’s fertile farm land in the area with active combat.  Ukraine and Russia are also bombing grain and sunflower oil shipments on the Black Sea. 

 

Nearly 70 percent of American farmers reported that the increase in fertilizer prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz forced them to plant less than they had in the past years. The 2027 growing season could see one of the lowest harvests in modern times.

 

The conflict between Yemen and Saudi Arabia may take the kingdom’s oil off line for years. If Egypt joins the war on the side of Saudi Arabia the Red Sea could be closed.

 

Approximately 12 percent of global trade passes through the Suez Canal each day. If Egypt joins the war against Yemen, the government of Ansar Allah might block the Suez Canal with one missile strike on a ship passing through the canal.

 

The longer the war continues, the more prices for most things will rise.

 

The war against Iran could be catastrophic in other ways. If attacked again, Iran has threatened to cut the undersea internet cables and attack US AI data centers in the Persian Gulf nations. This could interrupt banking and supply chain infrastructure that relies on the internet.

 

They also claim they will respond with attacks on electrical generating stations and desalination plants, which would force millions of people to flee the region creating the world’s largest refugee crisis. So far when Iran announces how they will respond to an attack they always keep their word.

 

There are other areas of concern that could also cause hunger to increase. There is turbulence in the financial sector. The stock market is volatile, layoffs are on the increase while wages are stagnate. All of these issues point to an increase in hunger not only in the US but around the world.

 

The spike in prices has already sparked rebellions across Europe and parts of the Middle East. The famines in Gaza and Sudan maybe a sign of things to come.

 

The Food Not Bombs group I volunteer with have been preparing buying large amounts of rice and beans. We have also been stockpiling can goods.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: In my attempt to make the most compelling and authentic book about my life possible I tried to connect with my true self. One of the first workshops I took was with Nick Flynn, the author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. It turned out our paths had crossed in our support of the homeless community in Boston.

 

His prompts inspired me to investigate my relationship with my uncle Keith and family history, which became the chapter Am I Keith or Am I Keith. As I was writing Soup Street I also read Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir and that was a great help in encouraging me to writing from my heart. To take a deep look at what makes me tick.

 

I hope readers are inspired to find meaning in their own lives. I am particularly interested in providing hope for young readers that they too can make a difference in other people’s lives and that sometimes it can take decades to see the results so don’t give up.

 

I want to remind people that there have been times when America wasn’t trashed with interstate highways, fast food restaurants, and big box stores. That the reader has a better understanding of the obstacles created by the FBI and other intelligence agencies and how you can overcome those disruptions with persistence and a path that reflects your true self.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I volunteer with my local Food Not Bombs group here in Santa Cruz, California, going to the market to buy bulk dry goods, maintaining our commercial kitchen, and coordinating food donations from local shops.

 

I also continue to support people in their effort to start new Food Not Bombs chapters and update the map and other pages on www.foodnotbombs.net.

 

I package and mail out t-shirt and book orders. I get calls from people seeking food from every corner of the United States and I direct them to the closes pantry. One task I enjoy is the promotion of my memoir Soup Street online and I participate in many podcasts.

 

I am also writing a second memoir. Soup Street is a third of the text I wrote during seven years of participating in Andy Couturier’s weekly book completion workshop.

 

Once I recover from my lower back injury I intend to start touring again to promote my books and build support for Food Not Bombs.

 

I also write commentary about current events for my Substack and Wordpress blogs.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The chaos of war and the growing economic crisis can be debilitating but thankfully we have one another to lean on. Decentralized local mutual aid projects like Food Not Bombs are a great way to maintain a positive attitude while providing direct assistance.

 

Our local Food Not Bombs group has a plan to meet at the Clock Tower if phone and electricity is disrupted so we can communicate in person. I encourage everyone to make such a plan and if you are not already in a local community group consider starting one with trusted friends and family members while services are still available. Let’s hope this will not be necessary because of current events.

 

Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs adopted this plan in 2019 just in case our community experienced another earthquake so no matter the situation this might be a wise suggestion.

 

We also started our program of storing bulk dry goods and set up a plan to meet the needs of hundreds in Santa Cruz during such a crisis. This was a huge help when the Covid lockdown started and the local soup kitchens were shuttered. We shared meals every day for three years while the other meals were closed so we know we can do it again.

