What
inspired you to become an author?
It
might have been related to an early shopping experience. I’ve been hooked on books
since I first cracked the cover of one of those Little Golden Books. I may have
been sitting in a grocery cart at the time. My mom sprung for a Little Golden
Book each time she went to the grocery to keep me content while she was
shopping. Thanks, Mom!
Do you have a specific writing
style?
Yes.
I’d say it’s lush and descriptive. I want readers to visualize things in new
and interesting ways as they turn the pages of my book. Dialogue is a great
window into the unique and sometimes conflicting natures and perspectives of
characters. I like to make dialogue ring true while also having a little fun
with it. Although my characters experience some strong emotions, I naturally
lighten my writing with flashes of humor.
How did you come up with the title
for your latest book?
I like one word titles and I’ve always been
attracted to old-school words. One of
the reasons I feel “bespoken” fits so well as the title of my book is that the
two main characters in the story, Casey Sloane and the nightangel Gabriel, are
bound to attribute very different meanings to it.
“Bespoken” is the kind of word I believe would come
naturally to the nightangel Gabriel.
He’s all about pledges and promises, even if unspoken. Even though Casey
Sloane is an attorney and used to some archaic words, this one might stump her.
“Bespoken? Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” I can almost hear her saying it
now.
The
way this word can allow for such different perspectives regarding its meaning
is intriguing to me. I hope the title will be intriguing to readers as well.
Do you title the book first or wait
until after it’s complete?
I
keep a list of possible titles and add to it as I’m writing. With Bespoken, I waited until I completed
the book before I chose the title. Choosing before then would have made me feel
like I might have missed out on a better title I just hadn’t thought of yet. My
list allows me to brainstorm about the title through the whole writing process
without allowing musing over the perfect title to throw me off track.
Is there a message in your novel
that you want readers to grasp?
The
message is all about bravery and fighting past your own fears and prejudices to
find love. Another message I’d like readers to walk away with is to look for
the extraordinary all around us.
Is the book, characters, or any
scenes based on a true life experience, someone you know, or events in your own
life?
I have utilized my experience as a law librarian in
a large law firm to write as authentically as possible about the legal world
that Casey inhabits as an associate attorney at a top Washington, D.C. law
firm. However, I haven’t used any real events in the story – except for the
coffee-drinking. Casey and I both like fancy coffee drinks. The reason I
haven’t pulled in real events or people is because I think it can limit the
story and the storyteller. I want the most freedom of action possible for characters
and the parameters of the story to be as wide as possible.
Because I am someone who likes a good daydream – even
if mine are quite ordinary compared to Casey Sloane’s – I can understand and
respect the reasons why Casey enjoys dropping into her daydreams for a little
R&R. I think that helps me write the daydream sequences so that they have
some real integrity.
The books characters are not based on anyone I know.
I like my characters to be their own people, not a copy of someone already in
existence. As I write about a character, they tend to develop quite a mind of
their own. I love that.
However,
inspiration is everywhere and I try to pay attention to the big and little
things around me that have a place in Casey Sloane’s world. Locations are a
great example of this. Everyday things are another. The way you hail a cab in
DC, the perfect latte order, the cadence of an impassioned text message exchange,
and how real roses look and smell as they bloom in a real garden – these are
the kind of true life experiences I like to blend into a story.
What books/authors have influenced
your life?
P.L.
Travers, Lewis Carroll, and A, A. Milne were early favorites. I read a lot of
the classics (modern and old) in high school and college. Charles Dickens,
Alexandre Dumas, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker,
Arthur Conan Doyle, Louisa May Alcott, Wilkie Collins, Harper Lee, and F. Scott
Fitzgerald, were all on my reading list. I was introduced to Georgette Heyer in
high school and devoured her regency romances. I read a lot of poets. I have
always loves fairytales and mythology.
Who is your favorite author and
what is it that really strikes you about their work?
It’s Jane Austen. She had incredible insight into
people and their motivations and she infused this into her writing. She’s
funny. Her characters are believable and memorable.
And if you are wondering what my favorite Austen
titles are, here are my top three:
· Pride
and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy trumps all.)
· Northanger
Abbey (This book explains how being a reader can get you in trouble and that
makes me love it.)
· Emma
(Emma makes me smile.)
Do you have any advice for other
writers?
This
advice is really directed at aspiring authors. Writing is tough. It’s solitary.
It’s demanding. And it’s scary to put yourself out there. It’s also thrilling
when you feel the story coming together in the right way or a character taking
form on your page in a way that makes you believe, for a second, they could
turn up behind you while you’re waiting in line for your latte at your favorite
coffee shop.
