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Interview With Howard Shapiro A Children Book Author
I nterviewed Howard Shapiro on October 24 2006
Q: What are you working on now?
At the moment I am marketing my Hanukkah book for the 2nd year
and trying to get my anti-bullying book into schools, foundations etc.
After the first of the year, I am planning to start work on my third
book "Hockey Day's" which I hope to have out in October, 2007.
Q: Tell us about your two books?
My first book was published in October, 2005. It is called "Hanukkah
Counts Too!" and the premise is that there are a brother (Tom) and a
sister (Tupelo) who are each eight years old and they live in a
predominately non-Jewish area and they are bombarded by Christmas images, shows, movies etc. And Tupelo, questions why they have to be different and why Santa can't bring her a tree or presents. She runs upstairs on the first night of Hanukkah but has a heart-to-heart talk with her older cousin and after the talk she comes to realize that Hanukkah is an important holiday and that it matters (and counts) too.
My new book which was released on September 12th, is called "Destructo
Boy & Spillerella...We Are Who We Are!" and it is an anti-bullying
story. It again involves Tom and Tupelo, who are being bullied by a big fourth grader. First the bully starts picking on Tom and then Tupelo and Tom has a chat with his Dad who reminds him that he has strength and courage that he doesn't even know he has. When the bully starts picking on Tupelo, and Tom sees the hurt in her eyes and face, he puts his foot down and tells the bully that his words and actions don't matter and will not hurt he or Tupelo any more.
Q: Top five tips for raising kids:
1. Parents have to work as a team: I believe that this is the absolute number one tip for raising kids. The Parents must be in sync with each other and cover each other on household tasks. Especially when the child or children are one to three years old. The household tasks like doing the laundry, the dishes, emptying the trash, balancing the checkbook and paying the bills can be overwhelming so those tasks must be divided up and the parents have to WORK at being good teammates.
2. Make time for yourself. Whether it's going to a movie by yourself
or just walking around the mall or going to a athletic event, couples
need to do some stuff to get them out of the house for a short amount of time.
3. Schedule at least one date night a month. While it helps to
recharge one's batteries doing something solo, couple's should make time once a month to get out and see a movie or have dinner or simply get out of the house and be together at least once a month.
4. Be cost and money concious. Everyone wants to make their kids
happy but the $50 or $75 that is spent on a holiday gift or outfit that will be thrown in the closet never to see the light of day could be better used by being put in the bank or towards a college education fund. When I say money concious I mean that the husband and wife should put off luxury purchases and similar purchases like new furniture, drapes a better car etc. in lieu of saving money for the childs education.
5. Keep things "even" between the husband and wife's families. What
I mean is that if you have to make two Thanksgiving stops, do it. If
the wife's mother is watching the kids one night, ask the husband's
mother to watch them the next time. Keeping both families on an even keel will do wonders for the husband and wife in their relationship and won't cause any friction with their families. If one side is being too agressive or bossy, it is the husband or wife's obligation to tell them to back off, it's for the greater good of THEIR marriage/relationship and in the children's interst to keep things as even as possible between the families.
Q: Where can we find out about your books and website?
I have a website, http://www.howardshapiro.net and my books are both available on Amazon.com. Also, copies can be ordered directly from me and I will autograph each copy. Both books cost $8.95. For more information, please send an email to howard.shapiro@hotmail.com or go to http://www.howardshapiro.net
Q: Something people must know about you.
Just that I work really hard at the whole "business" or writing and
marketing my books and that I love feedback from people who have read
them. As Louis Ferdinand Celine said "when you write, you should put your skin on the table" and I truly believe this and want my books to make a difference to someone or help them in some way, even if it's just for a moment. That, and I also believe that we are all capable of greatness in all that we do and we should strive for that.
BONUS : Interview With Marguerite Arotin, A Romance Writer In Ohio
Py: How did you get your pen name as Maruerite Arotin?
Marguerite: My real name is Dana but when I decided to write romance, I always knew Dana would be too unisex for the romance market. So I thought about my nickname. My grandma used to call me Daisy and my hubby eventually picked it up too. Marguerite is french for Daisy and I'm part French so I loved that ;-). Arotin was my late mother-in-law's maiden name so I took the name in honor of her and plus it flowed nicely with Marguerite. I will be marketing all books under my pen name of Marguerite Arotin.
Py: When did you start reading romance novels?
Marguerite: It was just after I met my hubby that I picked up my very first romance novel. I think meeting someone so perfect for me taught me that true love does exist and that maybe those romance novels I always thought were so sappy could come true. But then I met Phil and the attraction hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't imagine any other guy who can fulfill my needs as much as he can and I wouldn't want to satisfy any other man but him. Since I was a bit of a history nut, I picked up a historical by Linda Lael Miller and then got addicted to the genre.
Believe it or not, prior to meeting my husband, Phillip, I was a bit of a young cynic when it came to romance and relationships. I met Phil when I was nineteen years old and prior to that, well I seemed to end up with a lot of jerks. At least I had a sense of humor of my unfortunate social life: I kept telling everyone I might as well adopt a bunch of cats and become the world's youngest spinster.
Py: What inspired you to write your romance story, The Locktender's Daughter?
Marguerite: It wasn't until the unthinkable happened, when my hubby lost his job and I just had a baby, that I even considered writing my own my romance novel. I've always loved local Ohio history. I would walk the old towpath trail wondering what life was like back when the mules pulled the boats through the murky canal water. I happened to find some notes for a story I wanted to write, a historical romance set along the Ohio & Erie canal, and decided I would write it. By the time my hubby found another job, I was too caught up in the story to stop writing. As I learned more about my craft, I realized how crappy the first MS I completed was and decided it wasn't worth revising. But that first story led to a sequel, called The Locktender's Daughter, and I loved that tale :-). I knew I didn't have enough experience yet to try a large print publishing house or even go for an agent, but I submitted my tale to a few e-book/POD presses and TheLocktender's Daughter found a home with Wings.
