Madame Perry's Salon

Author Jim Musgrave Introduces Patrick O'Malley, The Star Of His Newest Mystery Series

2013-06-11T15:09:00.001-07:00

Welcome, dear friends. Please pour a cup of tea or an apperitif as I introduce you to an author with many books to his credit already, yet has a newly launched mystery series set in the late 19th century. The stories in this entrancing series are told by Irish detective and war hero Patrick O'Malley, and are deftly woven into actual events of the time.

We are joined by a dear friend of our salon, author, poet and playwright Collin Kelley.

MP: Jim, I am delighted to have you as a guest here in Madame Perry’s Salon along with my good friend Collin Kelley. Tell us how you created the character of Detective Patrick O’Malley.

JM: I used my subconscious. I didn’t realize until after I’d completed the first mystery, Forevermore, that I had been channeling a character very similar to Lawrence Block’s famous sleuth and recovering alkie, Matt Scudder. I even had a partner for Pat O’Malley who was a hooker madame (sorry for the reference, Madame Perry), the same as Matt Scudder had a high class call girl in modern-day New York. Of course, they are completely different characters in completely different times, but I was quite astonished when I realized there were some basic similarities between them.

CK: What drew you to write about this time period?

Jim Musgrave

Edgar Allan Poe

JM: This Victorian period was probably the most criminal time in the history of New York City. Did you know, for example, that the age of consent in the 1860s was 10? Ten-year-old children were being offered to the highest bidders for sexual favors in the second most profitable business in the city (the garment industry was #1). My third mystery in the series, by the way, will have Becky Charming warring with the infamous Madame, Jane the Grabber (Hester Jane Haskins), over this issue. You see, Becky is a high class Madame (like you, Jennifer!), and she’s a Vassar graduate, so she wants to shut-down this Grabber woman, even if what Haskins is doing is condoned by the corrupt city officials of The Ring (Tammany Hall). O’Malley and his partner want to find a way to get her put out of business forever. I love this era because it’s so corrupt and freewheeling in a lot of ways. It’s a perfect fit for a detective like O’Malley, who’s seen the worst of human nature while fighting in the Civil War. Like today’s veterans who become police officers when they return from Afghanistan (another “civil war”?), O’Malley is little bit PTSD and a little bit hero.

Hester Jane Haskins
aka Jane The Grabber

MP: In Forevermore, the first book in your series featuring Pat O’Malley, he investigates the mysterious death of his friend Edgar Allan Poe. How long did you spend researching the life of Poe and the times he lived in to create this intriguing story?

CK: What other books were your inspirations?

JM: I hate confessing this because I am a teacher, but I used to ditch my high school English class to go read Poe in the library. He wasn’t taught, so he was my first “forbidden fruit.” I found a great web site called “The Edgar Allan Poe Society,” and it provided me with all I ever needed to know about Poe. I simply had to weave it into my plot and my character, O’Malley, and I was off to the storyland races!

Collin, I guess Block’s style influence me, although I obviously had to adapt the jargon for my time period. I was also influenced by reading a lot of James Patterson (short, impacting chapters!) and Thomas Harris (how intelligent a villain can be!). Also, I was re-reading Robert Bloch’s Psycho the other night. That’s a great lesson in compact storytelling that grips you on the page.

MP: Every interesting protagonist or hero has a quirky flaw to overcome. O’Malley’s challenge is intimacy with the ladies, though oddly enough his most trusted friends are the women of the brothels. Please tell us how you conceived the idea for this aspect of our Irish detective.

JM: I took a graduate English course on the Transcendentalists. Since Becky Charming is a Vassar grad, she is able to teach O’Malley how to use his feminine, intuitive nature to connect with what Emerson called the Over Soul. As soon as he “gets it,” he can get it (on with Becky) and then solve his case! What a hero!

MP: Indeed! Thank you for graciously visiting my salon, and I look forward to your return with more fascination tales from dear Mr. O'Malley.

Collin Kelley

CK: Jim, I wish you much success with Forevermore and look forward to the next books in the Pat O'Malley series.

Now for the information you need to shadow Detective Patrick O'Malley and Jim Musgrave, get Forevermore on Amazon, and follow Jim on Twitter. Care to step back in time to 1860 when you're in a waiting room, riding the subway, or just have some time to kill, shall we say? Our dear author has created an app so your getaway is in your pocket when needed!

Collin Kelley's latest book of poetry, Render, is available on Amazon and bringing in great reviews! He'll be back soon to discuss it with us.

Remember, my dear friends, surrounding ourselves with good books, music, food and wonderful people is a gift of love to all. And as always, your comments or questions are welcomed.

Noah Pine - Love Don't Go Away

2013-03-15T18:02:00.001-07:00

British Humorist Carol E. Wyer Is The Pick-Me-Up We've Needed!

2013-02-19T20:43:00.002-08:00

Are you familiar with author Carol E. Wyer? The USA is sadly lagging behind the UK and Europe in their love of this lady. Wyer has been referred to as BOTUK, meaning she's the Erma Bombeck Of The UK. She lists among her favorite quotes "You can't succeed at everything in life, but you can laugh at everything." Anonymous

Fortunately I came to be a fan of hers through another of Madame Perry's favorite writers, Sylvia Massara. If you are a reader of both of these proficient and savvy authors you'll see they are allowing some of their characters out to play in each other's books. I suppose they are like literary exchange students. I am very pleased to introduce you to Carol E. Wyer.

Madame Perry: How did you know the blog style of novel would work so beautifully?

Carol: It took a lot of research to discover that Mme Perry. I knew absolutely nothing about blogging when I decided to write the book. I wanted to write it as a diary but I thought that format had been done far too often. One night, while in bed listening to the dulcet tones of Hubby snoring, I realised that in this day and age a woman like Amanda/me would socialise on the internet. That could be the answer. I Googled “blogs”, and read quite a few of them. That made me decide I could present the whole story through blog posts.

Carol E. Wyer

Next, I set up my own blog, called it Facing 50 with Humour, (just like Amanda does) and started writing about my life in the form of funny diary entries. By the end of six weeks, I had quite a few followers who commented regularly, much like Amanda’s followers. They gave me such fantastic feedback that I realised I had found a great format for the book.

I started the novel but also kept my blog. I won’t spoil the end of the book, but in one of those cases of life imitating art, I found myself in exactly the same situation as Amanda. I even found a new on line best friend - a follower much like #sexyfitchick - who has become a dear friend of mine since.

MP: What has been your favorite reaction from a fan?

CEW: I have had the most incredible emails from people who have thanked me for making them laugh, but one that touched me the most came from a lady who said simply that she had lost her best friend to cancer the morning she picked up my book. She didn’t know why she had picked up the book, because she hadn’t intended reading it, but after starting it, she couldn’t put it down. She believed she was meant to read it that day. She told me that it saw her through that saddest time and helped her deal with the loss. In spite of how bad she felt, the book made her laugh. She believed, as do I, that laughter can really help. I was so humbled by that email. I still have it filed on my computer. I keep them all. They are the real reward that a writer gets for writing.

MP: Amanda is being courted online by her first love. Without giving away too much of the story, do your readers offer their opinions on what choices they prefer Amanda should make?

CEW: Those who have spoken about it have assured me that Amanda made the right choice. I have to say that several women have also confided that they have found themselves in exactly that position. There are a surprising number of women who are engaging in on line flirtation or something more meaningful.

MP: I’m sure thousands of your readers are as happy as I am to read an engaging book with an intriguing romantic story line appealing to us gals ‘over 30.’

CEW: Thank you. I am very glad that you enjoyed it so much. It means a huge amount to me when people tell me that they have liked my book. I was delighted when one reviewer said that I had done for the over 40s, what Bridget Jones had done for the over 20s. That was a lady who “got” the story. There is not enough “fun” literature available for women of a certain age that deals with emotions that have, like us, also matured. I can’t read chick lit any more. I feel like tutting with disapproval at some of the things young girls do or say, but I have not dried up emotionally and enjoy books with relevant content, that is, relative to someone who has already had a long term relationship.

At the same time I decided to write humour. Humour works well when you want to educate someone, or get a point across. I also believe that life is too serious for most of us these days and we need to be able to sit down and read something that will have us chortling. I wanted the book to be like a friend. I want people to read it and say, “Yes, that’s me. I am like that.”

MP: What writers inspire you?

CEW: I studied French and English Literature at University and was heavily into Chaucer, Voltaire and Shakespeare, so if I am honest, those are the people that I have been most inspired by.

More recently, I have enjoyed literature by humorists like Ben Elton, and Janet Evanovich always makes me smile.

I used to be a prolific reader but writing now takes up most of my free time so I don't get the chance to sit down and savour a good book these days.

MP: And we thank you for the entertainment and gratification you provide for us, the readers. Cheers, Carol, and we're waiting for more. Thank you for generously sharing your time here with us, and please visit again.

Get to know Carol and have some laughs while reading her website. Go all the way - follow her on facebook, and tweet with Carol!

The Virgin Mary Appears in a Highway Underpass at Polari, London 2012

2012-12-22T21:03:00.001-08:00

Kerry Dunn Delivers Hip Noir Style With "Joe Peace"

2012-09-23T19:08:00.001-07:00

Yes, dear guests, Madame Perry has returned to her salon with more delightful people for your entertainment. This evening you will meet Louisiana author Kerry Dunn, as he talks about his book Joe Peace, and answers questions about his writing style. Now I love a book in the gritty, noir, hard boiled detective style, especially with liberal doses of whip smart wit and parry. Dunn delivers. So well, that when I was reading Joe Peace on a flight out of Daytona Beach, the lady next to me kept asking me to stop and read out loud to her. She said it was obvious that my book was much better than hers and she wanted to hear it. Now that's a good book.

Joining us in the discussion is Robert Leland Taylor, an author who definitely thinks outside the norm. Taylor is the winner of the Southern Playwrights Competition for Kentucky Wings in 2002, and semi-finalist two consecutive years in Amazon/Penguin's Amazing Breakthrough Novel Awards, 2009 and 2010 for A Sunday Stroll through the Ant Farm.

Before we begin let’s buckle our seatbelts and read this description of Joe Peace.

