4 Questions for author Tamar Ansh about her new Passover cookbook

March 17, 2014March 3, 2014beccakinla book, books, children, children's books, Jewish, Jewish writing, Judaism, kids, kosher, literature, parenting, parents Tags: 2014, advice, author, book, children, cookbook, interview, jewish, kids, new, Passover, Pesach, preparation, recipes, Tamar Ansh Leave a comment

I recently conversed via email with the enormously popular author, Tamar Ansh, about her new cookbook. Let My Children Cook! is her first cookbook for kids, and it tackles a particularly pertinent area of Kosher cuisine for this time of year: Passover.

Tamar Ansh’s latest cookbook, out in time for Passover!

4 Questions:

Rebecca:

What made you want to write a cookbook for children this time? And why specifically one for Passover?

Tamar:

For this book, Let My Children Cook!, Hashem sent me the inspiration from a totally unexpected angle. Continue reading →

When writing shifts from a hobby to a job: my new essay in Tablet

March 10, 2014beccakinla adar, authors, klempner, kosher, publishing, purim, shpiel, tafkid, talent, writer, writing, writing process Tags: article, author, career, essay, fun, funny, holiday, humor, jew, jewish, job, judaism, Klempner, love, newsletter, profession, purim, purim spiel, rebecca, rebecca klempner, Tablet, work, writer, writing Leave a comment

Meow.

Last year, I wrote on this blog that I struggled with creating the annual Purim newsletter I co-write with my husband. Well, this year, I wrote an essay about it for Tablet. You can read it here.

And if you don’t live in L.A., but do want to see this year’s edition of the newsletter (and other freebies throughout the year), you can fill out this form. I’ll put you on the mailing list!

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This Birdie Has Tweeted

March 9, 2014beccakinla Jewish, Jewish writing, Judaism, klempner, Orthodox Tags: author, blogger, jewish, Klempner, rebecca, rebecca klempner, tweet, twitter, writer 2 Comments

I’m mortified. Having recently come to grips with the necessity of getting a Facebook account, I’ve now succumbed to Twitter. You can’t apply for the new Amtrak Artist Residency program without it, and you can’t get some writing gigs without it (because they want you to publicize), and now I’ve joined the flock.

I actually took a class last year about Social Media from Carol Tice and Linda Formacelli, and so I’m not totally incompetent at stuff like this. I just feel like I’m incompetent at this kind of thing.

If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, you can find me @KlempnerJots and read what I’ve got to say about about the world of books and magazines and all sorts of random things that appeal to me.

Megillat Esther through the eyes of a 21st century writer, or It’s okay if G-d saves the day if there’s forshadowing

March 4, 2014March 6, 2014beccakinla advice, how to write, Jewish, Jewish writing, Judaism, literature, Orthodox, purim, writer, writing, writing process Tags: authentic, author, avoid, believer, book of esther, books, boring, deus ex machina, drama, esther, foreshadowing, G-d, Gd, God, how to write, jew, jewish, megillah, megillat esther, novel, orthodox, pitfall, purim, religion, religious, scroll, stories, strategies, suspense, The Book of Esther, Torah, worldview, writer, writing 4 Comments

This year, in preparation for Purim, I’ve been rereading the megillah at a class given by my LOR (local Orthodox rabbi). Of course, it’s not the first time I’ve read The Book of Esther, as it’s called in English. We do that every year on Purim–twice! And it’s also not the first time I’ve learned it with this particular rabbi. But it is the first time I’ve read it with commentary, guided by my rabbi, since I officially became an author (whatever that means). And boy, is there a difference.

The Big Literary No-No All Over the Megillah

A Purim Spiel in Poland. Photo shared in the Wikipedia Commons by Henryk Kotowski.

When you’re writing fiction, there is a big no-no that you’re told never to do: rely on deus ex machina. In short: don’t get your characters out of a tight corner by dropping a deity down from the sky to perform an instantaneous rescue. The audience will roll their eyes, at best.

The term originated with actors playing deities in the theaters of Greece. But for a religious writer of a different persuasion in the 21st century, it causes problems. Continue reading →

Put some funny in your Adar

February 3, 2014February 2, 2014beccakinla adar, authors, reviews, writer Tags: adar, annoyed, author, bad, bad review, black humor, book, cope, coping, funny, pain, painful, revenge, review, sad, terrible, writer 2 Comments

Purim is still almost six weeks away due to our extra Hebrew month of Adar this year, but it’s not too early to get silly. Writer Libi Astaire posted a hilarious “app” to repair your worst reviews. It’s pretty funny. She invites authors to go to her comment section and apply the app to their own negative reviews. I participated. Head over to her post to check it out.

How you should read a personal essay

December 10, 2013December 10, 2013beccakinla abuse, advice, reading, recommended reading, respect Tags: article, author, be nice, comments, consideration, facebook, how to read, hurtful, kindness, manners, mean, online, personal essays, reading, rules, Tablet, Tova Ross, troll, trolls, writing 1 Comment

The subtitle to this essay should read: the post in which I vent about people being mean to writers other than myself

I don’t just frequent Tablet as a writer, I frequent it as a reader. So, when an article went up today by someone I’d heard about earlier this week (thank you Pop Chassid for your link to Altar online), I decided to read it.

It was an essay by Tova Ross about why and how she stopped covering her hair. Now, anyone who has bothered to look at my photo to the right of this post will have noticed something: my hair is covered. I have covered my hair ever since my marriage and do so joyfully.

Reading a personal essay isn’t about judging, it’s about considering a different viewpoint

For Tova Ross, this mitzvah was not so joyful. If you want more details, go read her essay.

The story almost immediately went viral, but not for good reasons. Continue reading →

Rebecca Klempner

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