1) Did you always want to be an author or did you stumble upon the process of writing?

Music and writing have always been integral parts of my life.  Therefore, I have always known that my career would follow the paths of music and writing. 

Since the age of three, I have been playing the violin, singing, dancing, acting, and performing throughout my community.  I also play the piano and am an alumnus of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra.  I have won numerous musical awards, including the honor of conducting the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at the 2002 “Concert on the Green” celebration.

I learned to read at the age of two and have been a voracious reader ever since.  The more you read, the better writer you will become.  It also helps to not confine yourself to one specific genre, so that you can be well rounded. 

I also experimented with short stories when I was really young, but had never considered turning writing into a career until I read “Crime and Punishment” when I was 17.  There was just something about that book and the way Dostoevsky “painted with words” that inspired me and made me want to dedicate myself to being a great storyteller.  

Additionally, and this is going to sound really corny, but I also “knew” I wanted to be a writer and make it my life’s passion after seeing “The Fellowship of the Ring.”  There is a part in it where Gandalf tells Frodo “all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”  That just struck a chord with me so profoundly and has since become my all time favorite quote and sort of my motto.       

2) How long did it take you to write the book?

It took me eight months and three days to write the whole first draft—from May 1, 2003, through January 4, 2004.  Of course, then it took another four years of revisions and rewrites to get it polished and beefed up, but that was mostly because my college workload intensified greatly and my time was at a premium.  Earning both a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in four years and five months was very intense! 

3) How did the idea for the book come to be?

Well, it was really weird.  I had thought up the characters of Ilyse, Sergei, Maurice, and Ian (although he was named Jean-Luc at the time and was French) back in May of 2002.  Then I put them away in the back of my mind and did not think about them at all until one night in December of that same year.  I was cleaning up my room, and, for some odd reason, I started to sing these verses:  “Tonight’s the last time that I’ll see your face, my love.  This dreadful moment has finally come to be.  Tonight the passion ends for you and me, my love.  I’m traveling to a place where life will be hell for me...good-bye.”  It hit me like lightning then, and I immediately started to write down all sorts of questions, like “Why is her life going to be hell, and who is taking her away?”  (Sergei).  “Why does he have such control over her?”  (Patronage and Maurice), etc, etc.  So that was the defining moment that allowed me to get all my thoughts together and really “have at” with the novel.  

4) What kind of research did you do for your book?

Since the book takes place in 1894, I did a lot of research concerning the vernacular and when words entered the language because it would not do to have 19^th century characters speaking like 21^st century mall rats, right??  ;)  I had always had a fascination with Paris, so I did more research on the city and also the people of the time, like Toulouse Lautrec, who pops up in the first chapter briefly.  I also did research on train travel, distances between cities, and city publications, such as the magazine “Le Rire.”  That was an awesome find because it just so happened that the magazine was first printed in September or October of 1894, so that gave me the whole idea for having Monsieur Lautrec do lithographs of Ilyse for the inaugural of “Le Rire” a few months after the story began.  That just amused me to no end.  ;)  I also did research on the Eiffel Tower and the lifts. 

5) Did you visit Paris or any of the places you write about?

Oddly enough, I did not get to Paris until *after* I had finished writing the first draft of “COL.”  I visited in April of 2004 and stayed in a hotel whose décor could have passed for furniture from Ilyse’s time, and I do not mean that as a compliment.  ;)  It was an awesome, unforgettable trip and I really hope I can make it back someday. 

6) When you say it took you 8 months to write the book, do you mean you wrote every day those 8 months?

I tried to write every day, but there was a dry period in there during October.  I really was most productive during the months of July and August, where I would sit for hours at the computer, typing my little brains out.  Additionally, at the beginning of June, I sketched out an entire outline of the novel, characters, and where I wanted the story to go.  That helped tremendously, but boy did that outline change when I started writing!  I am experiencing this now with the first book in my fantasy trilogy, "HommyGobby."  The characters are being very cheeky and taking over, even going so far as to force me to include an entire unplanned chapter because one of them happened to mention a certain place that really needed to be explored further.  Hmph! ;) The nerve...

