Ask the Author: Marjorie Vernelle
Answered Questions (5)
Marjorie Vernelle
Sunshine always makes us think all is well, but I know otherwise. The sun was very bright the day I opened the mailbox to find a rattlesnake inside.
Marjorie Vernelle
Of course, I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from seeing a work finished and having it be writing that I am proud of. During the process itself, I love the time when the basic story is already written, and it is time to refine the sentences. I compare it to the riddling process when making wine. The wine is in the bottles, but the bottles must be turned periodically to allow the liquid to age properly. Turning those sentences is a great joy. However, the very best thing is hearing someone who loved my writing talk about what they liked so much.
Marjorie Vernelle
I am currently working on a revision of a book of short stories I wrote when I lived on the French Riviera. The stories take place in Nice, where an artist has gone to take part in an international art project to represent the soul and the spirit of that city. While the artist has to deal with the racial politics of the place, she has a wealth of interesting experiences that lead her to write stories about the city.
Since I like short literary forms like the novella, I have one or two other ideas that I would like to work on in the coming year as well, one that should be fun and comically revealing, one that deals with guilt, and another set in Ancient Egypt, a sort of murder mystery, the solution to which comes three thousand years later, in our time.
Since I like short literary forms like the novella, I have one or two other ideas that I would like to work on in the coming year as well, one that should be fun and comically revealing, one that deals with guilt, and another set in Ancient Egypt, a sort of murder mystery, the solution to which comes three thousand years later, in our time.
Marjorie Vernelle
When I lived in France (two different times but most recently eight years in Avignon), I became a "café writer" in the great tradition of the lost generation and in fact many French writers as well. It starts with journals in which I keep all sorts of rambling thoughts, from which emerge characters and situations. Sometimes the words begin to flow when I listen to music, as they did when I began Beautiful Imperfections. You will note that the opening page has a central character playing the piano. I guess you take your inspiration as it comes.
Marjorie Vernelle
It came from a period of reflection I had after a good friend admitted that she had lost three men, former lovers, who had been important in her life within the previous six months. It prompted me to think of men from my past who had been important to me. What I discovered is that of the three who came to mind, only one had been considered at the time when I knew all three of them. Others whom I had thought so important have faded from my mind. These men are central in the story in Beautiful Imperfections, though cast in a completely fictional story.
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