Twenty years ago, Joe Peace was an ace homicide investigator for the Austin Police Department, until his penchant for cocaine and a disastrous affair with his partner Cassie Dugan buries him at the bottom of the APDs burnout brigade. In Austin, Texas, the psychotic founder of the most powerful drug cartel convinces Joe the cash is greener on the other side of the fence, and Joe becomes a player in the drug scene, buys a mansion, and collects beautiful coeds like butterflies, but the party ends when new details of Cassie’s death surface, opening wounds long scarred over. Other crews muscle in on Joe’s operation, and he’s trapped in the twilight between the cops who want to take him down and the kingpins of the street who want to take him out. Joe Peace is a gallows-humored tale of revenge and redemption with noir-like dialogue and slippery morals, along with action, suspense, and soul.

Kerry and Robert, welcome to Madame Perry’s Salon. I’m thrilled to have you both here. Robert, why don’t you begin?

Robert Leland Taylor: I love the gallows humor in Joe Peace. Has humor always been a major element of your work?

Kerry Dunn: Thanks, Robert, and the feeling is mutual, by the way. For sure, humor is what I start with. The problem I had in my previous novel attempts was that humor was the only thing there; characters, plotlines, dialogue, none of it mattered if I was engaged in setting up a joke. Fun for the writer, I guess, but wet charcoal for any poor bastard unlucky enough to read the thing. What I finally learned to do was utilize humor in the act of telling the story. This book has some tragic things going on, if you stop and think about it, and the last thing I want to do, as a writer, is make anybody stop and think. Humor helped me do that.

Kerry Dunn

Madame Perry: Tell us about writers who have had a strong influence on you and your style.

KD: Well, Danielle Steele, Mary Higgins Clark - nah, just fucking with you. Elmore Leonard, of course - the way his characters talk and relate to each other. That interplay is sometimes better than the plots of his books, though in his golden age when he was coming up with "Freaky Deaky" and "Glitz" and "Bandits", everything worked so well together he could do no wrong. Don Winslow is a big modern influence - his slangy, insider dialogue, the way he digresses (I love to digress when I write, much to the chagrin of my editor), and how he can take bad people and find the good in them. Dennis Lehane's brooding noir taught me that you can write about emotions and not bore the daylights out of the reader. Wow. Dashiell Hammett, who I like to parody at times. Raymond Chandler for the byzantine way he goes about a plot. Tim Dorsey, for his silliness. It's a long list. I love to read. I devoured Stephen King's books as a teen, and though I stopped reading him by the time I graduated high school, his "On Writing" is the most indispensible guide I've ever found. I read it three times a year.

RLT: It seems that every writer I've met has a different technique for beginning a novel. Some outline, some wing it from start to finish. Which camp are you in?

KD: I'm a winger, man. I have no idea what I'm going to do when I sit down with my laptop. I used to try to plot things out, but for me the writing always ended up too technical. It was a case where I'd build some steam, but because I had Doris getting murdered in Chapter 5, and here it was Chapter 4 and Doris hadn't even been introduced yet because I have a tendency to ramble (much to the chagrin of my editor), nobody really cared when she was strangled or whatever. When I plotted, I had too many props. So, the first draft, I just go on and see where it leads me. The second draft is where I more or less try to find a straight line between things. And then I trash it all and start over with the third draft.

MP: By now Joe Peace has had several reviews. Which have surprised you the most?

KD: All of them. I didn't have high hopes for this book, at least when I was being honest with myself about it. They say, don't write unsympathetic characters. They say, don't use flashbacks. Joe Peace was a book where I finally went, "You know what? I'm not a kid. I've followed these rules all my writing life and it got me exactly nowhere. So I'm going to throw all that out the window and see what happens." So, when I get reviews where people write "you wouldn't think that you'd like a character like Joe Peace, but you do", I got to tell you, it makes me very happy, even though I have no idea how that happened, and I don't want to know. I'm just glad it did. Of course, it helps to have the world's best editor/publisher in Sheryl Dunn (no relation) to tell me when the parts break down.

RLT: Do you remember what age you were when you began writing and who/what inspired you?

KD: I always loved to write. Love playing with words. You know how, when you were a kid and it was a blistering summer day and you'd scrape together enough change for a candy bar, and then you'd eat it outside and let the chocolate kind of melt and rub it on your fingers and squish it all together? That's how I feel about words. I was blessed to have parents who didn't scoff when I told them I wanted to write, and I was going to write, and friends who didn't think I was saying I wanted to write as a means of picking up women who thought I might be either intelligent or sensitive (hint: I was neither, alas). My mother is a very talented writer, though she put it aside to raise nine kids, and I remember when I was in grade school she read me some of her stuff and I was so excited to find out that part of her life that was stored in boxes. I try to keep it a secret, but lots of things inspire me. It helps that I was too stubborn to quit when I should have, and that determination I get from my father. The next time he gives up on something will be the first time. I don't have it in every phase of my life, but when it came to writing, you could cut off my hands and feet and I'd peck away with my nose.

RLT: Can we expect a sequel to Joe Peace anytime soon?

MP: Robert, that was my question.

KD: Oh, you can expect it all you want:) Yeah, I'm working on it now. I'm a stop/start kind of writer and it took me a long time to come to terms with that. You know, they say you have to write every day. No can do. I have to pick my spots. I write in very, very long sessions, at odd hours of the night. I don't write much in the summer. Fall and winter make my fingers fly.

RLT: Are you anything like the wise-cracking, lovable, corrupt character that you portray in the novel? Because if you are, Kerry, so help me, I'll shut this interview down right now and have you arrested in a heartbeat.

MP: Oh, Taylor, please. The man’s has a brilliant imagination. Just because he can write about crackhead cops who switch sides and whose souls are soothed only by more crack, more booze and the beautiful voice of Karen Carpenter doesn’t mean it’s autobiographical. I mean, I’m on a diet but I can read the menu.

Robert Leland Taylor

KD: Get a room, you two. I'm a pretty boring dude. I don't know any cops, and I don't know any criminals. I work on computers, for Christ sakes. But I read a lot, and I see a lot of movies, and I'm big into the anti-heroes. However, I have a hard time being serious, or striving for profundity. You have to be born with profundity, and it ain't me you're looking for, babe. What helped me get into Joe's head was switching from third person to first. I'd never done that before. It allowed me to pretend to be this cat who owned a big house, and was all kinds of illegal, had serious dependency issues, and was still, on some level, well-liked by at least a few people. Mostly, Joe became a friend who I wanted to help get out of a tight spot, but he had to learn to help himself first. So I'd say, at least in that regard, that I have been more influenced by a made-up criminal than anything I put into him as a writer. Even if he still owes me money.

MP: This was fun, but I believe someone’s ride is here. I hope you’ll both return, and that I can persuade Robert to talk about his books and plays. Thank you both for being here.

You can get Kerry Dunn’s book, Joe Peace, on Amazon, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Coming Soon - Deborah Blum, "Author of The Poisoner's Handbook"

2012-06-03T18:57:00.001-07:00

Yes, my beloved readers, Madame Perry has many exciting interviews for you very soon.
Enjoy the trailer for The Poisoner's Handbook. Yes, I hear you, but what's so wrong about a little teaser?

Presenting Author Branka Cubrilo

2012-04-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Another nod to the wonders of cyberspace and social media, for it was here that I met the author and screenwriter Sylvia Massara, who in turn introduced me to author Branka Cubrilo. This lady is such a prolific writer that one interview here is just a brief glimpse of her work. Of course, I'll provide many links for you to explore. So, let us meet Branka.

Madame Perry: Welcome to Madame Perry’s Salon, Branka. We want to talk about your newest book, The Mosaic Of The BrokenSoul, but first a bit of background on your fascinating life.

Author Branka Cubrilo

Branka Cubrilo: Firstly, thank you for your invitation and a warm welcome to Madame Perry’s Salon.

I don’t know how fascinating my life was, but surely it wasn’t a boring one, it was a life of a modern nomad, a bit of restless soul carried from one destination to another. I was born in Croatia and started to write at a very early age. My ‘little quirky stories and poems’ were published in school magazines and in a local youth press.

I always felt as if I had lived in parallel worlds, my daily life was so different to my inner world, and I was mixing them often with ease (for me) and sometimes with astonishment to my family and the environment, hence I started to write a novel to, somehow, separate those two parallel stories. I Knew Jane Eyre was born, based on my, at the time, need to ‘figure out how it would be if…’ I was inclined to know about or figure out, life’s ‘ifs’. While I was finishing the novel, I saw in the papers an advertisement – Young Writer’s Award Competition and hurried to finish my novel to send it off. There were three winners announced and I was, to my astonishment, one of them, the youngest one, with little experience in professional writing and publishing.

Writing is in my blood, it has never left me: subtle conversations I hear in the rain, the rustling of the leaves, the wind… those subtle whispers took me to the various trips around Europe and led me to various interesting people. The knowledge of languages, my curiosity and adaptability helped to easily penetrate into the cultural settings of Italy, Spain, England and Australia.

MP: Born in Croatia, you were eighteen when your first novel, I Knew Jane Eyre, was published. When it won the Yugoslavian Young Writer’s Award in 1982 it must have been quite a thrill. Tell us about it please.

BC: I’ve got to correct you here. My novel won the Award and, the three of us (the Award winners) were promised that our novels would be published in the following year. But we were faced with difficulties of a different kind: there were not sufficient funds, there were cultural differences in former Yugoslavia, some political issues et cetera. I was too young to get involved in such games and too preoccupied with writing a sequel that I didn’t know how to respond to such a situation. I already understood that the publishing business wasn’t the easy.

MP: When was the sequel written and published?

BC: When I write my novels everything else is on hold. Outer life ceases and I am faced with myself, the narrator, and my characters. I am ‘there’ all the time and to write a novel takes quite a short period of time for me. So, while I was waiting 4 months for the official announcement of the Award winners I had to shorten my waiting time and my anxiety. I felt, anyway, that Jane Eyre, my Jane Eyre, hadn’t been found, so I embarked upon the adventure of Looking For Jane Eyre.

Those two novels were written in Croatian and there were only parts of those novels published in different papers. I had never found the right publisher to publish them. I was always told to ‘simplify my plot’, to ‘shorten my sentences’, to ‘introduce one character at a time’ or not to use ‘too many flashbacks’. But I never wanted to follow the clichés hence those novels really never saw the dawn but stayed in the dusty drawer of my room, back in my hometown of Rijeka.

As I said, some parts were published ‘here and there’, but I had continued to write and to travel.

MP: At such young age - and I’d like to remind our readers that it was before the internet existed to provide information and near instant global fame just by having a youtube video go viral – how were you able to accomplish all of this?

BC: Look, I never did anything for the sake of ‘accomplishment’. Writing was what I loved the best and I thought that was what I was the best at. All I wanted was to write, whether it be magazine or newspaper articles, short stories, poems, but surely, my biggest challenge are novels, that is where my heart is.

