Andrea Simon
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
Author of Floating in the Neversink and Here's the Story ... Nine Women Write Their Lives
About Here's the Story ... Nine Women Write Their Lives:
HERE'S THE STORY ... NINE WOMEN WRITE THEIR LIVES originated from an online course called “Writing about Your Mom without Guilt,” for the Story Circle Network, an international writing organization. Not wanting to end our special bond, we continued to meet and share our writing after the course ended. What emerged is this anthology of forty-two pieces: essays, stories, and poems.
Each of us has lived a full and singular life, from growing up in the Deep South to the Australian outback to the alleys of Brooklyn to the multiple displacements as a military brat schooled in Europe. These experiences produced stories about childhood trauma, travels, illnesses, reaching life’s goals, friendships, colorful relatives, books, and the pandemic. In short, we write about the women we have been and the women we want to be. We think this unique collection will inspire and entertain many, taking readers on a provocative journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: We are: Amy Baruch, Stephanie Cowell, Linda Aronovsky Cox, Karen Finch, Jane Mylum Gardner, Rhonda Hunt-Del Bene, Katherine Kirkpatrick, Kathleen M. Rodgers, and Andrea Simon. Some of us are fine artists, businesswomen, educators, a physician, researchers, musicians; and we even have two former opera singers. In the literary world, we are a mix of seasoned writers with several published works and those who write personal reflections for various media.
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
About Floating in the Neversink:
“A novel-in-stories, Floating in the Neversink follows a sensitive and impressionable young Jewish girl, Amanda Gerber, through the evocative world of summers in the Catskill Mountains, interspersed with Brooklyn’s Flatbush, from 1955-1961, a time of veiled innocence and impending turbulence.”
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
Author I draw inspiration from:
2024: Joan Didion
2020: Emily Bronte
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
Favorite place to read a book:
2024: Bedroom
2020: Adirondack chair on country porch.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2024: Anne Frank in the Diary of Anne Frank. I would tell her how much she inspired generations of girls, and in my wildest fantasy, I would lead her out into the street to safety.
2020: Huck from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2024: As a young girl when I made up stories with my friends.
2020: I can’t think of one particular moment. As a child, I always made up adventures and family-oriented stories to play with my cousins and friends.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2024:I prefer print books that I can touch, turn a page, underline, and display proudly on my shelves.
2020: Paperback, ebook, audiobook
The last book I read:
2024: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Loved the descriptive writing and originality of the storyline. I felt the exposition could be trimmed.
2020: Abigail by Magda Szabó
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
Pen & paper or computer:
2024: I use the computer for most of my writing. I make notes about characters and plots on paper. My research is a combination of writing on paper and computer searching.
2020: computer; also pen and paper
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2024: Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I admire her honesty and spunk and think she would be an advernturous companion growing up.
2020: Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Author Interview - Andrea Simon
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
2024: An artist and photographer.
2020: Photographer
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2024: I like the 1930s. I recall photos of my mother in loose slacks and belted jackets, and she looked so glamorous and comfortable.
2020: 1930s
Place I’d most like to travel:
2024: There are so many places that I love. I find that I return often to Italy as I love the energy of the people -- and of course, the food.
2020: India
My signature drink:
2024: Coffee
2020: coffee
Favorite artist:
2024: I find this question difficult to answer as I have so many favorites. Although I often paint abstract subjects, I am always drawn to the Impressionists, particularly Mary Cassatt.
2020: Paul Cézanne
Number one on my bucket list:
2024: Always, seeing my work published.
2020: To be able to see and touch family and friends again without fear of Covid 19.
Find more from the author:
About Andrea Simon:
Andrea Simon is a writer and lives in New York City. She is the author of three award-winning, published books: a memoir/history, Bashert: A Granddaughter’s Holocaust Quest, now in a paperback edition; a historical novel, Esfir Is Alive; and a novel-in-stories, Floating in the Neversink. She is also the editor and contributor to an upcoming anthology, Here's the Story ... Nine Women Write Their Lives. Andrea holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York where she has taught introductory writing and creative writing. She is also a teacher and mentor for online workshops and groups.
