Things I Did Last Summer

Erika Tamar attended New York University where she majored in English with an emphasis on creative writing. However, a class in screenwriting led her to other classes in film production, and by the time of her graduation she wanted to direct television or film, "another way of telling a story." Out of college, Tamar discovered that this new dream of directing "was probably ... rather unrealistic ... in that pre-feminist era." Instead, she became for five years a production assistant and casting director for a live television serial, Search for Tomorrow. Marriage and children soon followed; with the birth of her first child, the family moved to Port Washington on Long Island. "I was a full-time mom," she once related, "and satisfied my creative urge by getting involved with community theater. I didn't concentrate seriously on writing for many years; the necessary solitude of writing clashed with my rather gregarious and extroverted personality and it took some maturity to muster the self-discipline. It was the young adult novels that my children brought home that spurred me--the 'I can do that' syndrome." A writing workshop at the New School with Margaret Gabel was very helpful.Her work with television and film gave her a keen visual sense. "I still find that my ideas for books start with visual images," she once stated. And her work with community theater instilled the idea of character creation in her. "I see a strong correlation between acting and writing--the ability to slip into character is what I rely on when I'm working on a book." Soon Tamar had completed a novel in class, and submitting it to Crown, she was amazed when this first publisher took the book. "I was hooked!" Tamar recalled. Erika Tamar lives in New York City.Tamar, Erika is the author of 'Things I Did Last Summer' with ISBN 9780152000202 and ISBN 0152000208.