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MEET STEPHANIE WAXMAN (6/2011)
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Stephanie Waxman

My parents were both writers/actors so the idea of reading and writing came naturally. My first book was called HOW TO STOP SMOKING. Who knows why I felt the need to make such a statement at the tender age of 7!

When was it published?

My first book (WHAT IS A GIRL? WHAT IS A BOY?) was written as my thesis for my Master’s degree in Child Development at Pacific Oaks College, where I also received my teaching credential(s). That is was published immediately was pure luck and timing.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

My second book (GROWING UP FEELING GOOD) quickly followed, which gave me the false sense that rejection was not in my future! 

Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find one easier than the other?

I have written 3 books of non-fiction and a collection of short fiction and one novel. The non-fiction books appeal to the teacher in me; the fiction gives my Muse full permission to run wild.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

After WHAT IS A GIRL? WHAT IS A BOY? was published in Japan (2002), it was my great honor to be keynote speaker there at an international conference on Sexuality Education in America in the Era of AIDS.

If some of your fiction stories are factual, do you write about people that you have been interested in for a long time, perhaps since childhood?

My novel, DIVIDED LOYALTIES is loosely based on my parents’ story, but as historical fiction, every event described is true.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

My process is entirely project oriented: I work all the time (up at 4 AM) when I have a project in the works. But when I don’t have something in the oven, I don’t hover in the kitchen.

Is there anything about yourself that you’d like to share - hobbies, where you were born, special talents other than writing/illustrating.

One of the most personal and moving experiences I’ve had as a writer came a year after my father died. With the encouragement of his attending physician, I wrote A HELPING HANDBOOK––WHEN A LOVED ONE IS CRITICALLY ILL using my father’s beautiful poetry. It is now available on Amazon.