Photo: Courtesy of Linda Elovitz Marshall
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I grew up in the United States, just outside Boston, Massachusetts with my parents, younger brother and younger sister. I had a lot of pets (including several unusual ones) but, most of all, I wanted a horse. I thought we could keep it in the garage, but that never happened. I always liked (and still like) traveling, reading, exploring, and mud.
I studied anthropology in college and graduate school, raised my four children on a small sheep farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, taught early childhood education, and owned and operated my own bookstore.
What inspired you to become an author?
I always loved writing – especially poetry – but I didn’t think I had anything particularly noteworthy to say that hadn’t already been said.Then, while working in my bookstore, I got some story ideas. I set those ideas down…and let them grow and develop…and kept working, working, working on them. I shared them with friends. One friend told me about SCBWI, another about the Jewish Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference. I attended both, shared my stories and, as a result, some have since become books.
Where and when do you write? Do you have a writing routine?
Writing is my favorite thing to do. It’s what I do when I’m happy or sad or angry or feeling particularly funny. No, sorry, I take that back. Eating ice cream is my favorite thing to do. I just wish I could get more time – alone – to write. I need silence.
I often write first thing in the morning, when I’m just waking. If I’m super-focused on a project, I work on it constantly – morning, noon, night. I love that feeling. I try to exercise, too, and, of course, spend time with friends and family.
How long does it take you to finish a book?
For the most part, I write shorter projects, i.e., picture books and poetry. I have a couple of novels and linked short story projects tucked away in my computer. I’ve been working on those projects for years!
Which authors can we find in your library?
That’s an interesting question! I just moved from my old farmhouse where I lived for 43 years and, in the process of moving, gave away boxes and boxes of books. Also, when I love a book that I’ve just read, I can’t wait to share it with a friend. So, I almost always give away my favorite books. Last weekend, I gave away a book by George Saunders.
I like quiet, well-crafted books. I also like thrillers. And picture books. No matter how old I am, a good picture book will sing to me. Over and over. As well it should.
What advice would you give an aspiring author?
- Read, read, read.
- Don’t give up.
- Revise, revise, revise.
- Make your words sing.
- Revise, revise, revise.
- Do your research.
- Revise, revise, revise.
- If you don’t LOVE this, then don’t do it. It’s hard work and doesn’t necessarily reap tangible rewards.
- Find – and make – writer friends.
- Revise, revise, revise.
- And don’t forget to read.
- Have fun!
Where can our readers purchase your books?
My books may be ordered from your favorite Indie bookstore or from Bookshop.org (which helps keep indie bookstores in business) or, for ease, on Amazon.
Sisters In Science: Marie Curie, Bronia Dluska, and the Atomic Power of Sisterhood, Knopf, Picture Book Biography, forthcoming, 2023.
Mexican Dreidel by Linda Elovitz Marshall and Ilan Stavans, KarBen, fiction, forthcoming 2023.
Measuring a Year: A Rosh Hashanah Book, Abrams Kids, 2022, pub date 8/16/22
Have You Ever Zeen a ZIZ? Albert Whitman, 2020. Picture book. Fiction.
And the Whole World Heard: The Story of Anne Frank, Scholastic, 2020. Picture Book Biography, for ages 5-8.
Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit, Little Bee/Bonnier, 2020. PB bio, ages 5-8.
The Polio Pioneer: The Story of Jonas Salk, Scientist and Inventor of the Polio Vaccine, Knopf, 2020 PB bio, ages 5-8.
Shalom, Bayit/Bayit, Shalom, KarBen/Lerner, 2020. Board Book, NF
Goodnight, Wind, Holiday House, 2019
Kindergarten Is COOL!, Scholastic, 2016
Talia and the Haman TUSHIES, Karben/Lerner, 2017
Good Stuff Cheap: The Story of Jerry Ellis and Building #19, (self-published picture book biography about my father), 2017
Mommy, Baby, and Me, Peter Pauper Press, 2017
Rainbow Weaver, Lee & Low, 2016
Shh…Shh…Shabbat, Karben/Lerner, 2016
Talia and the Very YUM Kippur, Karben/Lerner, 2016
The Passover Lamb, Random House, 2013
The Mitzvah Magician, KarBen/Lerner, 2012
Talia and the RUDE Vegetables, KarBen/Lerner, 2011
Grandma Rose’s Magic, KarBen/Lerner, 2012
On which Social Media channels can our readers connect with you?
I’m on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LindaMarshallBooks
Twitter @L_E_Marshall
Instagram @lindaemarshall
And, best of all, www.lindamarshall.com
For email, [email protected]
Photos: Courtesy of Linda Elovitz Marshall
