Amy Makes Misconceptions Disappear

by Emily Raij

Books hold a certain magic for children, whether they can see themselves represented on the pages or they simply enjoy the charm of the story itself. Sometimes there’s an equally magical story behind the book, as is the case with Hocus Pocus Practice Focus: The Making of a Magician, a children’s book from Winter Park author Amy Kimlat. It’s about magic, yes, but also that magical feeling of seeing determination and dedication pay off.

Amy’s own interest in magic began as a child when she did a book report on the topic in third grade. 

“I’ve always been interested in magic,” she explains.

That is until an eighth-grade magic show didn’t turn out as planned. Amy’s assignment was to complete a year-long project on any topic, so she chose to research magic and perform a show for her classmates. During her performance, a ball that was to remain hidden rolled into sight. There were some other hiccups too, and Amy decided she was done doing magic tricks.

“I stopped after a couple things didn’t go to my liking, and I got an A- after working so hard,” says Amy who, at the age of 13, considered the grade a major disappointment. “Magic went on the shelf for me for 15 years.”

But that wouldn’t be the end of magic for Amy – in more ways than one. In 2013, she was helping facilitate the annual J-Serve teen service event at The Roth Family JCC, where she was the marketing director for more than a decade. Robby Etzkin, former executive director of the JCC, brought in his old friend and professional magician Kostya Kimlat to perform for the teens. Amy and Kostya met, went on a date, and, of course, talked about magic. As it turns out, it wasn’t the first time they’d shared a conversation on the topic.

“On our first date, I was telling him how I was interested in magic as a kid living in Baltimore,” Amy recalls. “I told him I was so into it, I used to post on these online magic forums. Kostya knew exactly what forum I posted to. I went home and found the forum, which had been archived by Google, searched the posts, and found the post I had written on January 1, 1998, in eighth grade. On the next day, January 2, he’d even answered me – from 1,000 miles away in Orlando!”

The question she had asked – and Kostya had answered – was about how to make a match appear to float in mid-air, a trick Amy had seen at a bar mitzvah. 

“Dating Kostya rekindled my interest in magic,” she says.

Presto Change-O

The dates turned into a marriage and then a family. Amy left the JCC to help with business development for Kostya, and in May of 2018, the couple found themselves in Nashville for a show of his. In the hotel, as Kostya slept but Amy couldn’t, she wrote the first draft of Hocus Pocus Practice Focus, but family responsibilities were on the horizon. Amy and Kostya welcomed their first child, Estelle, in 2019 and a second daughter, Adelaide, in 2020. Motherhood put Amy’s involvement in magic – and her book – on hold.

In January of 2022, when Adelaide was one, Amy’s mom Judy Schwartz suggested she finish the book. A few days later, Amy got sick with a viral infection that lasted two weeks.

“I was stuck in bed for the first half of January, but being sick was in some ways a creative vacation because I couldn’t get out of bed much,” says Amy. “I thought, ‘I need to make use of this time. Why don’t I work on my book?’ It was a blessing in that it gave me the time I needed to get this project back out.”

Amy’s path to publishing, while a lengthy lesson in persistence, soon became more of a racetrack—she went from committing to the project to having a published book with 250+ Amazon reviews in less than a year. She began by illustrating the book and rewriting most of the rhyming verses. After finishing her illustrations, she gained more confidence in the potential impact of her story and invested in a professional illustrator to redo the art, whom she discovered on Facebook. The pair traded detailed emails and messages for three months getting all of the images right.

“As soon as that happened, I started sending it out for endorsements,” says Amy.

Magician Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller fame, quickly responded with a ringing review. 

“That was really what I needed to open all the doors,” Amy says. “Once that happened, I said I’m going to email the rest of the most famous magicians in the world and see what happens.”

She did, and within hours of sending her book to David Copperfield, he replied.

“On my way to pick up Estelle at the JCC, I looked at my phone at a stoplight and saw David Copperfield’s name in my inbox,” says Amy.

He left his cellphone number, and after a busy afternoon of talking her excitement over with Kostya, picking up Estelle, running to Target, and feeding Adelaide, Amy went upstairs and called David Copperfield, himself. He answered right away and told Amy how important it is to introduce magic to girls and teach kids while they’re young.

“He said ‘I’d love to give you an endorsement, but if you want, I’d love to write a foreword,’” Amy recalls. “For him to offer a foreword was very exciting. He was the additional credibility I needed.”

Anything Boys Can Do...

David’s foreword and more endorsements followed, including from women magicians whose names are not as recognizable, which is why, Amy emphasizes, this book is needed. She is quick to add, however, that the book appeals to boys as well as girls and that it’s “good for boys to see girls as magicians and not think twice about it,” she says.

Since then, Amy’s experience in marketing has helped her pursue promotional opportunities for the book, which she chose to self-publish in order to retain creative control. Self-publishing also allowed Amy to market the book as she wanted – including a release date on October 25, the start of National Magic Week. Pre-order sales went well, and the book has received lots of positive press. And speaking of press, the name of Amy’s homegrown press imprint is a throwback to her first magical connection with Kostya: FloatingMatch Press.

Perhaps even more magical for Amy has been seeing how her book’s message resonates with her own daughter.

“When I finally read my book to Estelle, she was riveted with it,” says Amy. “I saw a big change in her interest in magic, Kostya’s work, tricks, and methods. When Kostya taught her this jumping hair band trick, she came running down the hallway, and she told me, ‘I can’t believe I just learned my first magic trick!’ A few days later, she was praticing the trick in her carseat in the JCC’s parking lot, but it wasn’t working. Instead of getting frustrated, she said, ‘I’ll just have to practice more later.’”