Today I have the real pleasure of welcoming Rosemary Clement-Moore, author of The Splendour Falls. There’s also a great GIVEAWAY at the end of the interview, so make sure you enter for the chance to win one of FIVE SIGNED copies of The Spendour Falls!
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BCC: Hi Rosemary, thanks for being here. How did you research your novel, The Splendour Falls?
ROSEMARY: When I first got the idea, I called my friend who lived in Alabama and asked her if she knew any good ghost stories or legends, and she told me about Old Cahawba, which is a real ghost town (and real archaeological park). In the American South, the past really permeates the present, so it makes a great setting for a ghost story.
I did a lot of Internet research, but there was nothing like actually going there and walking around the grounds. (I actually took my dog with me. There’s a line in the book about keeping Gigi on a leash so the alligators don’t eat her. The guide at the park actually told me that!)
I came had already heard the legend/theory of Welsh explorers landing in Mobile Bay, but as I was researching, by complete accident, I came across an article in Archaeology Today talking about the Prince Madoc legend, and the ruins in Desoto Falls state park. The legend that Professor Griffith is researching is a real one, though there are no Bluestone (or Preseli Spotted Dolorite, as Rhys would insist I say) monoliths that I know of.
BCC: Which of the boys did you like writing about the most: Rhys or Shawn?
ROSEMARY: Oh wow. How to answer this without massive spoilers. I actually had fun writing both of them, especially Sylvie’s connection to each. They’re two really different guys. Shawn is charismatic and a natural leader, something I really like in a guy. He’s just so darn friendly and charming. But Rhys is a man of mystery, and who can resist that? He’s a brooder, but he’s got enough humor to keep him from getting dour and morose. A little bit of a wounded knight thing going on. In the end… Well, I know that Sylvie’s preference would be mine, too.
BCC: What are you working on right now and what do you have planned for the future?
ROSEMARY: I am working on another spooky mystery/romance type story. Amy is a girl with a very eccentric family, and when she spends the summer on her Aunt’s ranch in Texas, she runs across ghosts, buried treasure, and a contemporary mystery. Oh, and a handsome cowboy whose family is feuding with hers. Fun times.
The future? Hard to say. My brain is always spinning with ideas, so it depends on what characters shove their way to the fore. I’d like to do a book set in England, for the excuse to go back and visit.
BCC: Who are your favourite authors to read? What are you reading at the moment?
ROSEMARY: I love Robin McKinley’s books. She has more books on my “re-read every few years” list than anyone other than Madeline L’Engle and maybe Susan Cooper. Other YA favorites include Meg Cabot Diana Wynn Jones, Libba Bray, Rachel Caine, Scott Westerfeld, Richelle Mead, and Jennifer Echols, among many others.
Right now I’m reading Hex Hall by Rachel Hawthorne, and I’ve also been on an Agatha Christie kick. I’ve been reading her Miss Marple series over the last few months. Such good stuff.
BCC: How do you spend time relaxing?
ROSEMARY: I play Rock Band or Guitar Hero to blow off steam, or I walk the dogs. (I have a lot.) I do girly things like embroider and knit, and I used to love to sail and ride horses, but I admit I’ve gotten much more sedentary. But I suppose my favorite thing to do is read.
BCC: What’s your favourite ice-cream?
ROSEMARY: Mint Chocolate Chip
BCC: If you had paranormal powers what would they be?
ROSEMARY: I’d like to move things with my mind. Or be able to find lost things. (That would be very useful.) But it would probably be related to my super-sensitive sense of smell. I have a freakishly keen nose. It’s more of a curse than a blessing.
BCC: Which book has made you cry?
ROSEMARY: Robin McKinley’s Beauty, Hero and the Crown, and Chalice. (See why she’s one of my favorites?) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (You know when Harry sees the stag, and thinks it’s his dad, but it’s not? Gets me every time. It’s that son becomes the father riff.)
BCC: What is your guilty pleasure?
ROSEMARY: Reality TV. I hate myself in the morning, but I’m always getting dragged into the drama.
BCC: Which books are on your bedside table right now?
ROSEMARY: Eep. I have an e-reader, so there are about 30 books on my bedside table right now. Here are the first ones on the list:
4:50 from Paddignton, by Agatha Christie
Firespell, by Chloe Neill
Blue Diablo, by Ann Aguirre
Storm Born, by Richelle Mead
The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, by James Martin
Thanks for interviewing me!
You’re welcome, Rosemary – thank you, for answering my questions!
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You can also find Rosemary here:
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GIVEAWAY!!
[NOW CLOSED]
Thanks to Random House I have 5 (FIVE) copies of The Splendour Falls to giveaway!
This giveaway is for UK residents only (sorry guys, at request of publisher). Ends Friday 21st May 7am GMT.
GOOD LUCK!
3 Comments
Awesome interview, I love Rosemary's answers to your question … oh, and reality TV gets us all, hehe … I recently read The Splendour Falls and absolutely loved it
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I think there are a lot of people guilty of watching a reality TV.
As for the mint chocolate chip, hmmm I think I should give it a try. Although I am not a fan of mint.
It must be amazing to go to places and do research about its legends and stories.
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Loved reading the interview with Rosemary and I like that part of the research for the story is based on a real ghost town as well as story setting. I'm intrigued and can't wait to read it
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