MP: You’ve written books while living in Croatia, Spain, and Australia. How much does your location influence your work in terms of plot, character development, themes and perspectives?

BC: Location influences my work absolutely. That’s why writers travel – in search of original characters or plots. In all of my novels (I have written 8 novels, and have published 5 so far) I travel throughout the world. I start my story in a certain location with its cultural and historical settings and I take my characters across Europe, the UK, the USA and Australia. My characters are well-travelled people, always in search of a ‘greener grass’, ‘better opportunity’, ‘bigger love’, or purely more extravagant adventure…

I can’t escape (and why would I?) those locations: I was born in Croatia, I still carry the salty air of the Adriatic in my soul, Italy was a weekly experience and Italian’s my second language, sometimes I miss Italy more than any other location. I lived in Andalucia with my daughter and the sounds, the wind – the levante, the flamenco, the warmth of Andalusian people lives in me… of course those locations influence my novels. I have written a trilogy called Spanish Stories and the trilogy was situated, with a good part, in Spain, but then, while writing, I heard someone from my hometown calling my name, calling my attention, so I got to chuck him in, to silence his cries, to add colour to the Andalucian grey land. I have lived in Sydney since 1992, it is only natural that this city influences my writings, the city where my daughter was born, made her first steps. It is such a multicultural place that it is a great source of constant inspiration when it comes to experimenting with different cultures and customs.

My novels As a River, Requiem for Barbara, Little Lies, Big Lies and Visconti’s Stories are all set in three or four different countries on two different continents. My characters are often displaced, sometimes confused, often in search of themselves, surely preoccupied with many questions.

MP: The development of serious health issues and the disintegration of your marriage obviously marked great changes in your life. These are the types of changes that produce questions, many for which we must look within. Your experiences, and recovery, are explored in your newest, TheMosaic of the Broken Soul.

BC: Great changes indeed!

As the title says it is a book of one soul’s ache, to simplify it.

I don’t know if it is true the statement that ‘life is not meant to be easy’, but I surely know that I had a very difficult period in my life and it forced me to look honestly into myself. Who am I and why am I that person? Do I, and to what extent, respect and love that person?

I had published several books in my hometown of Rijeka and the publisher simply decided not to pay any royalties. Easy as that. Even today, 15 years later, he is selling my books and keeping my royalties for himself. That wasn’t a healthy situation at all. I had all those beautiful reviews, acknowledgments and recognition as a writer but I knew that I came across very dishonest people and wasn’t able to do much. I used to (and still do) get fantastic e-mails from readers telling me how much they enjoyed reading my books, or how my book(s) influenced or changed their outlook on life, and it made me feel really good, made me feel that I had really given something to others worthy of all my efforts. But, as a writer, as a human being, I felt taken advantage of from that publisher who never paid my share. It really had stiffened my soul and I was profoundly disappointed with the publishing industry. I decided to write but never to publish again. One could go on Google and find all this information about my ‘worthy books’ and the great reviews but I knew that someone else was reaping the fruits of my labour. I kept on working as a journalist and kept my creative work for myself.

Some sort of sadness, deep sadness took refuge in my soul. I travelled back to Andalucia and all I did there was ‘a deep thinking’. I had a restless soul, a dishonest, greedy publisher and a restless husband! What a fertile soil for an illness.

While I was doing ‘deep thinking’ back there in Andalucia I was actually writing my novel in my head.

Upon my diagnosis of breast cancer my husband left our marital home and all those ‘Andalucian questions’ started to haunt me.

What? What? What? What? And – Why?

That was the working fabric of my novel. As I was writing it the characters from my life appeared on the stage and asked me to integrate them into the tale. The characters from the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the characters from Italian Alps, the characters from Isle of Man, London and Dublin… Sydney… and my life story started to take shape and to be woven onto that fabric.

MP: Broken things, we know, can become beautiful art in a mosaic. Tell us about the imagery of ‘the black pearl.’

BC: ‘The black pearl’ was my pain. Women, we are trained from a very early age to: do the right thing, be a good girl, be obedient, be a good friend, a good girlfriend, a good society member and a good wife ultimately. And we are trying our best, I’d say. So, what is ‘the best?’, is my question. Does ‘the best’ go right down to denial? Denial of one’s own needs: needs for self-expression on different levels?

‘The black pearl’ could be a consequence of a stiff upper lip. It is pain that is denied, that is buried and it waits its moment, to harden and to grow.

‘The black pearl’ represents the white tears that never rolled down the cheek but went hiding into the chest. ‘The black pearl’ is a synonym of betrayal or of uncertainty.

Many things were broken and all those little broken parts were my little pieces of the puzzle of my own life. Of a big rebus of human existence and its meaning. I felt that my duty at that time was to find the questions to which answers did not exist.

Even though I thought that I had had enough of the publishing industry, even though I thought that I should write this novel only to serve the purpose of my own healing, or shall I say ‘writing therapy’, I thought that it was the right time for me to write my novel in English. So I did.

It didn’t take a long time that the excerpt from my novel caught the eye of ‘Speaking Volumes’ publisher who wrote to me “Branka, I love your writing style…” and we took it from there.

MP: Many books are published yearly that deal with illness, life’s severe challenges, and various types of recovery or resolution. What have readers told you that The Mosaic of the Broken Soul has brought to them?

BC: This is an interesting question and I have an interesting and short answer to it: as a rule the readers tell me that, somehow, my book has a healing effect on them. I think that this is really fantastic, because, I have changed my life a lot since I have been ill, and changed it to a better, more meaningful kind of life, more loving and freer one. It is now 9 years since I was diagnosed and I am as healthy as one can be, I write again and I publish again. I have translated all my novels into English, I have a number of short stories which are waiting to be selected and put into a collection of short stories… and I see that the people who read the book tell the same story. They tell me that the book was a great inspiration and guide to them and that, in some way, a positive way, the book has changed their lives. What fantastic feedback, what fantastic motivation for me!

MP: What do you want the reader to take away and treasure from this book?

BC: The courage when one is faced with adversity. Understanding that life presents us with lots of challenges but we are always in position to chose. We always make choices weather we are aware of it or not, but choices are ours. This is liberating because one doesn’t feel as a victim of circumstances or ‘fate’.

Then, honesty towards oneself. It is inevitable to ask questions at certain points in your life, so ask them, don’t run away because unanswered questions come back, sometimes with more difficulties to find an answer.

MP: What is in the near future for you, Branka?

BC: If I only knew? Well, as I said before we always have the freedom to choose. I choose to write and there are quite a number of written books that are waiting to be published. I am still working on some translations of my own books, some polishing of the language, working on my syntax and grammar, English is such a beautiful and challenging language. I have plans to publish a collection of short stories, maybe a collection of poems. I am writing (at the moment lots of it is happening in my head) a new novel about Nicholas O’B and Pia the Poetess.

I am a mother to a young girl who just enrolled in university and this is a big part of my future.

I have itchy feet again, so I long to pack my bags and travel down to Andalucia, or to occupy the small table on the main cobbled piazza of my hometown, I am dying to see the ‘Big Apple’ and to visit friends in London. I hope this year is going to be generous and bring me some of it.
MP: Be sure to call me first, Branka, I keep a wallet of Euros with my passport always!

You can visit Branka's website and follow her on facebook, Twitter, and Speaking Volumes. Please watch the trailer for The Mosaic Of The Broken Soul, and to order your own copy click here.

Mitzi Szereto ~ Pride And Prejudice: Hidden Lusts

2012-03-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Madame Perry: Mitzi, you look so young, lovely, cute dimples, hang out with Teddy Tedaloo (who, like you, has a deceptively innocent visage ) and you write erotica that makes the pages too hot to turn and too sizzling not to play with that fire! How, and when, did you recognize your brilliant skills in that genre?

Mitzi Szereto: Thanks for your use of the adjective “brilliant”! Actually, I’ve written poetry and stories since childhood; my first piece of long-form fiction was a gory murder mystery replete with deadly poisons and buried corpses. I’d been writing a variety of things, genre-wise, once I decided to seriously pursue writing as a profession, but it was quite by accident that I started working in the area of erotic literature.

Mitzi and Teddy
Photo: Eric Schneider

From my readings in the genre, I didn’t have much patience for the contemporary works, preferring the more refined prose of the classics. Obviously, that affected my approach to some degree. I come from a fine art background as well, so I’ve always applied myself to my writing as an artist would, using words as my medium rather than paint.

When dealing with material that is more erotic in nature, I think it’s important to incorporate a bit of artistry and lyricism into the prose or else you end up with something that has as much elegance and sensuality as what you find scrawled inside a toilet stall.

MP When Pride And Prejudice: Hidden Lusts was launched, you had several events scheduled, and some included readings. How was that? I mean, details – please! Were extra fans necessary?

MS It’s all a blur! I did a ton of interviews; in fact, I don’t think a day went by when I wasn’t doing an interview or being scheduled for one. I was also doing a lot of international traveling during that summer (which resulted in yet more interviews), plus I had an appearance at the Warwick Words literature festival not long after I returned to the UK. My Red Velvet and Absinthe anthology came out not even three months after P&P, so it was a manic time for me. Mind you, it’s always a manic time for me!

MP According to Wikipedia you’ve written thirteen books as Mitzi Szereto, and six as M. S. Valentine, plus countless other stories in magazines. In your spare time you are a blogger, anthology editor, web TV entrepreneur and public speaker.

Obviously a prolific writer – you must have, in addition to talent, a style, technique or discipline to enable you to do so much and do it so fabulously well. Please share some tips for the rest of us.

MS I suppose my biggest tip would be to find a research facility that will clone you so that you can do all the things you need to do to keep yourself out there and keep creating new and interesting content. I don’t have a particular technique; I just file away inside my head all the things that I need to do and I try to get as much of it done as possible, always finding that I’m at least two or three months behind on where I want to be.
I suppose as far as discipline, it’s down to this: I know I need to do what I need to do, and somehow or other I do it. It’s an endless trial of frustration to keep up. I think you’ve got to be very committed to your goals and willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve them. This isn’t a nine to five job that ends when you get home from the office—it’s day and night, seven days a week. You’re lucky, indeed, if you can manage to take off an entire 24-hour period without attending to something pertaining to work.

MP What music do you listen to when you write?

MS I never listen to music when I write. I need silence. Music is too distracting, as is the presence of people. I’m lucky that Teddy is relatively quiet when I’m working and doesn’t create problems and disruptions. The only downside is, he’s not too cooperative when it comes to making cups of tea. To be fair, it’s a bit difficult for him to reach the kitchen counter without assistance.

