It’s Meet the Author Monday! Each week we meet a new author and get to know a little about them, their writing process, publishing experience, and tips for other writers. Today we’re talking to Judy Stanigar, author of Marika’s Best Laid Plan.
About Judy Stanigar:
Judy Stanigar was born and raised in Israel. When she was a teenager, she moved with her family to the U.S. She attended Columbia University Graduate School of Social Work and worked as a psychotherapist for many years before turning her life-long passion and love of books into writing. Her experience as a psychotherapist in a New York City methadone clinic served as an inspiration for her novel. She spends her spare time writing, painting, walking the local beaches and trails, and cooking Israeli food for her Jamaican husband…and always trying to keep the flowers in her garden from dying.
About Marika’s Best Laid Plan:
Marika is a social worker trying to heal her drug addict clients, but she can’t seem to mend her damaged self. She avoids love because love sits too close to death. Her choices have left her carefully ordered life a lonely, disconnected one.
Everything is about to change.
Big-hearted, quirky, emotionally walled-off Marika embarks on a plan that ultimately forces her to confront the very thing she’s spent her life avoiding: love.
Marika’s Best Laid Plan is story about the power of connection and hope, the things without which life is unbearable.
Author Interview with Judy Stanigar:
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- What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, the year before the modern-day plague, aka Covid, came upon us, I took a literary pilgrimage to England. I could not wait to check out all of my favorite authors, many of which happen to be Brits (don’t ask me why). First stop, the day we landed and picked up our car was to Chawton, Hampshire to visit the 17th century home of Jane Austen. I walked around entranced, hoping the vibes would somehow infuse me with her talent and sense of humor. Alas, it didn’t, but it was nice to pretend. Next up, was Dorset, Thomas Hardy’s beautifully cozy, thatched cottage, even though Hardy’s books are far from ‘feel good cozy’, his home was. For a change of author pace, this was followed by a visit to Greenway in Devon to visit the lady of mysteries herself, Dame Agatha (no last name needed). Then on to Cornwall to check out Du Maurier’s home. Only we didn’t get to visit inside, not allowed, but Cornwall itself has the Manderley vibe, you expect to see Rebecca roaming around. Heading northward, of course there was the must see Shakespeare’s home at Stratford-Upon-Avon (way too many tourists). Swinging over to the Lake District we popped on over to Wordsworth Dove cottage, and Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top. Finally, the Yorkshire moors for the Brontes. We even slept at a tiny B & B where the Bronte sisters often played and even slept in (I assume the mattresses have been changed.) OK this was the long answer.
- What is the first book that made you cry?
Catcher in the Rye. Because those ducks that went away in winter.
- Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Energize in the sense that one gets lost in the story and time flies. Without writing one feels exhausted.
- What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Waiting for that muse to come.
- Does a big ego help or hurt writers?
Helps enormously as it gives the courage to believe that we actually have something important to say and that people will want to read. Hurst in that we think that we actually have something important to say and that people will want to read.
- Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Nope. One wants fame.
- If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Take the risks, write and don’t be afraid.
To learn more about Judy Stanigar, here’s where you can find her:
Website: judystanigar.com
Social Media: @judystanigar and @JudyStanigarTheAuthor
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