Tammar Stein Answers Questions from PJ Our Way Kids!

Of all of the names that you have ever used as characters in your books, what is your favorite name? Is there any significance behind this name for you? – Flynn, age 11

What a cool question! The way names appear for my characters is a bit mysterious, even to me. Some of my characters arrive fully formed in my mind, with their name and their personality locked in. That was the case for Motti, Beni and Gideon. There they were, three brothers, each so different from the other, each very much their own souls. Where did those names come from? I genuinely have no idea.

For some of my other characters, I have to try on different names until one feels right. I’ve been known to scroll through baby name websites looking for inspiration.

What made you choose the 6-Day War as a topic for your book? – Emma, age 10
What interests you about writing war stories? – Leora

My father was an IDF soldier who took part in four wars. The Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War happened before I was born, but I grew up with the stories of his experiences. Those wars and my father’s service shaped how I experienced life in Israel. Safety was never something I took for granted. The right to live in a Jewish state had been earned through bravery, determination and sacrifice.

What was the most difficult part of this book for you to write? – Peyton, age 11
What sort of research do you do when writing historical fiction? – Izzy

It’s extremely important to me that while the plot of my books is fictional, the setting and historical background is accurate and factually correct. I read a lot of books about both the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War, interviewed over a dozen witnesses who lived through the events they described, and pulled old copies of newspapers from that time period so I could read about events unfolding as they happened in real time. It was interesting to read analysis and opinion essays about what people thought would happen next. Sometimes they were right. Sometimes they were very wrong.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors? – Seth, age 12

Read!! Read the books you enjoy. Read the books your parents enjoyed when they were your age. Read what your teachers and librarian recommend. You never know what will inspire you or how these books will shape you. Reading wildly different books lets you understand how a story unfolds, how characters grow and change over time. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t, and when the time comes that you’re ready to write your own story, you’ll know what a good one feels like.

Has what has been going on in Israel lately affected your current writing in any way? – Nathan, age 9

The short answer is yes. It's hard to write when I'm upset. The same thing happened to me during Covid. While some artists retreated into their creative internal spaces, I found it really hard to concentrate. The longer answer is that this terrible war has made me more determined than ever to write Jewish and Israeli stories. But for me, writing new stories has to come from a place of calm and focus. I need to let my sharper feelings settle down before I can make anything useful out of them. I've written four picture books and a graphic novel once the worst part of the Covid lockdowns faded away. So, even though I'm not writing right now, I’m keeping myself open to new stories about Israel and Judaism. They'll come when they're ready.

What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not writing? – Bayla

I love to read! That’s probably not all that surprising.