Pump Up Your Book Chats with Marilyn Horowitz, author of The Book of Zev

MarilynHorowitzBoZpic-small Marilyn Ida Horowitz is a producer, writing coach, and award-winning professor of screenwriting at New York University. From her books on her trademarked writing system—now standard reading at NYU—to her appearances at Screenwriters World and The Great American Screenwriting Conference & PitchFest, Marilyn has guided the careers of literally hundreds of writers. She is currently featured in the Now Write! Screenwriting Anthology (Tarcher/Penguin) and in the upcoming The Expert Success Solution (Morgan James). Her production credits include And Then Came Love (2007), starring Vanessa Williams.

Follow Marilyn at her website, www.marilynhorowitz.com

@marilynhorowitz

Connect with Marilyn on Facebook

 

Thank you for this interview, Marilyn. Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Marilyn: I have been writing my whole life—plays, screenplays, books, and articles—and for the last fifteen years at New York University, I have been teaching people how to use my trademarked writing system to write screenplays and novels. I met a man on a train, a religious Jew having a crisis of faith, and our conversation inspired me to write The Book of Zev. I wrote a novel rather than a script because the story is involved with the characters’ inner thoughts and the screenplay form limits that.

I have been writing since before I could write. I created my first “play” in pictures in first grade and it was performed before the whole school. It then took me a long time to own my gift, but it’s never too late to be the person you were meant to be. My first short film was sold to Showtime; I guess that counts as “published”. The short film was called, “Nighthawks.”

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?  

 I was returning on a train from a screenwriting conference where I’d conducted a workshop on creating great characters using my trademarked writing system, and met a man, a religious Jew, who was having a crisis of faith. We talked for three hours and the next thing I knew, I was writing a book.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

It’s frustrating having to do a lot of your own publicity because it’s such a different state of mind. It’s been hard working on my new book while I am publicizing The Book Of Zev.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?  Where do you like to vacation?  Can you tell us briefly about this?

I often go to theater and the movies. As I said, I am an avid dancer, and travel to dance weekends, cruises and tango festivals. I also do yoga and Pilates. In the summer, I rent a place in Fire Island, which I consider paradise.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My brother. And maybe my cat.J

What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?

Marilyn: Writers, write! Write about everything, write all the time, scribble notes, and be patient with the process. When you are writing and start to stress out, remember that you can’t read the label when you are inside the jar.

The motto of my trademarked writing system is: Don’t Get It Right, Get It Written, and I live by that.

 

Thank you for this interview, Marilyn. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

Thank you so much for this opportunity.

 

Book of Zev cover 10-1-14

The Book of Zev is a political thriller that tells the story of two gentle people who change the course of history. Zev Bronfman, a strapping 32-year old-virgin, angry atheist, refugee from a religious Jewish life, and former engineer for the U.S. Patent Office in Alexandria, Virginia, drives a cab and sleeps around in New York City. After a bitter divorce, Sarah Hirshbaum, a beautiful, redheaded, depressed, God-hating kosher chef, seesaws between yoga and too much red wine. Independently, the two consult the same psychic who inadvertently sends Sarah Zev’s session tape. When Sarah contacts Zev to pick up the recording, a series of events forces them to connect with a powerful terrorist in order to thwart his plans to destroy the UN and Israel.

Click here to read an Excerpt of The Book of Zev

Pre-order from Amazon

About the Book

  Paperback: 298 pages

  Publisher: Koehler Books (December 1, 2014)

  Language: English

  ISBN-10: 1940192781

  ISBN-13: 978-1940192789

  Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches

 


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