Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in the beautiful gray city of Seattle, but transplanted to Los Angeles 16 years ago. During my career journey as a flight attendant, I decided to explore my love for writing by penning a whimsical children’s book in 2003, “Have You Ever Tasted a Rainbow?”. As a hard-core narrative non-fiction reader with an adoration for memoirs, I never expected to ever write fiction. But what started as my personal musings over heartbreak in 2004 later turned into my first novel, “Love Is As Strong As Death”. I had only 50 pages that sat in my computer for eight years before I finally opened up the file and pounded out the rest of the story in two months. Love Is – a spikey tale of both tragic consequences and spiritual hope – won the 2013 Beverly Hills Book Award and garnered a five-star Readers’ Favorite review. I wrote and published the sequel, “Desperate Hope Arise” after surviving one of the most traumatic years of my life last year. Currently, my two recent novels just hitting the market are “Forever Dolls”, an unorthodox smalltown romance, and “Wherever You Are”, a wrenching novella releasing the week before Thanksgiving.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Wherever You Are” is probably my favorite project yet. For some reason, I love to write about the dark places we sojourn through and how we emerge, who we become on the other side. Actually, I woke up one morning with nothing to do and decided to write a short-short story. Having never been married, I was imagining what it would be like to be loved blissfully by a husband who literally filled me with breath. Then I imagined what it would feel like for him to die. That’s what “Wherever You Are” is about — with other riveting plot lines woven into the tale that push my protagonist to her emotional and triumphant limits.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write really real, so as I pen a story I’ll have my calendar out to figure out which day such-and-such a thing happened. I’ll decide what day a character’s birthday is, or what week it was when they last went to the market or visited a friend. I’m chronically detailed and I want my books to live as close to real-life as possible. I comb over my manuscripts meticulously to make sure there aren’t any discrepancies that could distract readers.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I recently read Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and I marveled at her command of storytelling. She explored such a multi-layered topic as racism and ethics in an way that was both entertaining and incredibly emotive. And as I said before, I love memoirs, so the most memorable books I’ve read are, “All Souls: A Family Story from Southie” by Michael Patrick MacDonald; “Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness” by Pete Early; “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot; and, of course, the new classic novel I adore, “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. All these books traverse incredibly harrowing themes, but still manage to shed light and inform in a very human way.
What are you working on now?
Funny enough, I posed myself with a writing challenge. That’s one thing, among many, that I love about my craft. Anyway, I stumbled upon a website looking for speculative fiction short stories. I actually didn’t even know what that was. After I researched it, it seemed so outside of my interest and expertise… But I decided to see if I could formulate a concept. I came up with a story idea that explores evil attributes inherently at war with what’s redemptive. It’s kind of fun to craft something “real but not real”. I did manage to write one paragraph — we’ll see where it goes.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still nailing that down! In my opinion and experience, successful promotion is less like hitting one gi-normous bullseye and more like a farmer scattering a multitude of little seeds that yield a tremendous harvest.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
No matter how good you are when you start, you’re not that good. Every novice writer needs to grow and fail and learn and keep on moving. With every project I sit down to write, I want to write better. I want to produce something more excellent. That can only happen by having people you don’t know and who don’t necessarily like you read your stuff. That’s what I had to do with my first novel to find out what I had not mastered and needed to work on. Also — a big thing — all writing needs to sit and relax. Come back to what you’ve written with new eyes and no glowing expectations. That’s when your flaws will jump out at you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There are some things you’ll do (write) that absolutely no one will get.” I heard Tom Hanks say that to a man interested in breaking into screenwriting. That was pretty liberating, because it’s so true. Some things we create are brilliant and meaningful to no one else but us. But that’s why a true writer writes — for the love of writing; not for the fanfare or notoriety.
What are you reading now?
The novel, “At First Sight” by Nicholas Sparks.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I need to finish the last book in my series that started with “Love Is As Strong As Death”. The story is a trilogy and readers have been asking me about it since Love Is was published. I just have to be in a certain emotional place for that book… I’ve needed a break, but I’m gonna get on it soon. Within the next year.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My study Bible – absolutely. A dictionary. “Autumn Blue” – a sweet little novel I read and truly love. And “The Power of His Presence” – a memoir about a man facing possible death as he battles multiple myeloma, but is surrounded by the largest, most adoring family of faith I’ve ever seen.
Author Websites and Profiles
Ci’Monique Green Website
Ci’Monique Green Amazon Profile
Ci’Monique Green’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account