“Henna House” by Nomi Eve
Women and Adversity: Nomi Eve, Author
Nomi Eve, author of “The Family Orchard” and “Henna House,” knows how to breathe life into the past. This featured speaker at the Women’s Fiction Writers Association writers’ conference in Philadelphia explained how she went about doing research for her books.
“Get first person accounts or read books that describe a place,” she said. She is creative in her suggestions. Not only investigate:
- Memoirs
- Folktales
- History books
But:
- Books on flora, fauna and wildlife
- Cookbooks, include dishes from the past
- Historical societies
Other suggestions offered:
- Weather history
- Guidebooks
- Music of the time
What obstacles did Nomi face when she decided to be a writer?
She says:
“The biggest obstacle I faced was in trying to earn a living while writing my first book. I didn’t do a very good job of it! If it weren’t for good friends and generous family, I would never have been able to devote myself so fully to my writing work. I lived on a lot of couches and lived very cheaply. But still, those were tough years.”
What obstacles does she face now after having two books published?
She says:
“The biggest obstacle I faced, after I already had written a book, was getting my second novel published. I had three babies in four years after I wrote my first book and took almost 10 years off of writing to be home with my kids. It was very, very hard to claw my way back into the publishing world. It’s never easy to get published, and it certainly isn’t easy when you take such a long break!
“The Family Orchard,” published in 2000, was a Book-of-the Month Club main selection and was nominated for a National Jewish Book Award. “Henna House” was published in 2014.
More about Nomi Eve:
https://nomi-eve.com/about-the-author
https://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/519/nomi-eve
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/books/reviews/3893
