Sometimes when you read a book, you can tell that there is something special about the author, you can feel the passion they have for writing, and you can foresee great things for them. That is how I felt when I read Charles Blanchard's debut novel,Mourning Doves After The Fire.

I met Charles online when I reviewed his novel for Bookpleasures.com. He is just starting out in his writing career, but I just know he is going to be a name to look out for in the future.

Here are Charles's replies to my interview questions:

When did you first discover your love of writing?

I don't know if I can honestly say that I love writing. It is very difficult. As an architect designs a building, you have to start with a blueprint or outline and then attempt to seamlessly support the outline with as much valuable information and creative narrative as possible and hope and pray that what you have created is strong enough so the building doesn't collapse. It takes discipline and patience. The enjoyment for me comes after I have completed a piece of writing and when I know its good enough to go on to the next paragraph.

Is there a particular author, or book, that inspired you to start writing?

I was inspired by what was possible with the written word in the works of Marcel Proust and Thomas Pynchon. In the case of Proust, I found that reading just a few pages of Remembrance of Things Past, at night before retiring, satisfies my literary intake for the day as the sentences are so broad and rich yet they convey the simplest action or thought or emotion. For example, it is easy to say, "She was very attractive but very different from other actresses as she had none of the diabolical expressions that I would have expected given her chosen profession." If you had given that sentence to Proust, he would say, "I felt somewhat disillusioned, for this young lady was in no way different from other pretty women whom I had seen from time to time; only better dressed. I could find no trace in her of the theatrical appearance which I admired in photographs of actresses, nothing of the diabolical expression which would have been in keeping with the life she must have lead." Incredible usage of words.

When I read bits from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, I lose the storyline, but it doesn't matter. I just enjoy the ride. Each new scene seems to have nothing to do with the preceding scene as if Pynchon wrote whatever came into his head at the moment he was writing it. Every scene is so rich and wonderfully written that the pure enjoyment of being in the hands of such talent is rewarding enough.

In your debut novel, Mourning Doves After The Fire, there are many references to classical music, is that your favourite type of music?

I enjoy many types of music including classical, pop, and light jazz. I usually play classical when I am writing as it seems to add to the creative process without being distracting.


Abby Whitman, the main character in the novel is a pianist, are you musical?

Abby is like so many who have the desire to find their place in the world. She is never a great pianist but she does come into contact with Madison, a younger girl who like Abby, plays classical music on the piano and Madison clearly has more talent. They do share that common bond between them in the summer camp. I do not play an instrument myself. I wanted to combine my appreciation for music, as it is so much a part of my life every day, into a fictional narrative with characters who also share an interest in music and in the composers of the past.

Mourning Doves is set in 1910. Historical novels are notoriously difficult to write because there is so much research involved to make sure that all the historical detail is accurate. How did you go about researching the historical data for the book and did you find it difficult?

Researching was the best part of the work. There was always something new to discover. I read diaries of doctors who lived in the time of my novel to get a sense of how they thought of themselves as medical practitioners and how they were perceived by the community they were in. And how to be careful not to allow their emotions to get in the way of their work. I found it fascinating. It was also fun to research the clothes people wore at the time. What they did for fun as well as attempt to capture the struggle of daily life and to find love, one hundred years ago.

Your novel is also part fable, as we follow the group of birds in their struggle to survive. That’s an interesting concept. What gave you idea of including the birds as characters in your book?

I have a large tree outside my apartment here in New York and each morning and night the birds wake up and chirp away with such enthusiasm they wake me up in the morning and not my alarm clock. I wonder what they could be talking about. Do they actually communicate with each other in a way that we as humans do not understand? I'm certain that they do. I believe they are chatting away about where they are going to find food and at night they are gathered again in the tree chatting away about their experiences they had that day in their search for food. They could also be talking about one of their own who may have died. That led me to think about the obstacles that animals face everyday not only in the interaction with other animals but interacting with humans. I began to read a bit of fiction where the main characters are animals that speak and think just as humans do. The idea for the primary animal character to be a mourning dove came about as a mourning dove was and is almost always on my window sill asking for food, so I leave some bread there once in awhile.

That led to research on the living habits of birds and how they relate to their human counterparts - how we look after them by feeding them, cleaning up after them, as they come to expect that there will be food waiting for them in the same place and at a certain time of day, much the same as parents look after their own children. I gave the birds a distinct voice as I felt corresponded with the setting of the story - they live in the large oak tree near the main character's home, and how they would react not only to their own daily struggles but also by placing a human character nearby who occasionally takes time to notice the birds once in awhile. In a way, the lives of man and beast are intertwined more often without realizing it.

When Abby Whitman discovers that she has cancer, her doctor tries a revolutionary treatment on her. Did you have any medical knowledge before writing the book, or was your portrayal of this based on research, or just totally made up?

Part of the book deals with the treatment of cancer that was available in 1910. Actually there was no real treatment, only surgical procedures to remove the cancer, provided it did not spread too far. I came across a doctor who did actually experiment treating cancer patients by injecting bacteria into the tumor in the hope that the antibodies would attack not only the bacteria but the tumor into which the bacteria was injected and hopefully destroying the tumor or shrinking it considerably. The patients who were deemed as suitable candidates for this procedure was if the tumor was localized, not spread out in the body. This was the most interesting part of the research.

