Interview With Barbara Josselsohn

Barbara Josselsohn is a novelist and magazine writer. Her latest novel is THE LILAC HOUSE, is a WWWB recommended read!

We are delighted to feature this interview with her.

Tell us about your beginning, where are you from?

I’m from Long Island, about 50 minutes east of New York City. Now I live in Westchester County, about 40 minutes north of the city. I love New York and am sorely missing the theater, the restaurants, the shopping, the museums, and the people-watching. I hope it’s not too long before the city safely reopens!

How did your childhood impact the writer you’ve become? 

My mother was a big supporter of my dream to be a writer. She was a lovely writer herself, and enjoyed chronicling her experiences. I remember once she wrote a piece about her grandmother – my great-grandmother – who was an immigrant from Germany. My mother wrote about how her grandmother would often muse about her idyllic childhood home, where the cherries grew as big as plums. I thought that was such a remarkable description, and loved that my mother remembered it and incorporated it into her own writing. That image has stuck with me, and inspires me to always keep searching for the perfect description or sensory expression of a mood or a feeling.

I would add that one of my childhood friends was Meg Wolitzer – and when you’re friends with Meg Wolitzer, you can’t help but be inspired to write! 

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? 

I always knew I wanted to be a novelist. Like many other writers, I was always writing short stories and starting novels when I was growing up. I took a bit of a left turn in college, and decided I was more suited to journalism and essay-writing, which was the focus of my career for a long time. I started my first novel when my kids were very young. I think it was the experience of being a parent that made me want to return to fiction writing —suddenly I had all themes and ideas that I wanted to explore through storytelling. 

How has writing changed you as a person? 

I think it’s made me more comfortable being alone! Especially lately. It’s so easy these days to feel anxious and out of control, and I’ve found writing to be a great escape. It’s very comforting to me to retreat into my private world. I enjoy spending time in my own head, letting my characters loose and seeing what kinds of mischief they’ll get into!

Can you tell us a bit about THE LILAC HOUSE? What inspired you to write it? 

THE LILAC HOUSE is a story about the choices people make as spouses and parents, and the way those choices need to be revisited and revised as time goes on. More specifically, it’s about Anna Harris, who is looking to start a new life for herself and her children following the death of her husband, a popular state senator. As the novel opens, she sets out for Lilac House, her summer home, with her two children. She believes it will be her last time, since she feels she can no longer be happy there without her husband. However, it’s during this pivotal summer that she learns more than she ever expected about herself, her marriage, and a way forward for herself and her children. It’s a story about second chances, reinvention, and family.

What inspired the story? Mostly my own interest in exploring what makes a marriage and a family work — as well as my own love of dance, romance, small towns, which are all major elements of the book.

What would be your 6 word memoir? 

I’ve always tried following my heart.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever had, and the worst? 

The best writing advice I ever got was this: “Lose the baby!” I know, it doesn’t sound like writing advice, but here’s the backstory. In an early draft of my first novel, the protagonist had a young baby — and like any baby, fictional or otherwise, she was a handful. Whenever my protagonist was trying to move forward with her goals or wants, the baby was always there, needing to be changed or fed or put down for a napped, or dressed, or whatever. I had a wonderful teacher at the time — she’s still a cherished teacher and mentor of mine — who felt the baby was getting in the way of the story, and that the book would work much better if my protagonist had older children. When she told me to lose the baby, what she was really saying was that I had to be willing to change things up, to make tough choices and drastic changes, in order to make the story stronger. So whenever I’m now clinging to a character or a setting or a scene that I love but that isn’t helping my story along, I remind myself to lose the baby!

The worst writing advice? I think I’ve been very lucky to have had wonderful teachers, and I’ve  never gotten really bad advice. However, I do remember a college professor in a selective program – which I was thrilled to have been admitted into – telling me that while my writing was very good, it was my bad fortune that the participants included a couple of stellar writers who would always be better than I was. It completely derailed me, and made me turn away from fiction writing for a long time. Eventually I realized that the writing world is large, and destructive comparisons serve no good purpose. Now, I always try to make sure that my writing students appreciate their own unique voices and concentrate on their own path forward.

What is your writing process like? Are you a pantser or a plotter? 

I think I’m a blend — I feel secure when I have a good plan, but I feel hamstrung when I follow it too closely!

Do you need a special place to write? 

I really don’t! I think this come from my training as a journalist, and the need to meet deadlines, no matter what. Still, I do have my preferences. I love to write outside —there are a couple of shady places in my backyard that are amazing writing spots in the early summer, before it gets too hot. In the winter, I’m perfectly happy at my dining room table, which has a big window that looks out on the neighborhood. I do prefer silence when I’m writing and love to have the whole house to myself when I write (although that doesn’t often happen!).  I like writing with music that matches the themes of my work – so, for example, when I was writing THE LILAC HOUSE, which includes ballet as a focus, I listened to the ballet classics. I also like candles — I had an amazing lilac-scented candle that lasted throughout the writing and editing phases of The Lilac House!

