Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Young, I set out to have a life of adventure and discovery, not one of security and comfort – although those things can certainly can be appealing during life’s more uncomfortable moments. I’ve since crossed much of Europe on foot, travelled, by bus, train, car or truck throughout North and Central America, Europe and the Sahara. I’ve lived in unique places — a Hungarian mud house, a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, on a Dutch canal, a lonely, very haunted stone house on the English moors, and presently in a 400-year-old former inn in a small French village. My sort of lifestyle means staying flexible and taking up any sort of work that presents itself: belly dancer, fortune teller, translator, fashion model, story teller, radio broadcaster, actress, social critical artist, photographer and writer. I’m lucky enough to have discovered forgotten communities, met strange characters, and to have had some very odd conversations. And, yes, I incorporate all into my books. So far, I’ve had five romances published and, as Jill Culiner, two mysteries and two narrative non fiction works. I also narrate audiobooks and I have a podcast — Life in a Small French village — that can be heard here: https://soundcloud.com/j-arlene-culiner
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest romance is Desert Rose, and the setting is Blake’s Folly, a rundown semi ghost town in Nevada. This rather quirky community with it’s strange local characters was the setting in another romance — All About Charming Alice (a new version of the book will soon be re-released by Fire Star Press) — and I knew it was time to return to Blake’s Folly and write about Alice’s best friend, Rose Badger. To tell the truth, Rose had been nagging me for quite some time, demanding the limelight, and I’m glad she did. She is a delightful character: gutsy, original, open-minded. As soon as the very appealing, honorable and sexy Jonah Livingstone (he’s part Paiute, part Italian) walks into her shop, he’s entranced too.
Many years ago, I happened to find myself in a rundown clapboard shack semi-ghost town in Nevada, and it became the model for Blake’s Folly. There was a saloon that was the center of life and it became the Mizpah Hotel in Desert Rose. Here’s where Rose spends much of her time, charming her admirers.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. I’m not a constant enough writer to form strange habits. I don’t write every day, sometimes I don’t write for months. I don’t have one set work place, or a ritual, or a favorite drink or food. However — is this a habit? — I do my best to 1) polish each paragraph until it shines 2) tell a really good a story with humor and great characters 3) to do research and write intelligently so both my readers and I can learn about things we didn’t know — for example reptiles, or the settling of the west, or music.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I don’t know how to answer this question because I’ve read so much and been influenced by so many different writers — or, perhaps I should say I’ve been touched by them. I love those with a great style: Saul Bellow, Jean Rhys, Anita Brookner, Linda Grant, Alan Hollinghurst. I also adore intelligent travel writers like Bill Bryson, Colin Thurbron and Jan Morris. But mostly, I think it’s the older poets with their rhythm and beauty who have inspired me most: Earle Birney, Anthony Hecht, Roy Fuller, Derek Mahon, Norman MacCaig. I love the images they conjures up. Here, for example, is an excerpt from a poem by John Heath-Stubbs, Carol for Advent:
Love has no manners, and pays no rent,
Full of evasions,
Is rude to your influential friends,
And sneaks the rations;
Sulkily packs his bag and is gone
At your reproof
Leaving the plaster peeling still,
A leaking roof.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished a creative non fiction work about an itinerant, forgotten 19th century poet. It was an exciting project that had me burrowing through the archives of Paris and Vienna, taking trains to Ukrainian and Romanian villages. I’m now making notes for another romance, an offshoot of Desert Rose — the romance of Rose’s grandmother who came to America from Russia in 1945 and met the love of her life, a Nevada saloon owner.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do interviews and I guest blog. It’s very difficult to know what works, especially since there are so many writers publishing romance (and mystery too) and the marketplace is crowded. I think that the more you publish, the more chance you have of picking up a following, but I’m not even sure if this is true.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read outside your comfort zone, outside the genre you want to write in. Read travel literature, fine writing, classics. When you are writing, explore all the senses: tell us how things smell, sound, feel, taste. Describe, in the shortest and most imaginative way you can, the setting. And avoid consumer stereotypes: write from your heart.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write, and rewrite, rewrite again. Make each sentence beautiful. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.
What are you reading now?
At the moment I’m reading Jean-Michel Guenassia’s book on the last days of Vincent Van Gogh in Auvers, near Paris. It is a fiction based on what is known about Van Gogh’s accidental death and his secret romance.
What’s next for you as a writer?
When the manuscript about Rose’s grandmother is finished, I’d like to write about another Blake’s Folly character, the veterinarian Lance Potter. I’ll also be narrating some more audiobooks. I’ve already narrated two of my romances — A Swan’s Sweet Song, and Felicity’s Power, as well as my mystery, Sad Summer in Biarritz, and books by other authors, and I’m itching to start on a new project…perhaps narrating Desert Rose.
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?
Wait a minute… how long would I be stranded for? For forever? I hope not. However, since it will probably be a fairly boring time, I’d like to have some very dense literature. For example, the complete works of Shakespeare, the complete Encyclopedia Britannica or Larousse (reading an encyclopedia should keep me busy for a few years). And how about a big fat collection of all the short stories and poems ever written. Does such a book exist? Of course not. But, then again, I’ll never end up on a desert island. How would I get there? I hate boats and avoid them like the plague, and if I were strong enough to swim out to a desert island, I’d be strong enough to swim back to civilization too.
Author Websites and Profiles
J. Arlene Culiner Website
J. Arlene Culiner Amazon Profile
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