BlogAThon Authors books and Interviews

To Kick off the BlogAThon, one of the books up for grabs is Scorpio Rising by Monique Domovitch, here is a preview of her new book and I had the pleasure of having a one-on-one with Monique.


  Monique is giving away a copy of Scorpio Rising AND a copy of the sequel The Sting Of The Scorpio which is yet to be released!

Scorpio Rising is about Alexander Yvanov, a man who has ambitions so great, that to achieve them, he will have to put everything else aside. