{: M.J. Rose is welcomed to Jorie Loves A Story :}
Book Synopsis:
From one of America’s most imaginative storytellers comes a passionate tale of love and treachery, spanning the days of Catherine de Medici’s court to the twenty-first century and starring a woman drawn back, time and again, to the past.
In 1533, an Italian orphan with an uncanny knack for creating fragrance is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. To repay his debt, over the years René le Florentine is occasionally called upon to put his vast knowledge to a darker purpose: the creation of deadly poisons used to dispatch the Queen’s rivals.
But it’s René’s other passion—a desire to reanimate a human breath, to bring back the lives of the two people whose deaths have devastated him—that incites a dangerous treasure hunt five centuries later. That’s when Jac L’Etoile—suffering from a heartache of her own—becomes obsessed with the possibility of unlocking Rene’s secret to immortality.
Soon Jac’s search reconnects her with Griffin North, a man she’s loved her entire life. Together they confront an eccentric heiress whose art collection rivals many museums and who is determined to keep her treasures close at hand, not just in this life but in her next.
Set in the forest of Fontainebleau, crisscrossing the lines between the past and the present, M.J. Rose has written a mesmerizing tale of passion and obsession. This is a Gothic tale perfect for fans of Anne Rice, Deborah Harkness, and Diana Galbadon.
Author Biography:
M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of fourteen novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.
Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.
I was thankful to be on the blog tour for M.J. Rose’s new novel “The Collector of Dying Breaths”, as I have always been rather keenly curious about her writings and style of story-telling! I always am quite happy when I have the proper chance to get to know an author a bit better, and whilst I host an author on my blog in a guest feature I feel as though I not only get to gain the insight for myself but for my readers as well! I decided to focus my questions for Ms. Rose based on the Reincarnationist series as a whole, but also with a particular focus on the ‘fragrance’ trilogy of books as I like to refer to them: “The Book of Lost Fragrances”, “Seduction”, and “The Collector of Dying Breaths”. These are the Gothic Literature stories which I happily started to soak into by picking up “The Book of Lost Fragrances”! I was rather surprised to find the Gothic elements and the ethereal back-story set in and around the cemetery to get the story started and to allow Jac L’Etoile to come alive for me!
Here are the questions which came to mind whilst researching the author online and listening to previous interviews of hers on YouTube as much as recorded in print media or the blogosphere. I was thankful she had time to sit down and respond to my enquiries.
Did the idea for the perfume journal come to you from research or did someone give you the idea which inspired you to conduct the experiment yourself?
Rose responds: It was my idea… I just love keeping journals.
What is your opinion of the dying breaths? As there are two schools of thought within the concept: one of science and one of faith.
Rose responds: I don’t really know – I’m fascinated but these things are all metaphors for me, I don’t try to decide on them.
On the level of scent being a powerful visceral memory, do you ever notice that when your watching a motion picture (either in a theater or at home) that your nose betwixt’s your sensory perception by a strong urgent scent that is not physically present. For instance, in a scene which has a heavy presence of smokers, we can smell the repugnance of cigarette smoke. Has this happened to you?
Rose responds: Lucky you – no – that never happens to me.
What was your favourite part of researching “The Collector of Dying Breaths”, as one would presume its the perfume, but perhaps another thread of the story sparked a deeper interest?
Rose responds: I loved going to Fontainebleau and walking in the forest and driving around looking for the perfect chateau in the neighborhood to place the book. I also loved finding out about the cabinets of curiosities throughout history and what they held.
As you have already stated that “The Book of Lost Fragrances” was inspired by your research into the history of perfume leading you to Cleopatra’s infamous lost book of fragrances, I was curious if there could have been a nefarious reason for it to become lost?
Rose responds: There might have been but no one know anything other than it really existed but hasn’t been seen since the 6th century.
As part of your research, do you get to travel to where the impetus for writing your novels begin, such as the Middle East on behalf of what you learnt about Cleopatra?
Rose responds: No, I have gone to some places. France, Italy, Austria – but not the Middle East. Since that’s in the past and so long ago I console myself that its very different now anyway.
Regarding your first book “The Reincarnationist” as you have spoken about it was based on your research for past life regression, as well as your own experiences to understand your soul’s past; do you think one day you will be enlightened to find what your character Malachi is seeking?
Rose responds: I didn’t spend much time looking for myself… it was always research for what I was writing. I never was able to find any past life memories for myself and didn’t torture myself about the way Malachai does. And yes, I have an idea for a Malachai book where he finally will get a glimpse of who he was.
Was part of the basis for the flute used in “The Memorist” due to the fact that music has a way of resonating with us on a deeper plane than spoken words?
Rose responds: The other way around. I had the idea for the flute first – no idea why – and then found out in researching it that it was a perfect choice. That happens to me a lot. I must have known it on an unconscious level though – I can’t be psychic.
An interesting part of your Book Trib interview from 2012 delves into the aspect of reincarnation and how the topic was a central part of your life from age three forward. Ironically or not, people always have a habit of claiming that my Mum & I are either twins or sisters. No one ever accepts the truth that we’re simply a mother and a daughter. This has led us to some rather fantastical musings of our own, as many times people stare at us unable to accept how similar we appear and how similar we speak as much as we ‘twin talk’ too. Regarding this did you ever find any evidence about the Russian cousin being embodied in your spirit?
Rose responds: No, I’ve never had any past life memories myself.
I love your fascination regarding perfumes – are you going to have an MJ Rose fragrance? And, if so are you going to make it through synthetic scent or natural? Which is your preference through your research? And, what types of scents are you drawn to most – flowery or earthy to include if you had your choice?
Rose responds: Joya Studios created a fragrance for my main character Jac L’Etoile – its here. I even got to name it – Jac L’Etoile, the parfum of M.J. Rose.
Personally I like vanilla and spice and roses.
I am finding that readers are searching for a home-base at an Indie bookshoppe rather than seeking online or big box store venues. There appears to be a Renaissance in the publishing industry right now towards getting back to basics: where readers enjoy interacting with each other, authors, and Indie bookshoppes as much as local libraries and librarians. There is a new shift towards greening print books to reduce our footprint in paper and tradition printing practices as well. For me this is encouraging as I can only read books in print format as much as I adore in-person connectability. What are your thoughts and impressions on this subject?
Rose responds: I hope you are right. I think the biggest problem we face and indie stores face right now is that books are expensive and people are drawn to 99c and $1.99 ebook sales and I understand why. It’s hard to pay full price when there are so many inexpensive books available.
Outside the scope of being a writer and a researcher, where does MJ Rose the woman like to travel for pleasure and personal enjoyment?
Rose responds: I love anywhere by the water and places by the water that have fabulous museums and great shoes.
Official Author Websites: Site | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads
Converse on Twitter: #TheCollectorOfDyingBreaths, #TheReincarnationist,
This Author Interview is courtesy of:
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And, kindly return on Tuesday for my ruminations on
“The Collector of Dying Breaths”!
Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
{SOURCES: Book cover for “The Collector of Dying Breaths”, Author Biography and Book Synopsis were provided by HFVBT – Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with permission. Author Interview badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers & My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. In conjunction with reading the novel for review on behalf of HFVBTs, I wanted to interview Ms. Rose to gain an insight her style of story-telling. My questions were sent to the author and received a reply through HFVBTs for which I am thankful.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.
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