How long did it take you to write Mourning Doves?

About two years - most of that time was devoted to research and the actual writing was about seven or eight months.

There are many characters in your novel. Did you base any of them on people you know, or are they totally fictional?

They are all fictional. I populated by book with characters who have had a life prior to their introduction into the story. Even if a character is only in one chapter, I researched what they might have done prior to their life in the book to give substance and some depth to them without digressing too much and keep the story moving.

Which one of the characters in Mourning Doves can you most relate to, and why?

The characters are so varied, and each one displays his or her own abilities according to their strengths and weaknesses including the widowed mourning dove. I would choose the two main characters as I felt I became better acquaintance with them as the story progressed. Abby Whitman exhibits courage and determination and trust in her doctor when he approaches her regarding an experimental treatment for eradicating the cancer inside her. Dr. Raymond Fletcher, who secretly cares for Abby beyond his professional capacities, comes from a broken home. His efforts to save Abby's life become his reason for living. We see the frayed relationship he has with his father when upon his mother's request, Dr. Fletcher visits his parents, whom he has not seen for a long time and an attempt is made to reconcile with his estranged father.

Do you have an tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?

As this is my first published work, the idea of attempting to seek an agent who would genuinely represent a first time novelist and attempt to convince a publishing house to “take a chance” on me, was too daunting a task to even contemplate so I chose to self publish.

I knew of the POD company, Xlibris, from correspondence over the years and I did some research on their current mode of operation. When they sent me an email offering half off their publishing packages, I thought $1500 for a premium package was doable so I went with it. I must say that the final product (hardcover and softcover) was well done, nice cloth binding , etc. Xlibris is rather unusual in the sense that when you call them, you will reach their customer service, located in the Philippines. The executives who run Xlibris do not have any contact information at all, so you are essentially at the mercy, if you will, of an overworked CS rep in a distant country who has to listen to complaints all day.

The bottom line is don’t expect to make millions with a self published book. The marketing which is mostly the responsibility of the author takes tremendous effort and the expectations should be realistic. At the very least, the book is yours and you have control over every aspect of it from the editing to the design of the cover. You have to continue your passion and begin another book so you can build a nice resume of work. Who knows, maybe one day the effort will be truly appreciated, but don’t get depressed if you don’t get a call from one of Oprah’s people begging you to be on their show.

Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

One of my favorite novels is Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. The writing captures the rhythmic flow of the language of the late 19th century with such grace and beauty that reading it is like listening to a piece of music. There is also a sense of place. The description of landscape and man's relationship to the land is vivid and becomes as important a part of the novel as the main character, Inman.

Are you reading a book at the moment?

I am reading The Stones Of Summer. Its a novel by Dow Mossman, published in 1972. When it came out, it received rave reviews and then the book and author went unnoticed for 30 years until a fan of the book attempted to find out how a book that good could just disappear without a trace. He made a documentary about his efforts to locate the author. Before the documentary came out, the book wasn't even listed in the New York Times Book Review Index for 1972. The Stones of Summer is without question, the Holy Grail of modern literature. Never before have I read such descriptive passages. Consider the first paragraph. "When August came, thick as a dream of falling timbers, Dawes Williams and his mother would pick Simpson up at his office, and then they would all drive west, all evening, the sun before them dying like the insides of a stone melon, split and watery, halving with blood. August was always an endless day, he felt, white as wood, slow as light."


What do you think of ebooks?

As a book collector, I prefer the traditional hardcover book. I buy paperbacks on Amazon and I always reserve books through my local library. There is a facility that the ebook reader provides. For example, it's portable and it can carry hundreds of books in a single device as opposed to carrying heavy books around. In a way it's like having a library at your fingertips. But does one actually have the time to read hundreds of books at once? I am used to having at least a couple of books in my carry on bag. When I read a book I like to feel the pages as I am turning them. That feeling is lost on an ebook device. Also, I must admit that while browsing current fiction in the bookstores, I have been so attracted by the jacket that I purchased the book right away. One cannot add a book with a beautiful cover design to their home library if it only exists as an ebook. I also realize that we live in a world where paper is not environmentally friendly. Go figure. One cannot ignore the rise in ebook sales. We as authors who love print must accept that we live in a digital world, where eventually most of the profit we derive from our published work will come from ebook sales.

How important are reviews for you as a writer?

Reviews are important as they give varied opinions and creative suggestions on the work, often on things the author may have missed. And it does help to have that input from the reader who is after all the intended recipient of ones effort.

How did you go about choosing a cover for your book?

I designed the cover myself. I took sheet music and stained it with tea. I set fire to certain sections of the sheets to give it that burned look that it had been partially destroyed in a fire. Lastly I painted bird footprints in bright red paint over the burned sheets.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on a novel in which all of the characters are primarily animals with their own voices and ideas and obstacles to overcome.

Where can people buy your book?

The book is available as an ebook, softcover and hardcover on many websites including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Here are some links.

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes and Noble

Borders


Books on Board

Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

The book webpage is: Mourning Doves After The Fire

Thank you, Charles, for answering my questions :)

Now, here's your chance to win a signed copy of Mourning Doves After The Fire. Leave a comment below, and you'll be entered into a draw! One lucky winner will be picked on 12th April 2011.

Good luck!!