MP What do you enjoy best about your web TV show? Can you talk about your favorite guest?

MS It’s hard to choose, as I’ve met so many interesting and amusing people for the Mitzi TV segments. I probably had the most fun in “Knees Up Mother Brown,” which was a musical pub night in London. The place was filled with so many colorful characters, both the performers and the audience. For “Baby You Can Drive My Car” I did enjoy flirting with Formula 1 racecar driver and “Top Gear” presenter Tiff Needell, not to mention teasing shoe designer Jimmy Choo. Oh, and Fred Flintstone and I were getting pretty cozy in his log-mobile, too.

Having Teddy co-host with me on the “Bear Necessities” video was also very rewarding, as we covered the Hugglets Teddy Bear festival in London. We met a lot of exhibitors who are actively involved in charities, especially those pertaining to bears. I’d like to hope that I helped spread the word about a lot of great causes with this segment. I should say that not all guests are planned; in the majority of cases they just happen along. Other than the Morris Dancing segment, which I’d pre-arranged with the chaps from the Westminster Morris Men, I usually have no idea who I’ll be interviewing until I actually get out there with my mike.

MP An American by birth, how did you become a resident, and citizen of the UK ? Has this been a strong influence on your work?

MS I think I’ve always been British in my heart and soul. Britain is known for being a land of eccentrics, so I fit right in! I moved to the UK in 2001, and quickly became established there. Aside from doing a post-graduate degree, I became a creative writing lecturer at university within a year of having relocated. You have to be resourceful to make your situation work, which is true of most anything, really. I’m not going to say it was easy. Anyone who deals with immigration departments can tell you what a headache it is, not to mention expense. But when it was all over and I found myself being sworn in as a British citizen, I breathed a proverbial sign of relief. So yes, Britain has been a strong influence on my work, even from way before I’d arrived.

MP Mitzi, when you wrote Pride And Prejudice: Hidden Lusts, is there one character above all others that you fantasized about? And in those lusty fantasies – what well known person would they resemble?

MS For the purposes of P&P, I will say that Mr. Darcy is the character that appealed to me the most—and we can give credit to Colin Firth’s marvelous and sexy portrayal of Darcy in the BBC TV series as being a strong influence. He embodied Darcy in a way no other actor has and, I believe, ever will. But generally speaking, I don’t make a practice of putting personal fantasies into my work or patterning characters on people I might necessarily fancy or lust after. I’ve done it so rarely that the only time it immediately springs to mind is with my recent short story “The Blood Moon Kiss” in Red Velvet and Absinthe. I patterned the male protagonist after Ian Somerhalder (and yes, I do fancy him!), also using the setting of a popular television series about vampires as a backdrop.

I’ve noticed over the years that many people like to assume that if your content is erotic in nature, then it must reflect upon your own sexuality and proclivities and, as you’ve already referenced, lusty fantasies. I’m not entirely sure why this assumption came about (perhaps it’s been aided by the writers themselves!), but it isn’t an area I exploit. Besides, I write a variety of material that crosses into and blends many genres, so lusty fantasies don’t necessarily have any bearing on the content. Can you imagine if every author of a blood-and-guts crime novel claimed to be inspired by his or her lusty fantasies? We’d have a swarm of literary serial killers on the loose! For me, writing is all about imagination and creativity. It’s our job as writers to create—and I’m just doing my job.

MP You and Teddy are so fabulously busy, I’m delighted you could visit Madame Perry’s Salon. This has been an absolute pleasure, and Teddy, rest assured your required gift basket is on its way.

MS A gift basket for Teddy? Goodness!

MP What? You didn't know? You may want to check Teddy's phone bill. It's quite allright, as he'll share with you.

If you are not already living in the exciting world of Mitzi and Teddy, here are some very useful links. You can follow Mitzi on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and MySpace, and visit her Errant Ramblings blog, website or go straight to MitziTV . Buy Mitzi's books on Amazon USA, or Amazon UK, Teddy invites everyone to follow him on facebook and twitter, too!

Madame Perry's Salon Is Officially An Award Winning Blog!

2012-01-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

Aussie author, TV producer & host Sylvia Massara has presented Madame Perry's Salon with The Versatile Blogger Award. It is my first blog award and I am delighted. It comes with requirements, however, to reveal seven things about myself (which I'll mercifully keep short) and to award it to five other blogs.

So, the seven reveals about Madame Perry.
* I've riden a camel in the Canary Islands.
* I prefer driving a car with a manual transmission.
* Six times I've sung The Star Spangled Banner at the Monster Truck Jam Event in the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center.
* One should never deny while in my presence that Rosalind Russell was the only true Auntie Mame.

2011 - Mme Perry and
Monster Truck 'Reptoid'

* Dog is my co-pilot.
* It continually astounds me that I have met so many fun, fascinating and delightful people through blogs and social media.
* It also astounds me that over the course of four years I hung out with my jazz idol Anita O'Day more times than I can count in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Anita O'Day, Robbie Cavolina, Mme Perry

And now to present this award to five other blogs. My promise to you is that they are all worth visiting. Lo prometo!

Sisters in Crime - The best crime writing dames are found here! Their mission statement is "To promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry."

Collin Kelley: Modern Confessional - Author, poet, playwright and journalist Collin Kelley's blog will by turns inform, entertain and provoke the reader. And he's one of my dearest friends. His book Remain In Light is a finalist for the Townsend Prize.

Kimmy Sue Ruby Lou - Essays on life and observations from a fascinating gal I met four years ago. As she says "Everyone has two faces. I simply have names for mine."

Janey Godley

Janey Godley - a Scottish stand-up comic, actor, journalist, playwright, podcaster and blogger and author of Handstands in the Dark, her critically acclaimed memoir. Brilliant with a whip-smart sense of humor, and very wise and insightful about people.

Richard Blandford's Hound Blog - The author of Hound Dog and Flying Saucer Rock & Roll has a blog as dry and funny to me as his tweets which are not unlike a rubber band snap. A great writer, but I also love that, like me, he values finding old books.

Sylvia Massara

Again, my gratitude to Sylvia Massara. How lucky was I to meet you. I'm looking forward to being your publicist and living in Italy.

Meet Grant Jerkins, author of A VERY SIMPLE CRIME.

2011-10-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here we are at last. I am thrilled to introduce author Grant Jerkins, and talk about his book A VERY SIMPLE CRIME. I hope you won’t mind, Grant, but having the esteemed writer, actor and painter Robert Leland Taylor here just seemed a lovely idea.

Mme Perry: A VERY SIMPLE CRIME captivated me because of the well drawn characters, the story, and very sharp writing. How long did you work on this book?

Grant Jerkins: It’s funny, because the published version of the book was basically my first draft, which took perhaps four months to write. During the years of struggle to find a publisher (long before the epublishing revolution), I ended up writing several additional drafts to suit other people’s vision of what the book should be. I even wrote a screenplay version. In the end, it was that first fevered four month draft that made it into print.

Robert Leland Taylor: I notice that you're often drawn to the darker side of human nature. Does this represent a pessimistic view of humankind on your part?

GJ: Hmmm. You’re putting me on the spot with this one. I hate to say I’m pessimistic or misanthropic, but clearly I’m drawn to characters who are. I think maybe I just feel like each of us is born into the dark, stumbling through it as we mature, and that most of us will never find our way out of the dark in our lifetimes. But that doesn’t mean we can’t help each other out along the way. Light a match and share a minute or two of illumination with a friend. But the match goes out and we have to keep moving forward. Alone. In the dark.
MP: Which authors do you most enjoy reading?

GJ: I love the writing of James M. Cain. He’s not as well known today as his peers - Hemmingway, Chandler, and Hammet, but he’s my favorite. John O’Brien. Lawrence Block. Stephen King has been a major influence. Kurt Vonnegut, JD Salinger, and Truman Capote. Flannery O’Connor is a favorite. Right now I’m really enchanted with Donald Ray Pollock and Daniel Woodrell.

RLT: How do you feel about reading your own stuff? Is it a pleasant or unpleasant experience for you?

GJ: By the time a book gets published, you’ve read it so many times that you can’t help but be sick of it. And by that point you can see all the chicken wire, duct tape, and spackle holding it in place. You can’t fathom how others won’t see the awkward stitches where you’ve sewn your creature together. That said, I can still find passages that I enjoy reading and sharing with others.

MP: Do you have a specific process for creating your characters and their backgrounds?

GJ: Good question! I do not have a specific process for creating characters. I know a lot of writers use a system or check lists (What does your character want? What is he/she struggling to achieve?) to create characters, but that seems so artificial to me.

RLT: What aspect of novel-writing do you find the most difficult?

GJ: Beginning. The single hardest thing about writing a novel is starting the damn thing. After that, if you’re disciplined and write every day, it’s not that hard of a process. It’s even an enjoyable process. If you’re not disciplined and you don’t write every day, then the days you do write feel like you’re starting all over again, and it’s just torture.

RLT: Boxers or briefs--and how often, if ever, do you change them?

GJ: Commando.

MP: You don’t have to answer Robert’s last question, Grant, you know he can easily become distracted and take everyone with him.

GJ: I’m sorry, what?

RLT: On a scale of one to ten, one being the worst, how sorry are you for agreeing to do this interview and how badly will it hurt your career?

MP: Mr. Taylor!

GJ: Commando.

MP: Now, now, Mr. Taylor, you promised to behave. Thank you for being our guest, Grant. Tell us the title of your next book, and when we will see it.

GJ: The next book is called AT THE END OF THE ROAD, which sounds a little bit like directions to the town dump, but actually it’s a very personal book about my experiences growing up on an isolated red dirt road in rural Georgia (which was surprisingly violent).

The book is based on a real incident from my childhood. When I was ten, I was riding my bike in the middle of the road in front of my house when a car came speeding around a curve in the road. To avoid hitting me, the woman behind the wheel had to swerve. Her car flipped and rolled, landing on its side. The woman crawled out, bloody and battered. She asked me to help her, but I ran away. I was scared. I was ten years old. So I ran away and never told a soul. The next day I went back and the car was gone. No sign of the accident remained. The woman and her car had just disappeared. AT THE END OF THE ROAD is my imagining of what might have happened to that woman.

The book will be in stores November 1st, and it’s currently available for pre-order wherever you like to buy books. Unless you buy your books out of Robert’s garage. He doesn’t do pre-orders. Still waiting on my copy of Decision Points.

