Speaker 1: Since twenty sixteen, we've had this great opportunity to share
conversations with those that have been featured on NBC's The Voice.
But where can we get them all in one place?
Very easy? Erro dot net A r r oe dot net.
It's under that voice. Enjoy the exploration. Hi, am, how
were you doing today?
Speaker 2: I'm doing great, So nice to be here and really
nice medium.
Speaker 1: It's going to be very fun to share in a
conversation with you because you love to go into what
I call people watching skills in the way that you
truly do embrace who we are out here. So therefore,
when we come to your pages, it's almost like you're
you're that person that lives either in our home or
next door.
Speaker 2: And then I love that and I love that I
can be here to celebrate all things of Jewish joy
with you.
Speaker 1: You know what, Let's talk about that Jewish joy. Because
the more and more that I dug in to try,
you know, in reading and researching your name and books,
it's you've turned this into something that I called the
fourth dimension. It's not just the storytelling. You're activated in
the community in so many ways.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, I am someone who believes
very much in miracles, and if you know my story
with chromic illness, you know the fact that I'm even
here able to write books and advocate in my community
is a miracle. And so I believe when you've been
given the miracle in your life, you have a responsibility
to do something with it.
Speaker 1: So then how did you know that it was time
for you to make such a move like that, because
I mean that is a personal decision and choice and
then all of a sudden you get to see the
fruit that comes to life around you.
Speaker 2: Well, it's partly the community that sort of makes me
so vested in this work. I've seen the power of
Jewish joy to change lives and there's so much fun
to be able to celebrate Jewish pop culture, storytelling, creativity
and movement that we really need right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you're getting ready for con connection as well,
and that in itself. I mean that's where the masses
come to serve as one that exactly.
Speaker 2: And you know, it's not just for Jews. We like
to say Jewish joys for everybody. So for some people
it's they're connected to the Jewish world because they love
our our our femro our comedy, our television shows. Sometimes
it's people who are married with Jews are best friends
with you. Some people I've even met people at my
book events who are in Jewish but because of their
family are raising their children. We just really want to
celebrate the diversity of the Jewish comumity, the allies, the creativity,
and really everyone is welcome to participate, and it's a
wonderful celebration of Jewish creativity, of Jewish joy.
Speaker 1: Cop Yeah, because I mean you've invited musicians, comedians, storytellers,
celebrities and so many others. In fact, I love the
fact that you include the comedians because I'm blessed with
the opportunity to talk to a lot of very funny
Jewish men as well as women, and they will sit
there and tell me in those conversations, people go, you what,
but but you're Jewish. I can still be funny. I
can still be funny.
Speaker 2: Yeah. In fact, you know, Jesus puts every area of
the society and world in terms of our creativity. They
obviously comedy, you think of fine cells, but even you
can think of things like music. I'm a Honika rom
Pom writer. But if you think about our Christmas songs
that we know and love, so many of them are
actually written by you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: So Jewish creativity, there are so many ways to celebrate it.
But you are totally like comedians, musicians, influencers, authors, celebrities, actors,
film directors, all of that is coming together, joy comp
to celebrate this huge three day ground baking of them
with thousands and thousands of people who love Jewish creativity
and culture.
Speaker 1: Now do you do you put yourself in a position
of being the Jewish author? Then when you when you
go to this because I mean, I mean, there's so
much that you're incorporated in and bringing people together, and
because I mean, what a great place to put the
eight heartbreaks of Hanukkah. I mean, what a great display.
But at the same time, your heart, though, is so
wide open to say, but you can do it too.
Let's get you activated.
Speaker 2: Oh for sure, I am. You know it's funny. I
haven't put one pannel or thought into profollowing my own
book or myself. I'm doing joy thought. I haven't just
completely focused on uplifting the community and the arts community. Actually,
I'm so passionate about the idea of sort of not
lifting up the ladder behind you that we are actually
making it a point to bring in people to be
pitch Leeson so agents through agents for musicians and literary
people as well as a venture capitalists and helped young
entrepreneurs se see. So I haven't even thought of myself
at all. It's really just been about celebrating the large
scale community.