 

Many other Food Not Bombs chapters are also preparing as they see the numbers increasing at their meals. The human spirit is resilient. I hope that is the message the reader gets from Soup Street.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Nov. 9

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Nov. 9, 1731: Benjamin Banneker born. 

Q&A with Jaqueline Snowe

  

 

 

 

 

 

Jaqueline Snowe is the author of the new novel Swing and a Kiss. Her other books include Snowed in for Christmas. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Swing and a Kiss, and how did you create your characters Cassidy and Nate?

 

A: I absolutely LOVE writing sports romances because I think sports bring out both the very best and the very worst in people.

 

There's something fascinating about the pressure, competition, passion, and vulnerability that come with being an athlete. You can be on top of the world one minute and completely humbled the next. And I think that's such a fun space to explore as a writer, especially when you throw love into the mix!

 

Nate actually came to me first. I wanted to explore a character whose identity was so deeply tied to his sport and what happens when life forces him to confront who he is beyond the game. Athletes are often expected to be these larger-than-life figures, but behind the statistics and headlines, they're still human beings trying to figure things out.

 

Cassidy, on the other hand, was inspired by the rise of influencers and the way social media has completely changed how people build careers, relationships, and even their identities.

 

I loved writing her because she's young, she's messy, she's ambitious, and she doesn't always get things right. But that's what makes her feel so real to me! I didn't want her to have everything figured out. I wanted her to be someone who was still learning who she was, even while the world was watching.

 

And putting those two personalities together? SO much fun.

 

Q: In the book’s acknowledgments, you write, “This story is a love letter to the [Arizona] Diamondbacks.” Can you say more about that?

 

A: Absolutely! My husband worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks for a decade, so this organization was a huge part of our lives for a very long time. And when I say the Diamondbacks are special, I genuinely mean it.

  

What I've always admired most about the organization is the effort they make to connect with their community. It's not just about what happens on the field or how many games they win. It's about the fans, the families, the people who show up season after season, and the relationships that make a baseball team feel like something bigger than a business.

 

I've had the opportunity to see some of that firsthand, and it gave me such an appreciation for all the people and moving pieces behind a professional sports organization. There are so many stories happening beyond those nine innings.

 

So when I wrote Swing and a Kiss, I wanted to capture a little bit of that magic. The excitement of baseball, the connection to the community, and the way a team can become part of a city's identity. It's my little love letter to an organization and a sport that have meant so much to my family.

 

Q: The novel is set in Phoenix. How important is setting to you in your writing?

 

A: Setting is HUGE for me, especially when it's somewhere that has been such a meaningful part of my own life. Phoenix was our home for 14 years, and I think when you've lived somewhere that long, the city becomes part of who you are.

 

There's something so distinctive about Phoenix. The desert landscape, the mountains, the sunsets, the absolutely ridiculous summer heat! But there's also this incredible energy to the city, especially when it comes to sports. Phoenix has such a passionate sports community, and I wanted that to come through in the book.

 

I also think setting should do more than tell readers where a story takes place. I want them to feel like they're there. I want them to experience the atmosphere, the culture, and all those little details that make a place unique.

 

Writing Swing and a Kiss was almost like getting to visit home again. It gave me an opportunity to put a little piece of a place I love into a story that I hope readers will love, too.

 

Q: What role do you see grief playing in the novel?

 

A: I think grief is such an interesting emotion to explore because it doesn't always look the way we expect it to. It isn't necessarily this big, dramatic moment where someone breaks down. Sometimes it's quiet. Sometimes it's messy. Sometimes it shows up in the decisions we make, the people we push away, or the things we hold on to long after we should have let them go.

 

One of the things I wanted to explore in Swing and a Kiss is how grief can exist alongside love, ambition, and even happiness. Just because someone is laughing or falling in love doesn't mean they aren't also carrying something heavy.

 

I also think grief and identity are so closely connected. When we lose someone or something that has shaped our lives, we sometimes have to rediscover who we are without it. And that process isn't linear. There are setbacks, moments of growth, and moments when you feel like you're right back where you started.

 

I love writing romance because, at its heart, the genre is about hope. And I think there's something really beautiful about characters finding connection and allowing themselves to experience joy, even when life hasn't turned out the way they imagined.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm currently working on a sports romance called Fumbled Feelings, and the best way I can describe it is YEARNING. So much yearning. So much tension. All the complicated feelings!