Py: Any tips for romance writers?
Marguerite: I've learned that everyone has their own writing techniques and they have to use what works best for them. Some people just allow the story to roam freely and other's tend to go all out and do full outlines. I do a mixture of both.
I want to add here is how important it is never to give up on your dream. It took me a good two years of submitting The Locktender's Daughter before I found a home for it. I knew I had a great story, I knew it my heart. I loved Bethany and Tyler too much to give up them. Writing is one of the toughest jobs out there and those rejection letters can hurt. But you have to put it aside and remember that people behind those rejection letters, agents, editors, etc, are not rejecting you and if you love your story and characters enough, you have to keep trying no matter what. I did and I found a great home for Bethany and Tyler :-).
Py: Your Contact Information and your giveaways to readers?:
Marguerite: My first historical romance novel will be published with Wings Press ( http://www.wings-press.com/) in May of next year. My site at http://www.ohioromance.net
As far as giveaways, I have the first three unedited chapters of The Locktender's Daughter posted at my website @ http://www.ohioromance.net/excerpts.htm
I've really got to update my page because it says that TLD is still in the hands of the editors at Wings and it's already been contracted. Guess when you spend too much time writing, you forget about simple things like remembering to update your site. I'll get it updated before Sunday. I do post free excerpts in my myspace blog from time to time and have been posting a lot lately from my teenage sorceress for my NANOWRIMO YA project. Also I will be running a contest around May in conjuction with the release of my story, I have no idea of what I'm going to do yet but it will probably have something to do with canal history :-).
Py: How did you get your pen name as Maruerite Arotin?
Marguerite: My real name is Dana but when I decided to write romance, I always knew Dana would be too unisex for the romance market. So I thought about my nickname. My grandma used to call me Daisy and my hubby eventually picked it up too. Marguerite is french for Daisy and I'm part French so I loved that ;-). Arotin was my late mother-in-law's maiden name so I took the name in honor of her and plus it flowed nicely with Marguerite. I will be marketing all books under my pen name of Marguerite Arotin.
Py: When did you start reading romance novels?
Marguerite: It was just after I met my hubby that I picked up my very first romance novel. I think meeting someone so perfect for me taught me that true love does exist and that maybe those romance novels I always thought were so sappy could come true. But then I met Phil and the attraction hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't imagine any other guy who can fulfill my needs as much as he can and I wouldn't want to satisfy any other man but him. Since I was a bit of a history nut, I picked up a historical by Linda Lael Miller and then got addicted to the genre.
Believe it or not, prior to meeting my husband, Phillip, I was a bit of a young cynic when it came to romance and relationships. I met Phil when I was nineteen years old and prior to that, well I seemed to end up with a lot of jerks. At least I had a sense of humor of my unfortunate social life: I kept telling everyone I might as well adopt a bunch of cats and become the world's youngest spinster.
Py: What inspired you to write your romance story, The Locktender's Daughter?
Marguerite: It wasn't until the unthinkable happened, when my hubby lost his job and I just had a baby, that I even considered writing my own my romance novel. I've always loved local Ohio history. I would walk the old towpath trail wondering what life was like back when the mules pulled the boats through the murky canal water. I happened to find some notes for a story I wanted to write, a historical romance set along the Ohio & Erie canal, and decided I would write it. By the time my hubby found another job, I was too caught up in the story to stop writing. As I learned more about my craft, I realized how crappy the first MS I completed was and decided it wasn't worth revising. But that first story led to a sequel, called The Locktender's Daughter, and I loved that tale :-). I knew I didn't have enough experience yet to try a large print publishing house or even go for an agent, but I submitted my tale to a few e-book/POD presses and TheLocktender's Daughter found a home with Wings.
Py: Any tips for romance writers?
Marguerite: I've learned that everyone has their own writing techniques and they have to use what works best for them. Some people just allow the story to roam freely and other's tend to go all out and do full outlines. I do a mixture of both.
I want to add here is how important it is never to give up on your dream. It took me a good two years of submitting The Locktender's Daughter before I found a home for it. I knew I had a great story, I knew it my heart. I loved Bethany and Tyler too much to give up them. Writing is one of the toughest jobs out there and those rejection letters can hurt. But you have to put it aside and remember that people behind those rejection letters, agents, editors, etc, are not rejecting you and if you love your story and characters enough, you have to keep trying no matter what. I did and I found a great home for Bethany and Tyler :-).
Py: Your Contact Information and your giveaways to readers?:
Marguerite: My first historical romance novel will be published with Wings Press ( http://www.wings-press.com/) in May of next year. My site at http://www.ohioromance.net
As far as giveaways, I have the first three unedited chapters of The Locktender's Daughter posted at my website @ http://www.ohioromance.net/excerpts.htm
I've really got to update my page because it says that TLD is still in the hands of the editors at Wings and it's already been contracted. Guess when you spend too much time writing, you forget about simple things like remembering to update your site. I'll get it updated before Sunday. I do post free excerpts in my myspace blog from time to time and have been posting a lot lately from my teenage sorceress for my NANOWRIMO YA project. Also I will be running a contest around May in conjuction with the release of my story, I have no idea of what I'm going to do yet but it will probably have something to do with canal history :-).