7) What was your writing process?  I understand that some authors need to be in the privacy of the outdoors or a summer or winter home or with no noise, or with a special type of music in the background, or only at night, etc.  What was your method?

Well, noise never bothered me.  In fact, I listened to music a lot when I was writing.  The most inspirational song, and the song that really struck a chord with me and defined Ilyse and Ian to a tee, was Lifehouse's "Hanging by a Moment."  AHH!  If “COL” ever becomes a movie, I am getting the Lifehouse boys' permission to use that song on the soundtrack and in the previews!  ;)  Here's the link for the song:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xyqruTi_0eU

*sniffles*  It still chokes me up. :)

I wrote at all hours of the day and night, but, frustratingly, I always got (and still do) my best ideas right before I fell asleep!  Highly inconvenient... ;)

8) Were your family and friends supportive?  Did you share the chapters with anyone before it was finished?  Did you run it by anyone?

A big time YES!  They all thought it was awesome that I was going to be a writer.  I would tell them snippets of the story and the general outline, but I didn't start sharing chapters with them until I was almost finished.  Of course, my mother was my personal proofreader and sounding board throughout the entire process.  J

9) Was there anyone that at any time told you or made you feel it was a stupid endeavor or you could never do it?

Never.  I was exceptionally blessed in that all my family and friends were amazingly supportive and never told me I couldn't do it.  Plus, my mom has always taught me that everything is possible with God, and as long as He's on my team, whom should I fear??? :o)

10) How did you come up with the names of the characters?

Oh, boy!  Well, when I was very young, I used to be crazy about Barbie dolls.  I had the French “Doll of the World” Barbie and wanted to give her an authentic, unusual French name, so I did research in my mom's baby name book and found Ilyse—it stuck!  I never forgot that name, so when the idea for “COL” hit me, that was the first name I thought of.  Ilyse's last name was originally Gastineau, but after thinking more about it, I liked it less and less.  I stumbled upon Charpentier in a French surnames search and when I found out that it meant Carpenter in French, I really started to like it and it stuck, too! :D  Maurice was always Maurice to me.  When I thought about Ilyse having a brother, I said, "Maurice! That's it."  Manon Larue:  I had always liked the name Manon after seeing the novel "Manon Lescaut" on one of my book searches and Larue was a nod to one of my favorite authors, Gaston Leroux, creator of "The Phantom of the Opera."  I just changed the spelling to make the homage less obvious. ;)

Then comes the Russian contingent.  Sergei Rakmanovich:  Sergei was named Sergei because I liked Sergei Fedorov (hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings, now with the Washington Capitals) when I started writing “COL.”  Rakmanovich is made up.  I wanted something that sounded like Rachmaninoff, the Russian composer, so I gave it some thought and Rakmanovich popped into my head.  It has a note of menace to it with that whole "Rak," so I thought it would be good for the Count.  I had heard the name Vasily in the movie "K-19" and liked it immediately.  Markolovick is also made up.

And lastly, for Ian. *sighs dreamily* ;)  Ian was a name I had always liked and McCarthy was the last name of my great, great, great Irish grandpa on my father's side:  Charles McCarthy. You will get a surprise toward the end of the novel concerning this family linkage. ;)  Oh, and he's really minor, but Gaspard, the tour guide for the provincial young pups at the beginning, was given that name because gasper means cigarette.  I felt all clever and "inside joke-ish" doing that. ;)

11) When you went to France, did you go to the same areas that you write about in the book?  Did you go to do more research?  Or did you go for fun?

Of course I went to the same areas!  And I took lots of pictures.  ;)  My main goal was getting to Le Parc Monceau.  That was a highlight.  To walk in the same willowed avenues that Ilyse did was just a thrill.  I also indirectly found a location for “Le Perle” if “COL” ever becomes a movie—Maxim's.  They have a little stage in the back, and the place is just gorgeous inside and dripping with fin de siècle glamour.  Of course, we would have to add slightly more gilding and extravagant set work to make it like Le Briand's little French jewel, but that is all cosmetic. ;)  The place is virtually perfect.