Here's the short answer: I like introducing my readers to new people places, and ideas.

Here's the long answer: I remember how much I loved reading books when I was a young girl. They transported me to new places, introduced me to new people. These books were my own private world and I could imagine myself talking to the characters, being part of the plots and developing new ideas. I always keep this in mind when I write my books. I want to give my readers the same type of experience.

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Question: Where do you get your ideas from?

Here's the short answer: I've learned that I never know when and where I'm going to get an idea.

Here's the long answer: Sometimes my imagination is so active that I can dream up a whole story after hearing a person say something simple. That's what happened with Lotty's Lace Tablecloth. A friend of mine told me that her great grandmother had owned a lace shop in a German city. Just hearing that fact led me to weave together an entire story.

On the other hand, sometimes I hear or see things that are interesting, I write them down so I won't forget, and a few years later tie them all together. That was the process that led me to write Mayer Aaron Levi and His Lemon Tree. Somebody told me an interesting quote about a tree that I wrote down. A few years later my husband and I bought a small house with a lemon tree in the front yard and my husband started brewing his own homemade lemonade. Lo and behold, after living in the house for over a year one of our neighbors confessed that she was stealing lemons off the tree's branches. Suddenly, all the elements came together and a story was born.

Finally, there are true stories that are so amazing even a writer couldn't make them up. Yet, if the writer has a good eye s/he can identify it as a wonderful tale to retell. That is exactly what led me to writing Keeping The Promise. The day after Ilan Ramon held his press conference in space and introduced the world to the little torah scroll he had taken with him, the full story about the tiny torah appeared on an Israeli newspaper's website. The minute I read it I knew I had to tell the story.

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Question: Do you show people your stories before you publish them?

Here's the short answer: Absolutely.

Here's the long answer: I have a reading community that includes people who write as well as several English teachers. I show them every story way before I send it to the publisher. They are my most important critics and I value their remarks and advice. I have thanked them in many of my books.

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Question: Do you choose the illustrator?

Here's the short answer: It depends on where publisher comes from and what the practice is in that country.

Here's the long answer: I have had a few books published in Israel - both in Hebrew and in English. Israeli publishers want the author to feel comfortable with the illustrator's work. They will recommend an illustrator they feel fit for the project, but if the author doesn't like the illustrator's style s/he can veto the choice and do a search along with the publisher for a different illustrator. On the other hand, the situation is entirely different in America, where only the publisher decides on the illustrator.

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Question: Do you see the illustrator's work before the book is published?

Here's the short answer: Yes.

Here's the long answer: I see more than the final illustrations. I see the first sketches the illustrator submits. My personal experience with my publishers in America and Israel is that they want my input. I have found that the details of every illustration is a team effort, with the author making an important contribution, especially pointing out things that don't precisely match the story.