And if you want to write, don’t be dissuaded. If you
really love it, then persist. At times, it can be easy to get discouraged by
the level of time, energy, and commitment it takes to get a book written and
out there in the hands of readers who, hopefully, will love it. I remind myself
in these moments that I don’t want to be on my deathbed saying, “I should have
written that book.”
Write
the book! And good luck.
Do you have a song or playlist
(book soundtrack) that you think represents this book?
Yes.
I am a playlist addict. I built playlists especially for writing. After I was
done with Bespoken, I created some
playlists that were geared to the feel and flow of the story. There are four – yes, four – of them. I told
you I was a playlist addict. They reflect the emotion of the story as it moves
from start to finish. The first is: Into the Daydream and ties into the
vibe of Casey’s daydreams. The second is: Every Day is Gray. You know how it
is when things aren’t going your way. A playlist helps. The third is: Beloved
Enemy. It’s got a thinking things through, back-and-forth quality to
it. The fourth is a bonus playlist. It’s called: Ricki’s West Coast Vibe
and it’s the chilled out background soundtrack to an important discussion
between daydreamer, Casey Sloane, and her very sensible best friend, Ricki.
Bespoken
A Nightangel and Daydreamer Novel
Book One
Marie Michelle Coleman
Genre: paranormal romance/urban fantasy
Publisher: Suburban Island Publishing
ISBN: 978-0991146628
ASIN: B00IXA9UKK
395 pages on Kindle
368 pages in paperback
Word Count: 92,000
Cover Artist: Doug Pecht
Book Description:
Nobody ever told Casey how dangerous a little daydreaming could be.
Casey Sloane appreciates the power of a good daydream. It’s the perfect antidote to the pressures of her hectic life as an associate attorney at a high-powered Washington, D.C. law firm. When the nightangel Gabriel takes up residence in those dreams, Casey is more delighted than surprised. Gabriel is the perfect mixture of danger, otherworldly beauty, and out-and-out temptation required to throw her daydreams into a state of perpetual overdrive.
But when the nightangel sheds his wings and arrives in the real world for a real-time relationship with Casey, she gets a quick education on the unforeseen consequences of secret daydreams.
EXCERPT
THREE:
His eyes shone
like the sun through the treetops on a summer day. Casey thought that was kind
of crazy considering he was a nightangel and preferred the darkness. All that
light raining down on her was banging against her heart like it was a tin roof
in a summer thunderstorm. The curve of his lips told her she would be swimming
in the fiery glow of his attention if he had his way.
She couldn’t
help but admire him. She gazed up at the nightangel, the way an artist studies
her own handiwork with proprietary pleasure. He was handsome, more than
handsome; he was the definition of masculine in her personal dictionary. His
nature was undiluted by modern convention. Everything about him was
unequivocally male—strong, purposeful, and confident. He had a little bit of
the knight in shining armor thing going but he played by his own rules. And he
was smart as hell. Gabriel was perfect. He was everything she had ever wanted
in a man and was afraid to get.
A fan of
soothing light stretched behind him and Casey realized it was the radiance of
the nightangel’s wings spread out at his back. Yes, he was perfect and it
didn’t hurt that he had a Class A set of wings sprouting out of his back
either. He was some dream. He beamed down at her. The world tipped on its axis.
The dreamangel
was looking more irresistible than she had ever remembered him being—and that
was saying something because vampires with the wings of fierce angels had a
certain natural tendency to hold a mortal in thrall by virtue of their very
presence. She tried to shake herself free of the spell he was casting over her.
Doing this was difficult. She could not get enough of her angel. Maybe she was
a kind of angel-holic. She shouldn’t like nightangels so much. They tended to
take advantage of it.
Marie Michelle Coleman is a paranormal romance and urban fantasy author whose book, Bespoken, is the first in the Nightangel and Daydreamer series. She's been in love with the written word since she was old enough to turn the pages of her first book. She's always had a fascination with vampires and angels. Sitting down at the keyboard and turning on the paranormal blender was a natural next step.
Marie lives in the Washington D.C. area. She believes in the power of a compelling dream, the therapeutic merits of loud music, and the benefits of always being in the middle of reading a great book. Marie has a soft spot for a good romance and likes to laugh. Jane Austen is her favorite author. She'll probably always be a little in love with Mr. Darcy.
She grows roses in her garden but no matter how hard she tries, they don't look anything like the ones in Casey Sloane's daydreams.
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