Take Five: M.J. Rose and SEDUCTION
By Writer Unboxed | May 6, 2013 |
M.J. Rose’s new novel, SEDUCTION, is out tomorrow. It’s an Indie Next List pick, and has garnered fantastic reviews. Here are just a few:
“The 1843 drowning death of Victor Hugo’s beloved eldest daughter, Didine, provides the catalyst for Rose’s well-crafted paranormal novel of suspense. Rose is especially good at recreating Hugo’s despair…making his abandonment of rationality all too plausible.” —Publishers Weekly
“What sells the book—what sells all of Rose’s books [is] the author’s boundless enthusiasm for the material… and we can’t help getting caught up in that enthusiasm.” —Booklist
“Threads of past lives and malevolent spirits… combined with Rose’s vivid imagination and beautiful writing make this a book to savor.” —RT Top Pick 4 ½ stars
“A luxurious, sensual experience for the reader. This atmospheric tale of suspense is fully engrossing.” —Library Journal (starred review)
We’re so pleased M.J. is with us today to answer a few questions about her novel.
Q: What’s the premise of your new book?
In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, still grieving, Hugo initiated hundreds of séances from his home on the Isle of Jersey in order to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published.
Or so it has been believed…
[pullquote]I found a bottle of ink. Filled the pen. Then pulled out a simple notebook and started to write. Not the way I write, on a computer, but the way Victor Hugo would have written over one hundred and fifty years ago. Pen on paper.[/pullquote]
Recovering from a great loss, mythologist Jac L’Etoile thinks that throwing herself into work will distract her from her grief. In the hopes of uncovering a secret about the island’s mysterious Celtic roots, she arrives on the Isle of Jersey and is greeted by ghostly Neolithic monuments, medieval castles, and hidden caves.
What she doesn’t anticipate is that the mystery surrounding Victor Hugo will threaten her sanity and put her very life at stake.
Seduction has a ghost story at its heart, and a mystery that spans centuries.
Q: What would you like people to know about the story itself?
A lot of it is based on the truth.
Q: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?
Hugo is offered what he wants more than anything in the world in my story but to obtain it he has to betray everything he believes in. It’s a very seductive offer. At the same time, my main character in the present, Jac L’Etoile has to overcome her ambivalence and fear about her own abilities- something she has been avoiding for a long time.
Q: What unique challenges did this book pose for you, if any?
Many. I love challenges, but to tell the story of Victor Hugo’s experiments with séances in his own voice? What kind of crazy idea had I come up with? Surely it was lunacy to even attempt it. During my research, I hadn’t once stopped to think that in order to tell the story of Hugo’s seduction by the spirit world, I would have to find his voice.
But there I was. Finally ready to write, sitting at a computer in a very 21st century world trying to conjure a mid 19th genius. For weeks I was stumped. The cold keyboard, the sound of the mechanical clicking, the icons at the top of the page, the spell check. All of it was a gulf between me and the man I needed to channel. I decided it was hubris to even attempt to write this novel. Absurd to try. And yet, I couldn’t give up.
Carl Jung said that often coincidences aren’t coincidences at all.
One day in fit of frustration I got up from my desk in a huff and managed to tip over a jar of pens. One was an old fountain pen. It rolled and fell on the computer. I stared at it for a moment. What if…
I found a bottle of ink. Filled the pen. Then pulled out a simple notebook and started to write. Not the way I write, on a computer, but the way Victor Hugo would have written over one hundred and fifty years ago. Pen on paper. I began. And as the ink flowed… the words flowed.
Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of having written this book?
What readers are saying. And what booksellers are saying. This is my fifth book in a row on the Indie Next List – and I’m so honored to have the booksellers, for whom I have so much respect, acknowledge my work in this way.
Learn more about SEDUCTION on M.J.’s website, and read an excerpt here.
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Write on!
This sounds so exciting. I love to read ghost stories; I write them too, so I’m especially interested. And to mix it with the historical life of Victor Hugo. Can’t wait to read it. I like the pen and ink story. There’s no such thing as a coincidence, absolutely.
Riveting. Who doesn’t like a good ghost story? I’ve adored them from the first campfire spookfest I ever sat through. I love to be scared.
I’m impressed with your attempt to write in Victor Hugo’s voice. Such a strong voice, too! Distinctive. I love the detail of finding the pen. I look forward to reading your book.
The cover is gorgeous
I can’t wait to read your book. It sounds absolutely fascinating! I love your description of sitting at the computer and trying to write like a 19th century genius. So cool. I’m trying my hand at historical fiction (about a writer) for the first time, and I’ve felt a bit daunted. You are quite inspirational, thank you!
Thank you all so much!!