Paula J. Freedman, who tagged me, had her first novel published by Amulet Books in October 2013. “My Basmati Bat Mitzvah” is a middle-grade novel about Tara Feinstein, a 12-year-old New Yorker navigating aspects of her own identity and heritage. On the day of the release of my most recent book – I’m delighted to answer some questions about my own writing experience.
What am I currently working on?
I keep thinking that I’ve exhausted the topic of prefabrication and energy efficiency, but as soon as I’m almost done with one book – another topic in that arena inspires me again. When I first started writing about prefab construction, most people thought I was writing about trailers. But over the past several years it seems that people are warming to this process and seeing this as a huge advantage. With the rising cost of energy and the political ramifications in getting it – energy efficiency is increasingly on peoples minds – both for their cars and their homes. My next book will profile additional houses, built using prefabrication and which are getting more and more efficient.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I don’t believe anyone else is focused on these two aspects of construction – energy/water efficiency and prefab. To me it doesn’t make sense to build a house that is very energy and water efficient and then build it with lots of waste. Using prefab methods substantially cuts down on waste – that ends up in dumpsters at on-site construction. Cutoffs are reused on other projects and some materials are send back to manufacturers to be recycled. I believe the houses I profile are among the most efficient built today.
Why do I write what I write?
I am totally fascinated by home construction. There is so much that goes into building a comfortable, efficient house – its like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Each year there are new methods and systems being developed that create even better houses.
How does my individual writing process work?
My next book – Prefabulous World: Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Homes around the Globe – is released today. I hope this will inspire some of you as Earth Day comes next week.
Next Monday you can learn from Sally Koslow, author of four terrific novels and a non-fiction book. Her latest novel, The Widow Waltz. is one of my favorites. Previously Sally was editor-in-chief of McCall’s and other women’s magazine. Check out her blog next week at http://sallykoslow.com.