 

Our heroine is a star soccer player who unexpectedly crosses paths with the husband of an old college friend. The two women have lost touch over the years, and her former friend has since passed away, leaving him a widower.

 

And that's where things get complicated.

 

I really wanted to explore what happens when you start developing feelings for someone you never imagined you'd fall for. Someone who, in your mind, should be completely off-limits. There's guilt, there's longing, there's the weight of the past, and there's this question of whether pursuing happiness means betraying something or someone you once cared about.

 

It's a story about love, loss, loyalty, and all those feelings we sometimes wish we could turn off but absolutely cannot.

 

I'm having a lot of fun breaking these characters' hearts. And hopefully putting them back together again!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Fair warning: Swing and a Kiss might accidentally teach you baseball statistics you NEVER needed or wanted to know. You're welcome! HA!

 

But really, I hope readers come for the baseball and the romance and stay for the characters. I love writing people who are a little messy, who make mistakes, who have big feelings, and who don't always know what they're doing. Because honestly, isn't that most of us?

 

And if you walk away from this book with a new appreciation for baseball, a little love for Phoenix, or a sudden urge to attend a Diamondbacks game, then I consider that a win!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with David Barnett

  

 

 

 

David Barnett is the author of the new memoir Foxtail. He lives in Austin, Texas. 

 

Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir?

 

A: The initial spark was generated by a raw, incandescent rage that followed a perceived betrayal by my oldest childhood friend—after which I promptly went on the bender to end all benders, which concluded with a booze-and-cocaine-fueled manic rant to another dear friend, Alonzo.

 

Zo provided a listening ear and some sage advice: the only way to process the fury and hopefully reach some sort of catharsis was to write it all down.

 

So, I did.

 

I never envisioned it becoming a published memoir. Foxtail started off as a writing exercise intended to exorcise my demons. I began that exercise with vengeance in my heart. I wanted to rip my betrayer’s heart out of his chest and devour it.

 

But that vengeance precipitated reflection, which brought about introspection, and ultimately, I stumbled ass-backwards into a place of forgiveness and acceptance—both of myself and of my oldest friend. The end product is Foxtail.

 

Writing this book also ushered in a profound subconscious awakening that ultimately concluded what had been a very dark period in my life.

 

I was still mourning the loss of my dream. I was imbued with grief after making the necessary, deliberate decision to abandon what had been a lifelong ambition: to become a real-life rockstar.

 

It was a decision I made in order to save my own life, because had I pursued that end any further, it would’ve been the end of me. I’d have surely died, and the book wouldn’t exist.

 

Looking into my own dark rooms and shining a bright, darkly comedic light on the wreckage eventually helped me process the grief, and I ultimately came to grips with my failure.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The title refers to a literal object from my youth which became a personal totem—a kid’s toy, the foxtail, which was essentially just a baseball attached to a technicolored fabric windsock.

 

In the book, it first appears during a pivotal childhood camping trip to Inks Lake in which the respective spirits of my best friend Doug and I became inextricably intertwined.

 

When one chucks the foxtail into the air, it soars gracefully, riding the airwaves and creating an invisible wake in the sky. Upon its descent, the trajectory is always incredibly difficult to judge, and even if you are able to track it, the hardest part is always the catch.

 

For me, the foxtail serves as an extended metaphor for the trajectory of my own life: spent navigating the treacherous terrain, testing social norms and boundaries, and being unapologetically outlandish in all that I do. It signifies the intoxicating literary mix of friendship, betrayal, chaotic chemical dependency, and music all twisting around one another.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book?

 

A: The writing process itself humbled me—and ultimately saved me. When I finished the first draft, I thought I was God’s gift to literature, but looking closer, it was absolute garbage—written from a place of immense arrogance, hubris, and hidden insecurity.

 

I shelved the project for six months, allowed my bruised ego to heal, then began the process of true self-exploration. It took quite a few sleepless nights—and quite a few Coors Lights—to undergo the ego rehabilitation necessary to learn true humility.

 

I forced myself to look deep within, explore all the nooks and crannies of my psyche—of my spirit—and I eventually came to terms with my faults, follies, failures… and my mortal sins.

