Art, Love and Writing: Meet Uvi Poznansky

Today it is great to welcome Uvi Poznansky, author of Apart From Love. First, could you tell us what your book is about?

My novel, Apart From Love, is an intimate peek into the life of a uniquely strange family: Natasha, the accomplished pianist, has been stricken with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her ex-husband Lenny has never told their son Ben, who left home ten years ago, about her situation. At the same time he, Lenny, has been carrying on a love affair with a young redhead, who bears a striking physical resemblance to his wife--but unlike her, is uneducated, direct and unrefined. This is how things stand at this moment, the moment of Ben’s return to his childhood home, and to a contentious relationship with his father.

The story is told from two points of view, Ben’s and Anita’s, which gives me an opportunity to illustrate how the same events, seen from different angles and through difference experiences in life, are interpreted in an entirely different way.

What inspired you to write it?

Over a year ago I wrote a short story about a twelve years old boy coming face to face, for the first time in his life, with the sad spectacle of death in the family. In it, Ben watches his father trying to revive his frail grandma, and later he attempts the same technique on the fish tilting upside down in his new aquarium.

I set the story aside, thinking I was done with it. But the character of the boy, Ben, came back to me and started chatting, chatting, chatting in my head. It became the seed of my novel, Apart From Love.

In writing it I asked myself, what if I ‘aged’ him by fifteen years? Where would he be then? Would he still admire his father as a hero, or will he be disillusioned at that point? What secrets would come to light in the life of this family? How would it feel for Ben to come back to his childhood home, and have his memories play tricks on him? What if I introduce a girl, Anita, a redhead who looks as beautiful as his mother used to be, but is extremely different from her in all other respects? And what if this girl were married to his father? What if the father were an author, attempting to capture the thoughts, the voices of Ben and Anita, in order to write his book?

So the process of writing became, for me, simply listening to the characters and trying, as fast as I could, to capture their thoughts.

I believe you have published some other books, as well as Apart FromLove. Could you tell us about them?

I have published a poetry book, and two children books (available from lulu.com). Now I Am Paper is a children's book based on a poem I wrote, and the illustrations are based on watercolor paintings of trees in my neighborhood. Jess and Wiggle, also a children book, is based on a whimsical poem about a girl who would never laugh, and the illustrations are based on multi-media art. After the books were published, I created animations for both of them.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’ve just finished reading Embracing You, Embracing Me by Michelle Bellon, an excellent read.

What do you like to do in your free time when you're not reading or writing?

I draw in pencil and charcoal, sculpt in clay, cast in bronze, sculpt in paper, paint in oil and watercolor, create animations, write poems and stories, and I love baking.

My animations can be seen on my author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Uvi-Poznansky/e/B006WW4ZFG and on my author page on Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5758946.Uvi_Poznansky

Do you have any parting comments?

In addition to reaching out to my readers through my blog, I am leading a Q&A group on Goodreads, aimed at both readers and writers who would love to engage in conversation about the creative process. If you would like to step inside, or even join, here it is: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/67670-q-a-with-uvi-poznansky

Where can we buy your book?

You can get the paperback edition on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Apart-Love-Uvi-Poznansky/dp/0984993207 or on Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/apart-from-love-uvi-poznansky/1108228346

Also, you can get the ebook for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Apart-From-Love-ebook/dp/B006WPITP0/ for Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/apart-from-love-uvi-poznansky/1108228346 and for iPad http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/apart-from-love/id496889329?mt=11

Where can readers find out more about you?

You can find more about me in my blog, http://uviart.blogspot.com/ my website http://uviart.com/ and my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/uviart

Thank you so much Uvi for taking the time to chat with me and tell me about your great book!

Thank you, Katheryn, for having me, it has been such a pleasure!