#JewishBookMonth may be over, but I’m excited to announce that these mini-interviews with Jewish authors will continue.
Meet Sara Marchant, the author of the books *The Driveway Has Two Sides*, *Proof of Loss*, and most recently, *Becoming Delilah.* She is also the founding editor of the literary magazine *Writers Resist*. Her latest work is the *Essential Planner for My Mother’s Huge Cult Following*.
1. Tell me about your writing journey.
I wrote my first short story in first grade, I believe. It was about the family of birds nesting in the window outside our living room. But I became serious about writing when I got too old to play with Barbies and the elaborate storylines I enjoyed creating needed an outlet.
2. Do you ever return to a story to explore it from a new angle?
*Becoming Delilah* grew from the novella *The Driveway Has Two Sides*. The publisher, Fairlight Books, asked me to develop it into a longer work – which meant writing a B story. And the B story was all about Delilah’s childhood with Abuela.
3. How has your own family’s Jewish story influenced your storytelling?
4. What autobiographical traces appear in *Becoming Delilah*, your latest novel?
I’m going to answer #3 and #4 together.
My mother died a month ago, so I am now able to admit that Abuela is an ode to my mother and my mother’s family’s origins as conversos, or hidden Jews, in New Mexico. An interviewer mentioned that there was no Jewish content in *Becoming Delilah* and I was like, (shrug) okay? Because to me, Abuela’s attitude towards child-rearing, housekeeping, womanhood, not to mention her values, especially her drive towards survival and frankly, revenge, are all extremely Jewish-coded.
Abuela raised Delilah to be a weapon of survival, and I don’t know how autobiographical that is, but I find it inspirational. And what could be more Jewish than survival?
5. What’s your favorite reading environment? Do you have a favorite book?
I can read anywhere, truly. There’s a famous family photograph of me reading on my bed, oblivious to my little niece riding my back like a horse.
My favorite book changes with my emotional needs. While my mother was dying, I read only Betty Neels because her wholesome romances guaranteed a happy ending, which was the perfect escape.