MP: Also waiting on mine. Mr. Taylor? Thank you both for being my guests here at Madame Perry’s Salon. It has been every bit the pleasure I imagined. Much success to you both.

RLT: I'd just like to say that I've read AT THE END OF THE ROAD and was blown away by it. It touched me on a number of emotional levels that I can't begin to describe. I wasn't aware until now that the story was partially based on an actual incident, and this makes it all the more intriguing. It deserves to become a huge success. Thanks for sharing, Grant, and thanks to you, Jennifer, for having me.http://www.grantjerkins.com/.

MP: You can follow Grant on Twitter, Facebook, or visit his website to find out where you can see him live.

And here's a nice bit of post script: Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune) is attached to direct the film version. Adapted for the screen by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nicholas Kazan (At Close Range, Reversal of Fortune) and O'Neill Fellowship playwright Terry Curtis Fox (Cops, The Pornographer's Daughter.) Currently in pre-production.

Winner of the BlogFest 2011 Giveaway!

2011-07-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

The drawing for the first BlogFest 2011 giveaway took place Monday night
at Maddy's Ribs & BBQ in Decatur, Georgia by Ann Guilfoile.
Ann is the very popular co-interviewer of her brother, author Kevin Guilfoile.
Assisting in the event were Kimmy Sue Ruby Lou Shaughnessy
and her hairier half Andy Shaughnessy.

Don't panic, I will have a second and maybe third winner next week.

Yes, it's Margaret!

And the winner is "Margaret!"

Congratulations, Margaret, as soon as we have a mailing addy the goodies will be heading your way.

And we plan another drawing or two from the same list so standby, and thank you for supporting Madame Perry's Salon. I hope to bring you more of the best writers for your enjoyment.

Kimmy Sue, Mme Perry, Andy and Ann congratulating Margaret.

BlogFest 2011 Is Here

2011-07-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

BlogFest 2011, is the brilliant event by Cinnamon Brown, creator of the blog A Journey Of Books. You will learn more there about what fabulous goings on are in store.
Here is an excerpt:

It's that time! Now through July 17th at 11:59pm EST we will be participating in BlogFest 2011! I know you've heard about it! I know you're anxious! I know you're overflowing with excitement!

What is BlogFest? BlogFest is a massive carnival of giveaways with a great collection of participating blogs. Each blog has a giveaway and the idea is to hop from blog to blog, entering all the giveaways your little heart desires. Hopefully you might even come across a few blogs you might want to bookmark and continue visiting. From "BlogFest 2011 - A Journey Of Books."

Madame Perry's Salon has a gift basket to giveaway with these goodies!

Autographed copy of A Very Simple Crime from author Grant Jerkins

A trio of e-books, The Other Boyfriend, Like Casablanca, and The Soul Bearers

from Aussie author and TV host Sylvia Massara

Autographed CD from Raspberry Tea from journalist/musician Brian Bingaman

Jennifer Perry Combo T-shirt

T-Shirt and CD from The Jennifer Perry Combo

Leave a comment with your name, e-mail addy for notification, and state that you wish to be entered in the drawing.

Or send to my e-mail. Every blog participating has a giveaway, and A Journey Of Books has a grand prize so enter everything your hearts desires. I have links below to some of the blogs. You can find them all at A Journey Of Books.

Makobi Scribe

Malevolent Musing
Manga Maniac Cafe
Meg Mims, Author
Memoirs Of A Misanthrope
Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks
Michelle's Book Blog
A Journey Of Books

Live From Hollywood And The Pages Of Vanity Fair - Jessica Handler!

2011-07-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

And with a title like that I say let's get to it. Author and poet Collin Kelley, a dear mutual friend of mine and Jessica's, is here to talk about her memoir Invisible Sisters and see if she'll dish on the stars.

M.Perry: By the time you were nine both of your younger sisters had been diagnosed with terminal illnesses - Kostmann’s syndrome and leukemia - and you began introducing yourself as ‘the well sibling.” How, and when, did you realize that your family was different from others in this respect?

Jessica Handler: I probably didn’t consciously realize that we were different – and in so many ways, not only medically – until the moment that I said phrase to a doctor. I was nine, and, as you’ll read in Invisible Sisters, was at Duke University Hospital with both my younger sisters and our parents to undergo some lab work to try and figure out how this anomaly – two sisters with white cell disorders on opposing sides of a spectrum – came to be. (No one’s ever figured it out, as far as I know.) I introduced myself that day as “the well sibling.” This is a real term now, but I don’t know if it was then. I doubt it. I think I’d overheard my father say it about me, or perhaps I thought of it then, but it seemed to define my role pretty efficiently.

Even then, though, I knew that our family was normal for us. My sisters weren’t treated differently; they had slumber parties and pets and schoolwork, and lived very regular lives for the most part. It was normal for me to be that calm around doctors, for us to travel to medical centers and be examined. That experience is a little bit like living in the third person voice.

After Invisible Sisters came out, friends who’d known me even during those times told me they’d never known the extent of our story. That’s a testament, good or bad, that’s a reader’s call, to how normal our lives were.

MP: In writing a memoir you must spend a lot of time revisiting past situations and feelings. Did this ever bring about a different viewpoint on any situations for you while writing Invisible Sisters?

Jessica Handler

JH: Oh, of course. You can’t write memoir well when the crux of the story is so fresh in your mind and heart that the work is an emotional explosion rather than a crafted story. Of course there was a great deal of emotion in writing the book, sad and happy, but distance is crucial. I came to understand so much more about my father in writing the book, I think in part because by that time I was older than he was in the story I was writing. I viewed his losses and his reactions as a fellow adult, not solely as a wounded daughter.

Collin Kelley: Is there anything you didn't put in the memoir that wish you had now?

JH: I’m very satisfied with the scope of the book. I worked closely with my editor at Public Affairs, Morgen Van Vorst, who had great insights about shaping the book, which helped me at the time to figure out what I wanted and needed to put in that I had perhaps skated over in earlier drafts. There’s nothing in Invisible Sisters that I wouldn’t tell someone in conversation. That said, there are pieces of my family’s stories that I have omitted due to personal privacy issues and the fact that those bits weren’t crucial to the story I was telling. Those I won’t tell you in conversation. They’re just for me.

MP: It was so exciting to see you in Vanity Fair magazine. Tell us about it. Fun? Did you get to keep the dress? Anything to dish?

JH: The Vanity Fair shoot was amazing fun, and after eight hours on various lawns of the Swan House I was pretty much in giggles the whole time. I didn’t get to keep the dress, but honestly, what would I do with it? I’m a jeans and t-shirt gal. I knew five of the women before the shoot, and had of course heard of everyone, so it was a delight to meet the others. I am a huge admirer of Natasha Trethewey’s poetry particularly, so meeting her was kind of a fan-girl thrill.

Hmm, what to dish... It took two passes with dish soap to get the ‘product’ out of my hair. It doesn’t stand up like that on its own! And I learned that couture comes in two-digit sizes, not just in size four. And I’m wearing my grandmother’s pearls in that shot, because she would have kvelled. I texted my publicist pretty much every twenty minutes to essentially shriek with joy. The whole day was extremely girly.

Collin Kelley

CK: Tell us about working in Hollywood? Can you dish on a famous celebrity encounter?

JH: I’m still so touched and honored to have met Divine; Harris Glenn Milstead. He was a guest on a talk/variety show where I was a production coordinator, and I spent some time talking with him in the green room. John Waters’s movies had been big with my college friends and me. He was kind, soft-spoken, and just so elegant and gentlemanly. And he was wearing a grey pinstriped three-piece suit and a big diamond earring. I just loved him. And no, I won’t tell you here who the rock star at the after hours club is in the LA chapter of Invisible Sisters, but if you ask me in person, I might. The club was Club Zero, on North Cahuenga though, if that means anything to any 1980s archivist-types.

JP: Hmm, maybe when the three of us meet up at Agave for some nibbly things and a few of Collin's stories. Thank you so much for spending time with us, Jessica.

JH: Of course, happy to spend time with. Soon, IRL.

CK: XO Love and smoochies!

Jessica Handler's nonfiction has appeared in Brevity.com, More Magazine, Southern Arts Journal, and Ars Medica. You can visit Jessica Handler's website, or follow her on Twitter.

Kevin Guilfoile, author of The Thousand and Cast of Shadows.

2011-06-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

I've been a Kevin Guilfoile fan since his first novel, Cast of Shadows, was published. When he agreed to be a guest in Madame Perry's Salon to talk about his newest book, The Thousand, I knew I'd want one of my more sophisticated and intellectual pals to sit in the co-interviewer seat. So I am pleased to also introduce my friend Ann Guilfoile.

Madame Perry: The Thousand has an intricate web of plots and motivations. A couple of characters we can imagine from real life folks like Johnnie Cochran or Phil Spector. Yet many are original in their personal quirks, burdens and needs. How do you draw or create these characters?

Kevin Guilfoile: Inventing the characters is the fun part, although I'd be hard pressed to explain how you do it. They start as imaginary playmates of some sort. Then you drop them into a situation and figure out how they would react and that's how your plot unfolds. Of course you don't really get to know them until you start writing them, and so frequently you realize that you expected a character to do something that, now that you know her better, she wouldn't do. So you have her do B instead of A and then you figure out how that will change everything that happens after that. That's the way that your characters often lead you to a place that you didn't expect.

People who were familiar with the Chicago music scene in the 90s will recognize that the character of Burning Patrick is based loosely on a real person named Wesley Willis. Like Patrick, Wesley was homeless, selling his sketches of El Tracks on the street until he was basically adopted by a rock band, who helped shelter him. They also formed a band around him and fulfilled Wesley's dream of being a rock star.

Ann Guilfoile: How come there are so many characters unlike your sister in your books?

KG: Are you kidding? My books are filled with liars and sociopaths.

MP: In your novel Cast Of Shadows, one character was driven by a religious group. This is a kind of group and person we see occasionally see in the news. However, in The Thousand there is a group of people with a very discreet and cult-like devotion to philosopher mathematician Pythgoras. Where did the idea for this come about?

KG: I was working on the first draft of the novel, and it had many of the same elements of the final one--a young woman with special mental gifts, and the intersection of art and science and math and religion--but something about it wasn't quite working. One night I had dinner with a friend named Tom Morris, who had been a philosophy professor of mine in college. I was spelling out the trouble I was having and he put down his fork and said, "You need to go home and read everything you can find about Pythagoras." Once I did that, the story really began to fall together.