Are you part of a writing community or a writing group?

I am so lucky to be on the faculty of the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, which offers so much in the way of support, encouragement, learning, community, and friendship! I also have many writer friends who are always available to read something or give some feedback on short notice – and I’m thrilled when I can provide the same to them. And, of course, I have loved being a part of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association – I don’t know what I’d do without that group!  

What is your experience with social media as a writer? Do you find it distracts you or does it provide inspiration? 

I love following authors and book blogs, as well as seeing my friends on social media celebrating happy events. I even love when people post funny GIFs and song parodies. But time can really fly when you’re reading all the posts! So I try to limit my social media time.

Who are your favorite authors?

I love reading novelists who are new to me – whom I’ve discovered through the WFWA or have been recommended by friends. Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time enjoying the work of  authors who are published by my publisher – Bookouture. I think the editors there are amazing, and am so excited by the books they are turning out. I would also add that I am always excited to read something new by Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler, and Anna Quindlen. And, of course, Meg Wolitzer. I love all her books. 

What are you reading currently? 

Honestly, I’m now making my way through the WWWB May list! I’m really excited about all of the titles. I know Camille di Maio and Jacqueline Friedland, so am starting off with their books, THE FIRST EMMA and THAT’S NOT A THING. And then I’ll move on along the bookshelf. I’m also about to start an advance copy of Susan Schild’s WEDDING AT THE LAKESIDE RESORT, the fourth book in her series, which launches in late June. And I’m reading Tiffany Yates Martin’s INTUITIVE EDITING – Tiffany’s such a good editor, and I’ve heard this book is life-changing!

—

Barbara Solomon Josselsohn is a New York-based novelist and freelance writer.  Her articles and essays appear in a range of publications, including New York Magazine, The New York Times, Consumers Digest, Parents Magazine, American Baby, and Westchester Magazine. Online, you can see her work at GrownandFlown.com, WorkingMother.com, ReformJudaism.org, and Read650.com.

Barbara teaches novel writing at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York. She also teaches adult writing workshops at Scarsdale Library in Scarsdale, New York, where she is the founder and coordinator of the Scarsdale Library Writers Center, an organization that supports and promotes local writers. She conducts a magazine writing course for children each summer at the Scarsdale-based JCC-Midwestchester. She is a frequent presenter at writing events for children and adults.

Barbara began her career as a reporter and editor with HFN, a trade magazine covering the home furnishings business. She has a B.A. in English from Binghamton University and an M.A. in English from the University of Connecticut, and has studied fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Manhattanville College.

 

THE LILAC HOUSE, Barbara Josselsohn

Summer escapes to Lilac House have always been a source of comfort for Anna Harris. Though things will never be the same since her husband’s death, she knows that it is there, nestled in Lake Summers in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, that she and her children Zac and Evie can begin to build a new life.

The house is just as beautiful as Anna remembers, and caught up in the rhythm of small town life, helping her Aunt Hope run the little shop on Main Street, Anna begins to feel a sense of herself she hasn’t felt in years. Then she meets Aidan. Handsome, strong and quiet, he also knows what it’s like to lose someone. In each other they recognise something they’ve both been missing and they feel a spark.

But Aidan’s past holds a different set of complications. He’s hiding a secret about why he came to Lake Summers. And just as the Lilac House finally starts to feel like home, Anna learns something devastating about Greg’s death that makes her question everything…

The summer might have brought Anna and Aidan together, but can Anna finally let go of the past now she really has the chance for a new beginning?

A beautiful story about moving on and finding yourself, The Lilac House will restore your faith in love and teach you that it’s never too late the find the person who will change your life. For fans of Carolyn Brown, Jenny Hale and Mary Alice Monroe.

What readers are saying about The Lilac House:

“A beautiful story… I was completely entranced.” Book Reviews By Shalini

“This book was special… I cheered out loud! This was a feel-good romance that would be perfect for a vacation read or a day off. Fans of cute romances will not be disappointed!” (e)Book Nerd Reviews

“A heartfelt bittersweet read… Whisks you away to the lake for your summer vacay!!… Absolutely gorgeous summer read.” Bookworms United Book Club

“Will touch your heart… I wanted the book to keep going on… I will read this author again.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

“Exceptional… Emotional and inspirational, Barbara Josselsohn has written a charming, winning novel… Honestly, there wasn’t anything I disliked about this book… One of my favorites this year. Please don’t miss it!” Fireflies and Free Kicks

“This book is filled with romance… I don’t want to say goodbye.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

“It left me smiling.” Audio Killed the Bookmark

BUY THE BOOK HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing