Photo: Courtesy of Libi Astaire
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I grew up in Kansas, next door to Dorothy Gale and Toto too. (Just kidding.) My first love was the theatre and that journey took me from Kansas to London, where I studied acting, and then to New York, where I worked as a director off-off-Broadway and did marketing for an off-Broadway theatre. But when I reached my mid-thirties I had a bit of a spiritual crisis and began to seriously explore my Jewish heritage, including the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. That journey eventually led to my becoming Torah observant and moving to Jerusalem, where I’ve been living ever since.
What inspired you to become an author?
My landlord. Seriously. When I moved to Jerusalem I had no idea how I was going to pay the rent, buy food, etc. So I turned to Hashem (G-d) and asked Him to help me find a job. After brief stints teaching English and working at a Judaica gallery, I got a job at a public relations company that worked with nonprofit organizations, and that’s where I learned how to craft a compelling story for brochures and newspapers. From there I began to freelance for Mishpacha Magazine, where for some reason the editors assigned me lots of articles having to do with Jewish history—which, by the way, I loved.
They also asked me to write a serialized novel, and I panicked. Coming from a theatre background, I was used to stories being told through dialogue alone. Now they wanted me to write prose? Anyway, I accepted the challenge and I wrote a novel called Terra Incognita, which is about modern-day descendents of Spain’s crypto-Jews. That first forray into fiction led to the writing of my Jewish Regency Mystery Series. Set in London during the early 1800s, the series combines my love of Jewish history and mystery stories. So being an author has been another amazing journey.
Where and when do you write? Do you have a writing routine?
Because writing is how I earn my living, I have to be disciplined. That’s especially true for magazine and newspaper work, where the editors are counting on you to meet their deadline. When I began to write my mystery series, I decided to treat it as a “real job” with real deadlines, even though I self-publish the books on Amazon and other online booksellers.
I’m a night person and not terribly productive in the morning. So after breakfast, I sit at my desk in my home office and work on revising what I wrote the day before. By the afternoon, after I’ve had a second cup of coffee and a piece of cake, I feel ready to tackle writing new material. When the writing goes well, I can continue for hours. When it doesn’t, I do a lot of staring at my computer screen. But that’s more productive than it sounds, because sometimes your brain needs time to mull over things. By staying focused on the story, as opposed to letting my mind get distracted by other tasks or social media, I usually find that the next day will be a good writing day.
How long does it take you to finish a novel?
It depends. I like to spend 6 – 8 weeks on the writing. But I can think about the story for anywhere from a few months to a few years before I write the first word.
Which authors can we find in your library?
In the bookcase for Jewish books, you’ll find Rebbe Nachman’s stories, as well as the wonderful collection of chassidic tales retold by Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin and several volumes of stories about the Baal Shem Tov. Sitting in the literature bookcase are authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov and, of course, L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. The third bookcase is dedicated to mystery writers such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Rex Stout.
What advice would you give an aspiring author?
Write! Schedule a time to write in your weekly calendar; if you can’t write every day, try to write once or twice a week. And treat it as a serious commitment because the main thing is to be consistent, even when the writing doesn’t seem to be going well. I don’t think I’ve ever written a book which hasn’t caused problems somewhere in the middle. It’s so tempting to give up. But if you stick with it, the story usually manages to get back on track and come to a satisfying conclusion.
Where can our readers purchase your books?
My books are on sale as ebooks and paperbacks at Amazon.
For those who like to read a series in order, here’s the list for the Jewish Regency Mystery Series:
Jewish Regency Mystery Stories, Vol. I
Jewish Regency Mystery Stories, Vol. II
I’m also the author Terra Incognita, The Banished Heart: A Novel About Shakespeare, Secret Jews & 1930s Berlin, The Latke in the Library & Other Mystery Stories for Chanukah, Day Trips to Jewish History, and several volumes of Chassidic tales. For more information, you can also visit my website.
On which Social Media channels can our readers connect with you?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/libi.astaire
Photos: Courtesy of Libi Astaire