Kevin Guilfoile

Pythagoras was one of the most influential individuals in history--his teachings were the foundation of modern science, music, math, astronomy, and religion--but most people know nothing about him beyond the Pythagorean Theorem, which he didn't have anything to do with. Plus he was an insane and reclusive cult leader on top of it, who thought his friends were reincarnated as dogs and that it was a sin to eat beans. I couldn't not write about him after that.

AG: On a scale of 9 to 10 how would you rate the influence of your sister in your life?

KG: My sister took me to see Star Wars when I was nine years old. Without a doubt one of the most influential experiences of my life. She also taught me how to ride a bike and introduced me to the music of Boz Scaggs.

MP: Before reading Cast Of Shadows I had read some of your very humorous pieces in McSweeney’s and in a book of essays titled 1001 Damnations. Quite a contrast to your books, which makes me wonder if you have any screwball comedy screenplays incubating in your office?

Ann Guilfoile

KG: I have written a screenplay, actually, which might go into production as soon as next year. It's more a dark comedy than a screwball one. It's about Chicago record collectors in the late 1980s and it's sort of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre meets High Fidelity meets Reservoir Dogs.

AG: If it weren't for your sister, would you be living in a homeless shelter or in the street?

KG: I've always seen myself as more of an "under the bridge" kind of guy.

MP: When you think of your books being made into films, do you have specific actors in mind that you feel would personify the characters as you see them?

KG: That's always a difficult question for me. The reader spends a few days or weeks with the characters, but the writer spends years with them. It's hard to just imagine some actor becoming them. Film is a very different art from literature. I'm not sure what role the author should play in shaping the film (unless he's adapting it himself). Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, two writers/producers from Grey's Anatomy, are working on the Cast of Shadows screenplay. I told them I was around if they have any questions, but I'm more interested in seeing their interpretation of the novel than I am in influencing it.

AG: Where is the $50 you owe your sister?

KG: I paid her back in wit.

MP: How did it feel to have Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times give such a powerful review praising The Thousand?

KG: Ms. Kakutani has been very good to me. She had many kind things to say about Cast of Shadows, as well. Obviously not everyone is going to perceive your book in exactly the same way that you see it, but it's gratifying when someone does, and when that person is the lead book reviewer at the New York Times, you consider yourself especially lucky. It cushions the blow, I suppose, when the next guy doesn't like it as much.

MP: Thank you for taking time to talk with us. We wish you much continued success and hope you’ll visit again.

Get more information on Kevin Guilfoile by visiting Kevin Guilfoile's website, or the Cast of Shadows site, and follow him on Twitter.

Meet Australian Novelist & Television Host - Sylvia Massara!

2011-05-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to my salon where today I'll share another wonderful result of cyberspace, social media and the way we booklovers transcend distance and time (zones.) For this is how I met Australian novelist, screenwriter, and television producer & host Sylvia Massara.

Sylvia Massara

Perry: Welcome to Madame Perry's Salon, Sylvia. We have a lot to talk about. First, I don’t know how you have time to be such a prolific writer, blogger, television show host, and still make time to help other authors. Your three novels – The Soul Bearers, The Other Boyfriend, and Like Casablanca are in print as well as e-books. Why did you choose to add the e-book format?

Massara: I kind of “stumbled” into digital publishing, Jennifer. My initial aim was to get my first two novels published through a traditional publisher, but this was taking such a long time—not to mention the number of publishers and agents who didn’t even reply to my letters of enquiry or submissions! Anyway, for a while I did nothing and as I was working a fulltime job, I pretty much shelved everything. And then I got sick. I developed a lower back/pelvic problem that made it impossible for me to continue working for about a year, and it was during this time that I took solace in the social media.

This is how I discovered the world of digital publishing. You know how it is, one thing led to another, and suddenly I was engrossed in formatting my novels into e-books. So my intent was to self-publish in e-book format, and later bring the novels out in paperback.

So far, The Other Boyfriend is out in paperback as well as e-book format. I wanted to test the waters and see what sold best. To date, my e-book sales far outweigh my paperback sales, so now I’m thinking that I will stay with the e-book formats; at least until Hollywood discovers one of my books and makes it to a movie, and then I’m sure that a traditional publisher or two will approach me for the book rights. LOL.

Perry: While reading The Other Boyfriend I truly enjoyed that I could ‘see’ the characters because they were so well drawn. Their dialogue, mannerisms, and settings were vividly described so I felt that I was in the scene live and in person! How much time is spent developing the characters for each book?

Massara: This varies with every writer. With me it happens fairly quickly. In the space of a couple of hours I’ll have most of my characters mapped out. You see, my characters live inside my head all the time, and I guess it’s a matter of who shouts the loudest to come out and be written in a novel. I told another interviewer only the other day that she should call me “Sybil”!

Perry: Actually, Sybil came to mind when you were describing the characters shouting at you from inside your head. In the past few years video book trailers have become quite the clever marketing tool for authors. You have three great ones, and I especially enjoyed the one for Like Casablanca. Do you create them yourself?

Massara: Yes, I do. This is courtesy of that illness I had. During the time I was ill, not only did I learn to publish digitally, but I also learned a lot about social media, blogging, making and editing videos and promoting my novels through book trailers.

I love being creative; whether it’s writing, filming videos or making trailers. I’ve always been a creative person and I guess always will be. So now you see why I walk around with all these characters inside my head. LOL. I am always engaged in some creative pursuit.

Perry: You are the creator and host of The Lit Chick Show. Entertaining, funny and sharp, TLCS is a virtual television show where you interview authors. Is this your first foray into the broadcasting milieu?

Massara: I’ve never had a talk show, if that’s what you mean—not even a virtual one. But from age 5, I always wanted to be an actress. This was my primary dream, but unfortunately I didn’t follow it. Acting is always seen as an insecure career, and out of all the actors in the world, I’ve been told that only around 2% can make a fulltime living out of it. Mind you, it seems the same thing applies to authors!

Having said this, I polished off some ambitions when I was younger. During my late 20s and early 30s I was involved in writing screenplays, and a few of them received recognition from some well known Hollywood names, but I guess it was not my destiny that the screenplays would make it to film. Lots of screenplays end up on the shelf. Hollywood proved to be rather fickle and I was disappointed, to say the least.

The one thing I did, which I thoroughly enjoyed during this time, was acting. At the late age of 33 years, I finally decided to get some acting gigs and I was lucky to land a few TV commercials, documentaries and bit parts in a few TV series. One of them, which I’m not sure if it’s known in the US, was called “Home and Away”. This is a soapy, and the springboard into Hollywood for Aussie actresses Melissa George (Amityville Horror) and Isla Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic).

I was lucky to be in a scene with Melissa George in “Home and Away”, where I played the part of a sales assistant in a maternity-wear store, and where I helped her pick out a dress. And regarding Isla Fisher, I didn’t work directly with her, but I shared the same make-up trailer with her and we had a really nice chat. The other evening I watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and I sat there thinking about the time I met her and how nice she was to me at the time.

But back to your question, The Lit Chick Show is my first foray into broadcasting on my own, and something I enjoy doing in order to support fellow authors promote their work. I love doing the introductions and better still, interviewing face to face if the author happens to be on my side of the world. I was very lucky to catch Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, when he was out in Sydney as part of his mini-world tour and he very kindly agreed to feature as a special guest on my show. I was so excited that I made him an honorary Aussie on camera!

Perry: That’s why you are so natural in front of the camera, and your guests seem comfortable as well. Sylvia, I’m so glad you joined us here at Madame Perry’s Salon. We’re looking forward to more books, more episodes of The Lit Chick Show, and for your books to be made into films. I hope you’ll have a part for an American actress. You know, a modern mix of Rosalind Russell and Eve Arden. Just a thought.

Jennifer 'Mme' Perry

Massara: Jennifer, the minute any of my books become movies you are guaranteed a cameo role right alongside of me :-) In the meantime, I would love to feature you on The Lit Chick Show so you can come and tell us all about your wonderful Salon.

Thank you for featuring me on Madame Perry's Salon; I think this is a wonderful place to be and I feel honoured. You've made me feel much at ease and very welcome.

Perry: An invitation I am thrilled to accept. Thank you.

You can buy Sylvia's books in print, download them, watch The Lit Chick Show, plus follow her on twitter, facebook, and LinkedIn.

Candace Dempsey, author of MURDER IN ITALY, visits Mme. Perry's Salon

2011-03-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

You've read the sensational headlines in newspapers, magazines, online media and the tabloids about the tragic death, bizarre circumstances and shocking theories in the death of the British student Meredith Kercher, and the arrest, trial and conviction of her American roommate, Amanda Knox. Or maybe you watched the Lifetime movie about these two young women attending school in Italy. If you haven't read MURDER IN ITALY by Candace Dempsey, the Italian-American journalist who has covered the entire story from the beginning, you are in for an even greater shock.

MURDER IN ITALY (Penguin/Berkley Books) received the Best True Crime Book of 2010 Editor’s Choice Award and Best True Crime Book of 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards. We are very pleased to have author Candace Dempsey visit Madame Perry's Salon.

Jennifer Perry: Welcome to Madame Perry’s Salon, Candace. We are joined by my friend, Atlanta broadcast professional Joy Barge. We are so delighted that you could make time to talk with us.

As I told you before, many times I passed your book MURDER IN ITALY as I scoured the true crime shelves at bookstores. Having bought the sensational media and legal conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the horrible murder of Meredith Kercher, I didn’t think my opinion could be swayed. Then I bought your book, and was absolutely amazed.

Please tell us how you came to be covering the story, and how you were able to get such a close up view of the proceedings?

Candace Dempsey: The Amanda Knox case has beautiful people, sex, drugs, Italy, a hilltop college town, tragedy. A real-life murder mystery. For me, it’s a natural. I’m an Italian-American journalist from Seattle, Amanda’s hometown. I have many sources there and in Italy, where I flew for trial and interviews. I know Italy well, because I have family there.

In fact, I’d just returned from Rome in 2007 when I heard a British student had been murdered in Perugia, Seattle’s sister city, and that the main suspect was Amanda, an honor student from the University of Washington in Seattle. Meredith Kercher’s stabbing was so sad, tragic and ironic. I had to write about it on my seattlepi.com blog.

Joy Barge: For some reason, the first time I saw this story I didn't believe Amanda Knox was guilty. It seemed from the start a sort of media hysteria. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be in another country accused of such a heinous crime. When did your opinion about the case begin to change?

