Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy
Author Interview - Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy
Author of Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare
A gripping account of one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. Authors Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy delve into Senator Joe McCarthy's infamous hunt for communists during the 1950s Red Scare. Originally written for young adult and teen audiences, the book is written in a unique screenplay-style format with rich illustrations and includes interviews with individuals who recalled their childhood experiences of McCarthyism. With meticulous research and attention to detail, The authors shed light on the human stories behind historical events, filling in the critical gaps in historical knowledge, ensuring that the lessons of the past are not forgotten in today's rapidly changing world.
Author Interview - Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy
Author I draw inspiration from:
Liz: Judy Blume. We entered the children’s book world about the same time, and Judy taught me that emotional honesty and humor belong together. My favorite is Are you There God, it’s My Margaret!” Because until then I hadn’t read many Jewish characters who seemed so contemporary.
Andrea: Robert Caro; I love the way he uses the voices of the past. My favorite is The Power Broker, and Caro’s Lyndon Johnson biographies. When I worked in the theater, (where I met Liz) I wrote the lyrics for a musical about Robert Moses, and Robert Caro’s book was my inspiration, and he came to see it. and he liked it, and I was thrilled.
Author Interview - Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Liz: Everywhere, subway, garden, in bed. My great fear is being without a book, and I never am.
Andrea: I have a reading chair in my bedroom, and I spent hours there with a cat in my lap.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Liz: Pippi, from Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking. Pippi would entertain me with pirate stories and get us out of there.
Andrea: Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I want to discuss feminism with her.
Author Interview - Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
Liz: Third grade: Ms. Sugarman put a poem I had written on the wall. ,The kids teased that I had the worst handwriting in the class. Ms. Sugarman said, “No Lizzie has imagination.” Something shifted in me that day. And I wrote a book about her Keep Ms. Sugarman in the 4 th Grade.
Andrea: When I wrote my first play in 1973. It was about the revolutionary era – (even before
Hamilton…even though he was a character in my play.). After that, I was hooked on writing.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Liz: All of the above. As I said my great fear is being somewhere without a book. I dislike nothing about any of them. I love my kindle because it has so many different books on
it. I still love hardbacks and paperback. I now listen to audio books when I fall asleep, mostly
celebrity autobiographies. It’s fun to go to sleep with Alan Cumming
Andrea: eBook - because it’s so convenient. I dislike large hardbacks. They are heavy and awkward to read. I do like reading paperbacks, but again not if they are really fat because those fall apart. For really fat books I like my e-reader. Audio books confuse me.
The last book I read:
Liz: The Genius Under the Table: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin. I loved Yelchin’s book. It was everything that I love about humor and memoir.
Andrea: The Sisterhood: the Secret History of Women at the CIA: by Eliza Mundy. The book about women in the CIA had interesting material, but it was way too long.
Author Interview - Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Liz: Computer.. I switched to a computer as soon as I could (thanks Radio Shack.). But even with a computer, I still make so many mistakes that I’m grateful to copyeditors.
Andrea: I like to write early drafts on a yellow pad. And then I switch to a computer. I still love to do timelines and outlines on a yellow pad.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Liz: Again, Pippi. I think we’d get out of the elevator. She and I would find the captain, and sail around the world and laugh.
Andrea: I’d go back to Elizabeth Bennett. She’s such a clever, enterprising woman.
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Liz: Teacher with some of the wonderful teachers, that’s you Emilynn Garrick and Dinah Krosnick, in the teacher’s lounge laughing with me.
Andrea: Opera singer or neurosurgeon. I can’t decide.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Liz: Ha! I’m a woman in her eighties who never got over the first women’s lib era in the late 1960’s and 70’s s – comfortable shoes (no bra unless I absolutely have to …..and ….a METS shirt.
Andrea: I like the clothes from the 1950’s but I wouldn’t want to have those foundation garments. The clothes from the 1920’s too. I like all those beads.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Liz: I’ve been blessed to go visit kids around the world at International Schools. But I love going to Rome because one of my best friends lives there.
Andrea: South America because I’ve never really traveled there.
My signature drink:
Liz: Coffee in the morning, Wine in the afternoon or early evening.
Andrea: Coffee too in the morning. But a beer in late afternoon.
Favorite artist:
Liz: Elvis, because I saw him live in 1955, and he taught me there was more to life than I knew. Bruce Springsteen because he continues to teach me that’s there is great joy to be had in the world.
Andrea: Mick Jagger, because he’s so meticulous as a performer. And I like the Stones music too.
Number one on my bucket list:
Liz: I guess, Bruce isn’t going to invite me on stage, so I’d like to do another play with Andrea.
Andrea: I’ll drink to that.
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/elizabethlevybooks/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-balis-8071ba6/
About Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy:
Author Interview - Dr. Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy
Dr. Andrea Balis is a faculty member in the history department of John Jay College, City University of New York. Her specialization is twentieth century political history. She has also written extensively for the theater, and worked as a director. She is the author of two books for young people, What Are You Using: A Birth Control Guide for Teenagers and a novel, PJ.
Elizabeth Levy is the award-winning author of over 100 fiction and non-fiction books for children and young adults. She is known for the humor and research that she brings to her subjects, from studying stand-up comedy for My Life as A Fifth Grade Comedian, to working with renowned historians for America's Funny but True History and If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution.
