In Which I Discuss Interfaith and Multiple Genre Relationships
Last week, I was interviewed by two authors I admire about my novel, Found and Lost: The Jake and Cait Story. Both offered me a chance to go in-depth on the themes covered in the book and the origins of the characters. They’re both wide-ranging interviews, but here are the highlights.
Debbie Young
First, there’s Debbie Young, an English author I’ve known for years through our work together at the Alliance of Independent Authors. She wrote: “Sure enough, when I received an advance review copy, I was gripped – and as soon as I’d finished it, I invited Howard to be this month’s guest on my blog, to tell us the story behind the story.”
Part of the discussion focused on the central role faith plays in the book. Here’s an excerpt from our talk:
Debbie: Howard, you are well known as a writer on Jewish matters, but you chose to write about an interfaith relationship in your novel, and you did so in a very even-handed way. What were the challenges, risks and rewards of tackling this sensitive area?
Howard: When I wrote this novel, I was taking a quick break from writing about antisemitism and other Jewish issues. I was a little burned out. So, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and write this piece of fiction. This was before October 7, 2023, when the world changed for many Jews, including me, and frankly I don’t know if I could have written this kind of optimistic book in the last year-and-a-half.
I’m very glad that reviewers are calling it even-handed when it comes to faith. I’ve always been a student of religion—all major religions—not necessarily out of belief, but because I think it’s important to learn what motivates people. I try not to fall into the trap of caricature.
Religion is a powerful motivator for people, and it is for my protagonists, Jake and Cait.
There are many reasons I chose an interfaith couple, and there are risks in doing this, but I thought it was important to the story I was telling. They’re opposites—Jake is Jewish and rough around the edges; Cait is a classically trained Christian violinist searching for a simpler kind of faith. But when they play music together, it’s magic. They finish each other’s musical sentences. The way they make music together overrides everything else.
That idea of opposites finding connection—of working through regret, misunderstanding, and difference to make something beautiful together—feels especially meaningful right now. There is a Yiddish expression for this. It’s called beshert, or destiny. It’s usually used interchangeably with the English word “soulmate.”
But my book asks the question, what if your beshert is not exactly what you expected?
You can read the whole interview here, where we discuss how I incorporate music and the passage of time into the book.
Roz Morris
I was also interviewed by my colleague
, whom I also know from the Alliance of Independent Authors and through my publisher, Vine Leaves Press. Among other things, we talked about my transition from nonfiction to fiction:Roz: Howard, how did it feel to invent the content instead of using only what was real?
Howard: It wasn’t that big of a leap from character studies of real people to inventing characters to serve a fictional narrative.
And I discovered that fiction gave me a new way to say things I hadn’t been able to express through journalism.
Each form approaches truth differently.
In journalism, you tell readers what happened. In fiction, it’s a conversation—you present a world, and the reader brings their own meaning to it. I could still use my reporting skills to build a believable story, but now everything served a larger point.
Roz: I love this point. I’ve coached many journalists to write novels and they often struggle to present the content in this way – to let the reader make up their own mind. There is a strong temptation to comment on the action, rather than let it speak for itself.
Howard: For me, it was freeing. In this made-up world, I could explore real themes—religion, music, connection, fame, aging. These are truths shaped by my 59 years of experience, but expressed through an invented story. It’s a way of thinking I hadn’t done before.
Roz: There are writers who say it’s impossible to convey the experience of music on the page, like dancing about architecture.
Howard: I think it is possible, but it depends on the kind of experience you want to convey and the story you want to tell. That experience of music plays a central role in the novel. The protagonists play so well together when they look each other in the eyes and could “see” where the other one was going. I got the idea from Lennon and McCartney. In the early days in Liverpool, they would meet at each other’s houses and write songs by placing their heads close together and looking each other in the eye. The result was some of the best music of all time. I wanted to capture that same magic. Not only that, but the magic that happens between musicians and the audience. I was at a Nick Cave concert a few weeks ago in Detroit, and I witnessed that same kind of otherworldly connection between musician and fan. It’s like they were all one.
You can read the entire interview here.
Back to Nonfiction
And speaking of the transition between fiction and nonfiction, I’m winding down my initial promotion frenzy for this book. My novel was released a month ago and it’s been successful beyond my imagination. It’s been very well-reviewed and I’m thankful for the support of my publisher, Vine Leaves Press. I’m working on the audiobook version now. Next, I’m turning my attention to my book on fighting antisemitism. It’s been a long time in the making, and so many people have been asking when it will be done already! I’m ready to devote more time to it now. More on that soon.