Speaker 1: Please do not move. There's more with Gene Meltzer coming
up next the name of the book, the Eight Heartbreaks
of Hanukkah. We are back with the Queen of Romance,
the one and only Jean Meltzer. You've earned the title
of the Queen of Jewish Romance. And right away I
wanted to go in and try to figure out what
would be a story that I would love for you
to write, And this one fell into my lap. It
was the universe that was speaking through me. In the
year thirty thirty one. That will be the first time
ever that the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars will cause the
holiday not to take place in thirty thirty one, because
it's going to take place the first week in thirty
thirty two. And I thought to myself, Jean can write
a love story about this. I mean, she Oh my god,
she could really turn this into something.
Speaker 2: I love that some futuristic size thoughts. Jeez, romance story,
I love it so much fun. I mean that's that's
the beauty too. I love a good love story and
I love a good romantic fantasy. I like to say
in Romance, I am here for the billionaire who does laundry.
So maybe maybe in thirty thirty lawn thirty thirty few,
it'll be my billionaire who does laundry Romance.
Speaker 1: Are you think that maybe we should start booking you
for some appearances at Barnes and Nobles around the country
this early in the game.
Speaker 2: I think I think that should happen exactly as long
as you'll be there with me, since it was your idea.
Speaker 1: How how is it that a storyline comes to you,
because I mean that's one of the things I mentioned
in the very beginning, that you were so in touch
with who we are go hang out at a Starbucks
or someplace just to watch people.
Speaker 2: We I mean, I've always been sort of a I
don't go to Starbucks to watch people. I think I
just love and love and I look for stories that that,
you know, kind of in your fantasy world. You know, like,
what do you want? What do you want to happen?
You know, what's your biggest dream? And there's no greater
privilege than the right a love stories. Yeah, and love
happens everywhere, and sometimes you know, it happens with celebrities
or you know, we're in romance, or we're in like
the fantasy world, or sometimes it happens with their childhood phones,
or sometimes it happens, you know, with the rabbi at
the shore. But there's all sorts of ways to talk
about Jewish love.
Speaker 1: That is so funny that you brought in that rabbi,
because that's one of my favorite things to do, is
to get into conversation with a rabbi and see how
human they really are. I mean, when you can get
to that rabbi to laugh with you, it's like, this
is the place to be. This is a blessed.
Speaker 2: Moment, samenamen. And it's funny. You probably know this having
done your research. I spent five years in rabbinical ful wow,
so I was actually studying to be a rabbi at
one point. But now I have the the luxury of
being the queen of Jewish romance. So not going to
riviz but definitely spreading the good of Jewish stood.
Speaker 1: So how is it that you were able to put
comedy in there? Because I've been with more comedians they
talk about that it takes years to craft out a joke,
but yet when when you deliver it within your paragraphs,
it's like that was so natural. How did she trust
herself to make that sound so natural?
Speaker 2: You know? I think like everything I've taken and learned
from the great performance I grew up, you know, in
the eighties and nineties, all those great som com films,
and of course the work of like Adam Sandler. Yes,
and I love, you know, the unexpected. I love the quirky,
the weird. I always tell people that, like sixteen Third
States is one of my one of my favorite sort
of rom com films. And so I'm always just looking
like life is so funny in general, but it's actually
dating to be a really funny experience. Like all the
posips and the crazy situations you find yourself, or when
you're not plicking with someone, or when you are flicking
with something and like something, the embarrassing happens, and those
are just like the normal funny parts of life. So
to write a wrong com where those normal, funny parts
of life comes from. It's a way of connecting with
the readers because everyone has experiences.
Speaker 1: Wow, you've got to come back to this show anytime
in the future. Gene. I love where your heart is
and I love what you're doing with your writing. Like
I said, you have taken it to the fourth dimension.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. It was such an honored Amitia Ares,
and I'm just so thrilled to be here and thank
you a Dan and I hope to see everyone at
You and Joy Con in Fort Lauderdale in March.
Speaker 1: Will you'd be brilliant today?
Speaker 2: Okay, you too, Thank you so much.