Author Candace Dempsey

Dempsey: When police claimed Amanda was cultivating marijuana in her Perugia garden. That’s like growing orchids outdoors in the Arctic. When police lie like that, I get curious. They also told reporters that Amanda had called drifter Rudy Guede, supposedly a co-conspirator, before and after the murder. He didn’t even have a cell phone and police knew it. They’d taken it away on Oct. 27, because Rudy had stolen it.

Even prestigious newspapers like The Times of London simply typed up whatever police or prosecutors leaked on a given day - no matter how illogical or nonsensical. That certainly made me wonder if Amanda could be innocent.

Perry: It seems that Kercher and Knox met because they both responded to a billboard notice seeking roommates, and knew each other only a few weeks before the murder. Knox was with her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito that night anyway. Did it seem this was just disregarded in favor of sensational headlines?

Dempsey: Yes, the roommates shared quarters little more than a month. Nobody knew anybody very well. Meredith’s British friends described Amanda harshly in court, but most of them had met her only once—at the police station after the murder. They became suspicious only after her arrest.

Barge: Do you think Amanda Fox was so targeted by Italian authorities and the media because she is American? Did that have any bearing on her case?

Meredith Kercher

Dempsey: I’m not sure she was targeted, but anti-Americanism plays a part. Read the comments in Italian newspapers. They’ll bring up Guantanamo Bay, the electric chair, George Bush, U.S. arrogance. They’ll talk about “Natural Born Killers” like it’s a documentary. Amanda Knox becomes Sharon Stone in “Basic Instincts.”
There’s also hypocrisy. Perugia’s been called a “Disneyland of drugs” and prostitution thrives there, but you’d think Amanda invented marijuana and premarital sex. The prosecutor was fixated on vibrator and condoms. Very few of Perugia’s 40,000 college students are American. Perugia has serious crime problems that we didn’t cause.

Perry: The Kercher family seemed convinced of Knox’s guilt. Their grief and heartbreak is certainly painful. Do they seem at all swayed by the information brought to light in your book?

Dempsey: Victim’s families usually side with the prosecution. They need to trust someone. We’re all looking at the same facts. I doubt they’ve read my book.

Amanda Knox

Barge: Amanda and her family were recently in the news again on new charges. What do you think about this? Are you in touch with her family at all?

Dempsey: Yes, I’m in touch with Amanda’s family. They’re accessible to journalists. Yes, she’s in court all the time. Her 26-year murder conviction is on appeal. She and her parents are also being tried for slander. Twelve police offers have brought charges against her because she said an officer hit her twice during an all-night interrogation. Her parents are being tried simply for telling a reporter what Amanda said about the hitting.
Police refuse to provide videotapes, audio or even transcript of that interrogation. So it’s a police said/they said. Amanda already has a 26-year sentence. To Americans, these new trials look like harassment, especially when the financially drained parents are hauled into court.

Whatever happens, I’ll cover every twist and turn in the Amanda Knox case on my blog.

Perry: I believe we all want true justice in this case, and for Meredith Kercher’s family and friends to find some peace and consolation after such a despicable tragedy.

Thank you for giving us so much of your time here, Candace, and for your excellent reporting of events. For both the Kercher and Knox families, it is vital that someone is diligently watching the developments with an interest in the truth.

Coming Soon! Interview with Candace Dempsey, award winning author of MURDER IN ITALY

2011-03-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

My good friend, broadcast professional Joy Barge, and I interviewed Candace Dempsey about her book MURDER IN ITALY. An Italian-American journalist who covered the Meredith Kercher murder investigation and the trial of Amanda Knox from the beginning, Dempsey gives up a close up view you can't and won't get from media or the Lifetime movie.

I'll post the interview later this week. For now, check out Dempsey's blog.SeattlePI - Candace Dempsey - Lifetime pulls disturbing Amanda Knox video.

The Killing Storm by Kathryn Casey

2010-12-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

Many of my blog followers wrote to let me know they enjoyed my interview with author Kathryn Casey about her book SHATTERED. Some were fans who told me to waste no time getting to her fiction thrillers now that I've read all of her true crime books. Casey is another successful and brilliant writer who gave generously of her time to Madame Perry's Salon, for which we are honored.

Enjoy this trailer for The Killing Storm by Kathryn Casey. Then get the book as fast as you can. And a nightlight.

MOMMY'S LITTLE GIRL

2010-12-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

Author and Edgar Award Finalist Diane Fanning was very generous with her time when invited to Madame Perry's Salon. Her books are extremely well researched and tightly written. I encourage you to visit her website and purchase her books at your favorite bookstore.

I think reading true crime books teaches us to be aware of circumstances around us that aren't quite right, and to use reason when deciding what information to share with authorities when needed. Caylee Anthony had every right to grow up and enjoy her life.

The Grips Kthjellu - Tonight is your night MTV EXIT 2010 OFFICIAL VIDEO ...

2010-12-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

Mentor Haziri, of the Albanian band Kthjellu, was one of my first co-interviewers here when at Madame Perry's Salon. Here is a video of their song "Tonight Is Your Night" from an MTV special. Mme. Perry obviously is a fan and recommends checking out their CD. Expect them to be here again in 2011.

Aura Imbarus - Out of the Transylvania Night Book Signing Party.

2010-12-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

As the year closes I want to thank everyone who has been kind enough to read Madame Perry's Salon, leave me comments, share it with others, and especially the wonderful authors who've been generous with their interviews. They gave their time, in the midst of busy lives, line editing, promotions and much more even though I am not a famous person. Until year's end I will be playing bits of video of each and encouraging everyone to check out each of these brilliant writers.

Aura Imbarus made friends with me on a book bloggers ning. I loved e-mailing with her because she not only is intelligent with a broad knowledge horizon, but this woman has a very keen sense of humor! Even after the difficulties of living through Ceacescu's Communist regime and even more setbacks she details, Aura embraces life and a good challenge, and keeps that snappy sense of humor on hand in just about any language you choose. Love you Aura, thanks for honoring me with your friendship.

Out of the Transylvania Night: A Story of Tyranny, Freedom, Love and Identity by Aura Imbarus, Ph.D.

2010-11-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

There is great value in this thing called the internet, despite several publicized incidents that would make us to think otherwise. Discovering a 'ning' of bloggers who are passionate about books and their authors led me to the brilliant guest of this post. Actually, she very kindly made me welcome to the group the first day I joined, and I’m delighted.

A brief bit of background, Aura Imbarus was born and raised in Sibiu/Hermannstadt, Romania, or more precisely in “Dracula’s county - Transylvania," Ms. Imbarus attended Lucian Blaga University, earning an MA degree in American and British Studies and a Ph.D. in Philology with the distinction Cum Laude. From 1990 to 1997, she worked as a journalist for Radio Contact, The National Journal, and Gallup Poll in Sibiu, Romania.

In 1997, Aura immigrated to Los Angeles, where she continued her education at UCLA and began her teaching career both as a high school and college professor. She is an educator, professional speaker, and the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Out of the Transylvania Night: A Story of Tyranny, Freedom, Love and Identity, and a book for teens, 101 Great Ways to Make the World a Totally Awesome Place - By Teens For Teens, both fall 2010 releases.

You may recall that Aura was my co-interviewer when author Diane Fanning was featured here, or that I posted Aura's book trailer. She graciously made time to come back and discuss Out of the Transylvania Night: A Story of Tyranny, Freedom, Love and Identity.

Madame Perry: You take us into your family’s home in the time before and during the Romanian Revolution and show us the day to day life in personal, cultural and social realms, including having to bury your family’s most valued heirlooms. It is very beautiful to see how much you value each other and your heritage.

Aura Imbarus, Ph.D.: Money is a commodity that can be gained or lost, but the most important thing we carry with us is our heritage. No matter what you will do in life and where you will end up living, the roots will be the ones providing stability and that sense of belonging every human being longs for. The love and care we have shared cannot be purchased with all the money in the world.

Perry: Did most of your neighbors and relatives, even with their hopes, believe they would live to see Romania as it is today?

Imbarus: The old generations, like my Grandma’s one, have seen or had better days. They never lost the freedom’s torch and their hope that one day Romania will see the end of its suffering, and the borders will open up and people will travel the world. My parents’ generation has been skeptical. Some of them believed in a brighter tomorrow, while others never saw it coming. I always believed that Romania would find its way out of Communism, but I also knew that I would end up in a bigger country, one that has an ocean line and palm trees. It has been a vision I had since I was a child and has never left me until I landed on LAX, fulfilling my premonitions and déjà-vu.

Perry: Do you feel the depravation and struggles create a deeper appreciation of freedom than many of us in America can grasp?

Aura Imbarus, Ph.D.

Imbarus: The lack of something (or someone) creates the desire and the addiction to posses it. You really never know what you have had unless you will lose it. The inexistence of something you held before will give you the motivation to do everything in your power to get it back. Depravation and poverty can be motivators of success. Americans never missed their freedom or the opportunity to gain financial success, political, cultural, and religious independence. It is hard to see what you are missing or if you are missing something when you were never exposed to the other side of the coin.

"I am my best friend and my most unbeatable enemy. I constantly challenged myself . . . "

Perry: When you and your husband came to America, it took a lot of courage to live meagerly and accept low-paying jobs even though you were both very intelligent and well educated people. How did you manage to persevere and keep up your morale?

Imbarus: A strong foundation and a high self esteem that was ingrained in me since I was child have helped me tremendously. On one hand, my parents never accepted anything but the best from me, and, on the other hand, I never let them down. So, failure was not a word in my vocabulary. Did I have awkward moments in my journey? Of course, I did, but it is not how many times I failed, but how many times I succeeded. I knew that whatever I was doing at one point in my life would get better if I will hold my head high and keep my integrity untouched.

Perry: Aura! That last sentence alone makes a powerful mantra. When your hard work paid off, what drove you to keep climbing the ladder of success, instead of leveling off and taking it easy?

Imbarus: The spirit of competition I have in me is not in reference to others but to my own self. I am my best friend and my most unbeatable enemy. I constantly challenged myself in the long hours I work, in the multi-tasking I put up with, and in the barriers and obstacles I want to surmount. As long as I cannot see the end of the road, the battle is not over. In my case the end will be when I will stop breathing. I love psychological, strenuous trekking, and the challenges that come with them. Like Mark Twain once said, “I never let schooling interfere with my education,” I assert something along those lines as well: I will never let my spirit be tamed and my desire of life be curved.

From Transyvania - Special Gifts and Psychic Phenomena

Perry: Your grandmother’s quote “Out of the bleakest winter night come the hungriest wolves,” surely described the despair you felt when it seemed you were suffering not a mere reversal of fortune, but a collapse of the structure and security you had built in your new life. Did you feel you could call on the love and spirits of family members who had passed away for guidance and hope?

