The Next Big Thing: Melanie Noel's "The Monarchs"

 

 What is the working title of the book?

The Monarchs

 

Where did the idea come from for the book?

California?  The fortune teller in Cleo from 5 to 7.  Yuri Norstein.  Grin Without a Cat.

What genre does your book fall under?

Mime, and poetry.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Yolande Moureux, Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, and Charlotte, from Charlotte's 

Web 

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

What is higher innocence?

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

about 8 years

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Sounds and second-hand stories of places (Lake Erie, the Arctic and Chernobyl are three; inspire might be the wrong word).   My nephew Evren’s birth, which I witnessed.  Lost things.  Subtitles and images from films inspire me.  Heartbreak.  Conversations and exchanging work with friends, particularly Heide Hinrichs, with whom I talk often, whose work I love (she's a visual artist).

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Heide created the artwork for the cover.  She worked with some of the lines from a painting by another dear friend, Bob Gronhovd.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Lori Anderson-Moseman, the wonderful poet and publisher of Stockport Flats Press, publishedThe Monarchs as a part of her Meander Scar series.  I love the books in the series, and am honored to be included.

My tagged writers for next Wednesday are:

Laura Neuman, Karena Youtz, Cody Rose-Clevidence, Matthew Klane, Giovanni Singleton