 

It’s an intensely grueling process: an emotional excavation. It teaches you to stop taking yourself so seriously, which I believe is the most essential characteristic for a good writer to possess. Hell, for a human being to possess.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: I hope for readers to find both immersion and escapism. I want them to feel—deeply.

 

But I also want them to be swept up and carried away from the invasive, distorted noise that defines our modern society. I want them to find a place of solace where they can escape from the constant, collective worldwide bickering over each and every trivial bit of nonsense.

 

I provide no moralizations in this book. There is no neat and tidy, carefully manicured author persona; I just tell the story exactly as it happened—with brutal honesty—and let the reader make their own judgments.

 

Ultimately, I want them to feel a deep, visceral connection to the story. Even if they haven’t lived the same type of transgressive, chaotic, debaucherous, and outlandish life I have, the reader will relate. I believe that with all my heart, because above all, the story is about the human condition.

 

I believe Foxtail is a universally relatable chronicle. It’s about the constant state of subconscious bewilderment we all face brought about by existing as conscious entities, whilst at the same time, being trapped inside a sack of meat, collagen proteins, nucleic acids, and calcium phosphate.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I didn’t draw up a set of initial blueprints in which this had been my intent, but Foxtail will be a three- or four-part series (depending on how much more the respective sections continue to expand).

 

So, I am currently deep in the active drafting process for the subsequent installments of Foxtail, and if I do say so myself, the prose is looking exceptionally lethal. (Tentative name for the first impending sequel: Foxtail Pt. II: Grey Matter).

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The linear timeline of Foxtail leaves me at 18 years old. I am 38 now, so I hope that readers will recognize that the person on the final page was an intensely confused, profoundly fractured teenage wastoid doing anything he could to survive a psychological and emotional abyss that he, himself, had manifested over years of self-abuse.

 

Since then, I have done the heavy internal work, healed, and grown into a semi-functional, semi-contributing member of society. So fear not: I am not the boogeyman—I am not “comin’ to getcha.”

 

Also, on November 7, (two days before the official publication date), I am staging a live Heavy Metal Showcase and Spoken Word event featuring readings from Foxtail, (as well as a few other surprises). It’s taking place at The Loading Dock ATX in Austin.

 

The entry fee of $25 includes not only the privilege of witnessing the beautifully-brutal, regional metal heavyweights, Hatewaker and Nemesis, but also a copy of Foxtail. I’ll even sign it for you if you should so desire (although that will surely depreciate the market value given that I’m a total nobody).

 

Nevertheless, if anyone wants to come to the Foxtail release party, you can find all the pertinent details and snag your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/foxtail-release-party-tickets-2002562162335

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Janie Emaus

  

 

 

Janie Emaus is the author of the new children's picture book Mrs. Claus's Noodle Kugel. Her other books include Latkes for Santa Claus. She lives in Southern California.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Mrs. Claus’s Noodle Kugel?

 

A: The first book in the series, Latkes for Santa Claus, came out in 2020, followed by Easter Eggs and Matzo Balls in 2023. They were fun books to write and appealed to such a wide audience that I always knew I wanted to write another book with the same characters.

 

The Latkes story ends with Mrs. Claus loving the latkes recipe. One day while walking, I imagined Mrs. Claus making noodle kugel, with the noodles flying everywhere. The title popped into my mind. And then I needed a story!

 

Q: What do you think Bryan Langdo’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Bryan’s illustrations are fantastic. He balances the holidays on each page and makes the characters come to life. At every book signing, I get numerous compliments on his illustrations.

 

Q: The author Barbara Bietz said of the book, “Mrs. Claus’s Noodle Kugel is a fun and engaging story, perfect for blended families who celebrate holidays with joy.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love what Barbara said. That is exactly the perfect description of my story. And I love all her books, so it was an honor for her to review mine.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: First off, I want readers to see themselves in the story. When I was raising my daughter, celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas, there were no books to represent our family. That’s why I wrote the first book, Latkes for Santa Claus. 

 

Secondly, I want readers to realize how important it is to share, whether while cooking, playing, or ducking from noodles.

 

And lastly, I hope my readers laugh and want to read my books over and over.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m always writing new stories, whether actually on paper or in my head. At this time, I hope to have a new book out in 2028.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I would love my readers to know that I love them! I love meeting readers at book signings and talking to young aspiring writers and illustrators. And I wish everyone a very happy and noodley holiday season.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Janie Emaus.