Imbarus: Between life and death there is a thin, invisible line. Love is the eternal feeling that transcends time and space, so, yes, I truly believe there is something out there way bigger than us, way more powerful that our mere brain can comprehend. I constantly feel their presence around me; another set of eyes looking at the same things I am looking at and guiding me. I believe in numerology and in karma; I don’t believe in coincidences even if they might appear to be like that. I think that all present people in our lives carry a special message, and it is up to us to see it and decipher it.

Perry: Yes, I also feel certain loved ones who have passed on very near me at times. Also I believe, and enjoy, wonderful moments of synchronicity. Which brings me to the question – is it true that people from Transylvania tend to have special psychic gifts?

Imbarus: There are some big names of psychics of Romanian origin out there, so there must be something in the air. I do believe due to topography and laws of physics, ESP and psychic phenomena are really present in Transylvania.

Perry: And your special gifts would be?

Imbarus: I had dreams during high school and college alerting me of future testing topics; I predicted my ranking at the college admission, and I even saw the desk I would be sitting at. I always knew that I would end up in a country similar to America. I still have premonitions about myself, but I cannot see or predict for anybody else.

Perry: Aura, I am so glad to have met you. And I thank you for sharing your story about life during and after the Romanian Revolution; and about the beauty of your love of family and country, with all of us.

Aura: JP, thank you so much for reviewing my book and truly picking up on its themes. It is never too late to find out that a new fan or a new friend was just born for you. You are that new addition to my life!

Perry: You are so gracious, Aura, and you know I'm enjoying getting to know your sharp sense of humor. Please don't be a stranger here in my salon. For everyone reading this, I urge you to get Out of the Transylvania Night: A Story of Tyranny, Freedom, Love and Identity and read it. You can visit Aura’s website, and follow her on Twitter.

SHATTERED, The Latest True Crime Book By Author Kathryn Casey.

2010-10-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Kathryn Casey has written six true crime books, three mystery novels and countless magazine articles. Fortunately for her readers, she doesn't appear to slowing down - ever. Indeed, she's had two books published in the last four months. I've read each of her true crime titles and am starting her novels next.

SHATTERED, released in August, was in the top ten on Amazon's best selling true crime list for over a month prior to publication, and continues to be a best seller in paperback and kindle. SHATTERED is the story of David Temple and Belinda Lucas Temple, who appeared to be the model of the all American ideal couple. David and Belinda were attractive, popular, successful, well-educated, and starting a beautiful family. That is, until the myth was exposed and destroyed by the horrible murder of Belinda and her unborn baby.

Kathryn Casey has somehow made room in her schedule to visit Madame Perry's Salon to talk about SHATTERED, so let us begin.

Perry: Welcome to Madame Perry's Salon, Kathryn. Tell me, at what point did you begin following the murder of Belinda Lucas Temple who was eight months pregnant with a baby girl when she was murdered; and when did you decide you wanted to write this book?

Kathryn Casey: I noticed the articles quickly after the murder, and then kept tabs on the case over the years, googling it every so often to see if there was any news. I knew that if the case was ever solved/prosecuted, I would have to be in the courtroom. I was fascinated by what had happened and the long, seemingly endless investigation. For a long time, nothing. Then David Temple was arrested, and I made plans to go to the trial. That was my first real commitment of time, six weeks in the courtroom. From that point on, I worked on the book for about a year, full time.

Perry: Because of his stellar football career David Temple was practically treated like a rock star in the community. How challenging was it for you to get people who knew and admired him to talk about him?''

Casey: It wasn't easy, but then that's often a challenge with true crime books. But I was persistent, and it paid off. Eventually, many people did talk with me and the book took shape. As much as his celebrity status in Katy, the problem was that quite a few people were afraid of David. He's a big, muscular guy with a notoriously bad temper. Even though he was behind prison walls, some people worried for their safety.

Perry: The Temple family certainly appears to be a very tight clan, even to the point where the families of their sons' wife were not considered during major holidays and events. Therefore Belinda was never with the Lucases, her own family, on Christmas or other special days. Yet after her brutal murder when police questioned David's involvement the family - except for Belinda's twin sister - loudly defended him. It must have been very difficult to get them to discuss the loss of their daughter and granddaughter.

Casey and Max

Casey: It wasn't too long after the murder before Tom and Carol Lucas began questioning their son-in-law's possible involvement. By the time I met them, they'd spent years fighting to bring David to justice. Once they understood that I was committed to writing a fair and accurate account of their daughter's murder, they agreed to talk to me. Still, those are painful memories. It's often very difficult for parents, siblings, loved ones to discuss the awful moment of that first phone call, signaling that someone they love has died.

The days that followed are so emotional, and then there's that awful realization that a young man they thought of as a son was a controlling, abusive husband and a murderer. The Lucases carried the burden of Belinda's murder for so many years, fighting for justice. It was truly heartbreaking.

Perry: I've read every one of your true crime books, Kathryn, and you get deep in the stories of some evil, twisted people. Do you have some process you go through to sort of detoxify yourself emotionally and psychically after finishing an intense true crime story?

Kathryn Casey in the courtroom
during the Celeste Beard trial.

Casey: No, I'm really fine. The secret is that when I work on a true crime book, I meet maybe one or two really bad people, a few I probably wouldn't invite over for dinner, but for the most part dozens and dozens of truly fine individuals simply trying to live their lives. To write a book like SHATTERED, I talk to somewhere around 100 sources. Maybe five percent are unsavory. For the most part, the people I meet are good people simply caught up in a horrible tragedy.

That said, I have begun writing crime fiction. My third novel, THE KILLING STORM, is coming out on October 26th. I do think that the fiction helps, that it's a release from covering real-life murders. I have so much fun with it that I think of it as therapy.

Perry: Congratulations on the excellent sales for far, I wish you much more success.

Casey: Thank you! It's appreciated.

You may visit Kathyrn Casey's website, follow her on Twitter, and her author page on FaceBook. And of course, get out and buy her books now.

Fader Vixen - Performs 'Laser Fire' at their Studio

2010-10-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

Toniet Gallego of Fader Vixen

Toniet
Talking with her muse, perhaps?

Music for Monday evening. Toniet Gallego is a multi-media artist, writer, performer, craftsperson and musican. She is also a freind who inspires me greatly, and will be a guest here soon.

Crucifying Angel, Book One of the Future Imperfect Series by P.I. Barrington

2010-10-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Fans of sci-fi detective thrillers, this one's for you. Madame Perry's Salon is delighted to introduce you to author P.I. Barrington, here to discuss her book Crucifying Angel.

Perry: How did you choose the location and year for the setting of the Future Imperfect series?

Barrington: I wanted someplace that easily lent itself to dystopia and Las Vegas pretty much filled the bill. Under all that façade of glitz and glamour Vegas.

Perry: That sounds right on target. The themes that propel the plot – cults, crucifixes, interpretations of the Holy Bible – though not new will remain in literature because they are ripe with danger, hope, fear, love, lust, power, and just about every other human emotion, strength or frailty. Did you feel it could also be treacherous terrain to plant the crux of the story’s conflict there?

Barrington: Actually, it wasn't that deep an interpretation. I did want to explore guilt in all its myriad facets, especially with Gavin and Payce and their huge baggage but with the killer, Ralphie Teon , I just wanted to give him a crusade; some motive in his mind that evolved out of a twisted childhood that he could use to justify his killings and that could be manipulated by someone real outside Ralphie's mind, using that crusade to eliminate people.

Perry: Sorry, P.I., but I had to hit the blackout button over the killer’s name for the folks who haven’t read or haven’t completed Crucifying Angel. I sense a bit of the author in Sgt. Payce Halligan. If that is true, or not, please tell me what handsome Brit you see in the role of Detective Gavin McAllister?

Barrington: In fact Payce is not really like me at all. She's little and cute and sweet, not snarky like me. She might come up with a smartass remark but that's rare for her whereas I can't stop doing it, lol! She takes her job as a cop seriously, it defines her.

As for Gavin, I've been looking for him since day one! I know in my mind what he looks like but it's been almost a year since Crucifying Angel came out and I still haven't found any man that looks like him to me—and I've looked at a lot of gorgeous men Brit or otherwise! All I can tell you about Gavin in terms of physicality is that he speaks a lot like John Nettles—doesn't look like him—but speaks like him.

Perry: Ooh, love John Nettles. Actors? Check out Patrick Ryecart or Martin Kemp. Yes, Martin, wait. where was I? Because this is set in the near future, what type of research did you do to project the conditions of the earth and its atmosphere? And of course, you created several items of forensic methods and tools, as well as police equipment. Did you consult with experts in those fields, or was the work all yours?

P. I. Barrington

Barrington: I did some research at the beginning of CA. I researched the pollution sources from the mines and looked up some of the effects of that pollution on local wildlife, things like that. The terrible thing is that when I set up The New Creation compound and this is honest to God true: I thought Area 51 was in New Mexico and after I'd written the book I realized I'd set the location very near to where Area 51 sits!

About the tools and weapons, you know it's amazing but last week someone who'd read the book emailed and attached a news article about spray-on clothes that have just been unveiled by scientists, no kidding. And one aspect the article mentioned is that part of the reason for the spray-on clothing is for germicidal protection which is why I came up with the spray-on surgical gloves. I wanted something that could be safe and easily disposed of for use in the later books. Again, I swear I never heard of spray-on clothes before I came up with the gloves, lol! What I try to do is look at what technology we have and try to think of ways I'd like to deal with situations that are unique and new but also a logical progression of technology.

I've said before, I'm no scientist but I like to give verisimilitude to my technology. For the police related procedures I did have LAPD and other police departments' contacts but in the end I realized that I was creating this dystopia and so I could dispense with normal police procedures. Gavin being hired so quickly is the example of that. Las Vegas, 2032, is just too financially pressed to bother with background checks or go through the hoops. LVPD needs bodies not regulations and because things are rapidly deteriorating, they shove any legality aside.

Perry: You leave us with a bit of a cliff-hanger for the next book of the series – Miraculous Deception. How many titles do you have slated for the Future Imperfect series?

Barrington: As we speak I have literally delivered the complete manuscript for Book Three: Final Deceit to my editor. Book Three will be the final book in the Future Imperfect series.

Perry: As John Nettles might say in his Barnaby character, “Well done, you!” So glad to have you visit us here. And here I'll tell people they can follow your work, read excerpts and order from The Word Mistresses.