Read-along Seduction by M.J. Rose discussion
Questions on Part 1
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Questions on Part 1
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M.J.
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Mar 16, 2014 01:47PM
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I'd be interested in knowing why you choose Hugo as the spiritualist connection from the past. There are is a large choice of historic figures who dabbled in the occult- what attracted you to Hugo's story?
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M.J., do you find inspiration for your books by your travels, or do you travel primarily to conduct research for your books? I love the way your books tell a great story, but also weave in so many interesting historical details. How did you conduct research for this book?
Hello M.J., I have two questions: 1. What sparked your interest in reincarnation? and 2. How is "Jacinth" or "Jac" pronounced. You said it was French for Hyacinth.
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Thanks Susan. I usually travel after the idea. Seduction was unusual in that I couldn't get to Jersey at all. I'd spent time nearby so I had a lot of info in my memory but I hired a guide who takes tours around Jersey and sent him a list of about 50 places I needed to find and he spent about a week with the virtual me in the car - as he drove around - sending me pictures and answering questions. It was an interesting experience. I've had to learn to imagine a lot - since a lot of what I write is in the past - many places are no longer visible.
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Hi Jill - Jasinth is how you's say Jacinth and "Jac" is a soft Jeock sort of rhymes with rock and a soft J that is sort of a g and j together. The song Frere Jacques is closer if you know how to say that - boy this is hard!!!
As for the reincarnation - I was three and was at a family Seder, presided over by my great-grandfather, a Russian Jew who studied the Kabbalah. At some point I started telling a story about when my great-grandfather and I threw apples at his house and broke a window. I was only a toddler -- I'd clearly done no such thing. But my great-grandfather got very excited and told everyone that when he was a boy, he and a cousin had done just that and been seriously punished for it. He declared I was his cousin reincarnated.
My mother thought it was pretty silly, but my great-grandfather was so adamant she did some research including reading the bestseller The Search for Bridey Murphy. She wound up becoming fascinated with subject of reincarnation and passed her interest on to me. Other mothers and daughters cooked together. We talked about past lives.
M.J. wrote: "Please fell fee to start asking questions. I'm an open book:)"Can you tell us a bit about your process moving from your initial idea through the first third of the book? For example do you outline? Do character sketches? Drink a specific wine?
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Can you tell us a bit about your process moving from your initial idea through the first third of the book? For example..."
Of course. I wrote the Victor Hugo part of the book first - all the way through - writing 3 hours a day - starting at 6:30 every morning -with good green tea and nothing to eat.
On that first draft I wrote by hand in a note book with pen and ink. I had a rough outline of 20 beats... 20 moments in the Hugo story that from one to the next told the tale.
The way I write is I see the scene like a movie playing in my head and I just write down what I see and hear. So as much as I had that list of beats things changed as I went... characters have a way of doing what they want. And Hugo was a strong and determined character and he surprised me over and over.
How did you become interested in the process of the scents. Scents are very powerful. Did something happen in your life to lead you to be interested in this
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When I worked as the creative director of an ad agncy (Mad Men land) I had the opportunity to work a new fragrance from the very first days of naming it through to full up TV commercials we shot in Hong Kong and edited at the Lucas Ranch.
It was a 40 million dollar launch that culminated with the spots running on the Oscars.
During all that, I became intrigued and besotted with everything about the 8th art, as fragrance is called, and it’s a passion that’s never left. But I didn’t know about the history of fragrance before and the more I researched the more fascinating it became.
When V.Hugo defines storytelling on his letter to Fantine: "I am only trying to offer up my interpretation of life as a mirror by which men may see themselves in another light" . Is that something he actually said/wrote or is that yours? I found it a very intetesting of putting it.
Malachai's home is a Gothic revival home which is one of my favorite styles of architecture. My reading visual is of Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, NY. Did you have any particular house in mind when you choose this style?
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What I did was read as much as I could that Victor Hugo wrote about himself and his writing and then I put all the research books away and just wrote my book. So its not what he wrote but every thing he says in my book is inspired by what I learned about him.
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Wow I just looked that up... its so big!! And so beautiful. Thanks for pointing it out. No, I didn't have a particular building in mind - I just imagined it. There are other buildings and actual places in the book that are real though- Hugos house in Jersey is based on descriptions I read of it.
