Yay For Middle Grade Books! Interview With Barbara Bottner!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Barbara Bottner, who has a story in the MG anthology Coming of Age, which is out now! She is also the author of multiple other books, including the YA novel, I Am Here Now.

Would you please tell us a little about the anthology, COMING OF AGE, and your story in it?

Henry Herz and Jonathan Rosen, two Jewish authors came up with the idea that an anthology celebrating Bar and Bat Mitzvahs would make a wonderful project. Before it found a publisher, they invited 11 other writers –for the grand total of 13—to write stories on this subject. I’d had a bat mitzvah and had always wanted to do a Jewish-centric project, so I said ‘yes’ immediately. Unfortunately, I managed to forget about it until the book had been bought and there was a deadline staring me in the face. I panicked. When I looked at my own Bat Mitzvah for material, there were no takeaways to anchor a story. It was mundane, and in a way, it actually marked my leaving the Jewish religion. I called Henry thinking I’d have to take the coward’s way out but he and I brainstormed. Once I mentioned the lower East Side of New York where I’d lived and also had worked as an actress, there was suddenly fertile ground. I invented a young girl who lived with her theater family in what was known as the Jewish Rialto. The lower East Side is where so many immigrants landed when they got stateside and it was the template for the Jewish culture in general; both for the theater, the unions, the social work that sprung up to help the greenhorns. My story appeared quite quickly because I began with an emotion: shyness. When you’re a Bar or Bat Mitzvah you must interpret and discuss the haftorah from the Bimah. You have to have confidence and you also have to know what you’re talking about. So, this became the spine of my story.

 

Would you also like to tell us a little about your YA novel, I Am Here Now?

Thank you. In 2020, I published a free verse novel. I’d never written free verse, ever. But I did have a story to tell. I came from a very tough family with an angry mother and very self-involved, narcissistic father. Survival wasn’t easy. I was born to be an artist, and I discovered a mentor in my best friend’s mother who was a painter. Her ability to ‘see' and encourage me became transformative, as did my friendship with her daughter; we’re still friends today. Art and this arty family surely saved my life. I had passion to create and a passion for life, so even though the book depicts the challenges I faced, it’s ultimately the story of a struggle that paid off; I’m lucky I did have some talent but sometimes I wonder if the talent was actually a response to the difficulties. I also have a sense of humor and so the book isn’t dreary. I’m proud of it and proud of the reviews and kudo’s it’s received. To me, it was the book I had to write. It’s like a giant fingerprint of my spirit.

 

Random Question! What’s your favorite color?

Red. I don’t look good in it  but my house has red carpets, couch, pillows, runners and flowers.

 

If you're able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I’m a big multi-tasker and my fingers are in a lot of documents from picture books to an adult short story collection. I have a humorous ‘cozy’ mystery I’m writing with my husband about twins  who move into a new apartment building in Brooklyn. The boy is convinced it’s a hot bed of odd goings on and in pursuing that idea, they uncover a long-held family feud and a bank manager who’s up to no good. I’m polishing several picture books and also trying to finish a short story collection which I’ve cannibalized from an adult novel. Some of these stories have been published--. So, I’m busy and in the back of my mind I do wonder if I might illustrate again!

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

I love Abbie Hanlon’s work. She writes and illustrates with the loopiest drawings ever, the Dory Fantasmagory books. I just read Eugene Yelchin’s MG, The Genius Under The Table, a must read in my opinion, which he also writes and illustrates. It’s a memoir of his growing up in Russia. Speaking of Yelchin, I’m looking forward to his illustrations for The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M. T. Anderson. (2020)

Thank you to Barbara Bottner for participating in this event! :)

Here are a few links:

Her Website