Interview with Carol Sue Gershman

Interview with Carol Sue Gershman, author of The Jewish Lady, The Black Man, and the Road Trip


Where are you from?
Bayonne, New Jersey

When and why did you begin writing?
I began my writing career at age 71. My lover walked out on me and my passion and goal was to get him back.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I finished writing the book.Ssometimes I still wonder how I did it . Am I really a writer?

What inspired you to write your first book?
I took all of my negative energy and pain and put it into writing. It was passion and pain that drove me each day and night for nine months.

Do you have a specific writing style?
I tell the truth in a narrative style.My imagination does not take me to the unknown. Therefore, true stories are my style.

How did you come up with the title?
I am a Jewish Lady, He is a Black Man and we took a road trip. It seemed to be a simple title that turned out to be provacative.

Is there a message in your memoir that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, the reader can live agelessly and passionately if they do not pay any attention to how old they are. Life goes way way on after 50 after 60 and after 70 and during those years you can go back and do the things you forgot to do or were not able to do back then. We can re-live our lives in one lifetime.

How much of the book is realistic?
EVERY SINGLE WORD IS THE TRUTH

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
They are my thoughts and my adventures and my events.

What books have most influenced your life most?
Well I guess the Amboy Dukes , Gone with the Wind and any story that was hard to put down. So few books are real page turners.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
True crime; and memoirs.

What book are you reading now?
Actually a novel, South of Broad by Pat Conroy.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Yes all writers now grasp my interest as I know what they have been through.T

What are your current projects?
I am all about promoting my book.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Certainly my Dade class teacher who let me be free and supported me all of the way.

Do you see writing as a career?
YES. It is all about writing now.

What do you think makes a good story?
If I turn the pages quickly, it is a good story. I feel the same way about a movie. If I do not look at my watch, I have been entertained.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Yes, how much undiscovered talents we all have inside of us. Who would believe that I became a first time author at age 71?