Interview With Author Jules Larimore
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a debut author of the new novel, "The Muse of Freedom: a Cevenoles Sagas novel" with works in progress for two more in the first series. I enjoy writing emotive, literary-leaning historical fiction to inspire positive change for the oppressed and refugees, and to encourage an intimate relationship with the natural environment.
Influenced by a background in freelance travel writing, I uses captivating historical settings as characters. Then distill and blend them with a dose of magic, myth, and romance to bring to life hopeful human stories where courage, tenacity, transcendent vision, and the power of love are called upon to overcome oppression and dangerous divisions. A previous career in marketing offered an outlet for creative writing used to romance brands with mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life.
With a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University, I studied medieval history, ancient Greek culture, anthropology, folklore, narrative composition, and architectural design. I've trained under writing geniuses Libbie Grant (Libbie Hawker/Olivia Hawker) and Roz Morris, and collaborated with award-winning author Janet Wertman as a critique partner and notable editor Laurie Chittenden. I am also a member of France’s Splendid Centuries authors’ collaborative and a board member of the Historical Novel Society of Southern California.
I live primarily in Ojai, California, with time spent around the U.S. and in various countries in Europe gathering more treasures in a continued search for authenticity.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
"The Muse of Freedom: a Cevenoles Sagas novel" was just released in September, and was inspired by the true story of Jean Pierre Bondurant dit Cougoussac.
I find that a historical adventure to carry the reader through a thrilling and obscure slice of history is often the best way for people to learn about the past. With a rising global trend toward authoritarian rule, draconian policies, and often violent divisions and aggressions among nations, peoples, and families, I felt the calling to tell a story inspired by Jean Pierre Bondurant, a French Huguenot ancestor and refugee to colonial Virginia.
“The Muse of Freedom” shows the evolution of a traumatized young man in search of freedom of conscience who comes to learn that, only with tolerance and compassion for all, will he truly be free. The novel illustrates alternatives for today’s people who have fallen into inflicting “othering” and bigotry of their own, and it features previously unexplored areas concerning Cévenols—voices of those with stolen childhoods and women in search of agency. Once I dove into the research, I became utterly fascinated with this overlooked period in the late 17th century that led up to the Camisard War. I blended it with Cévenole magic lore into a coming-of-age story and family saga of courage, tenacity, and the power of love.
My hope is that this book will inspire right action and positive change. Despite the history, many descendants of French Huguenot immigrants into America are passionate about protecting their own freedoms, but often try to prohibit the freedom of others. Perhaps this novel may enlighten them to what their ancestors faced and inspire some change of heart.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing habits are not so much out of the ordinary, but I love to get up early and write with a good cup of oolong tea by my side. I sit either in a chair located next to a bookshelf with a view out the window, or I sit at a table in my outdoor "living room", a covered patio that, thanks to living in a temperate climate, I can use all year round. Oh! And Lilly's Extra Dark chocolate perks me up if the tea doesn't.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The author that most impacted me was Victor Canning with his book, The Crimson Chalice. It was the first historical fiction that I read as a young adult that provided a lesson in history, my first love, and drew me in with its incredible prose. It’s an extremely well-researched novel that enlightened me with an immersive and realistic Arthurian retelling of the late Roman period. After that, I decided I was hooked on historical fiction.
What are you working on now?
I'm currently working on the second novel featuring Jehan BonDurant and Amelia Auvrey. I can't go into too many details or I'd be giving away spoilers to the readers of The Muse of Freedom. Suffice it to say it is the continuing saga of their mutual passion for knowledge of ancient spiritual wisdom and healing techniques, and their ongoing efforts to champion for freedom of conscience and compassion for all.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find that the best methods for promoting my books are via my own social media pages on Facebook and Instagram, with links to my website. I set up my social media platform about three years in advance of the release of my first novel, and my followers have been gradually increasing. I also interface via France's Splendid Centuries, an author's collaborative on FB, where we share our scholarly writings on French history and other interesting photos and mentions about the "splendid" sites in France.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from the heart and turn off all the voices that tell you what you should and shouldn't do. Of course, proper grammar is essential as well as style and story structure. And there are many helpful experts and authors who blog that have some great tips to share, but beware the onslaught of bloggers who either don't know what they are talking about or just like to repeat the same nonsense.
I don't think you should ever worry about "writing to the market" and following the trends in traditional publishing. Those trends change, and by the time you finish your manuscript, you may end up like all the authors currently who were told to write WWII novels only to find the market totally glutted and readers bored with the subject matter.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
For self-publishers, create a book that is just as professionally done as any traditional publisher would do. Invest in a great editor and a professional book cover design. Both are critical to your success.
What are you reading now?
The Fallen Angels by Bernard Cornwell & Susannah Kells and The Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to continue to write novels of the Cévenols — the people from the Cévennes mountains of southern France. Yet, I plan to switch up the time periods. After I complete #2 and #3 in the Jehan BonDurant and Amelia Auvrey story, I plan to write stories set in the Merovingian period and in the early Middle Ages at the time of the Troubadours, and Cathars, and Aragonese Jews training at Montpellier medical school.
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?
How to Thrive on a Tropical Deserted Island: A Primer for the Shipwrecked Sailor Or Living off the Land in Paradise by Mike Riley
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pages
Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us Into the Sacred by Victoria Loorz
The Creation Frequency: Tune In to the Power of the Universe to Manifest the Life of Your Dreams by Mike Murphy
Talking with the Animals: How to Communicate with Wildlife by Bill Thomas
Author Websites and Profiles
Jules Larimore’s Social Media Links
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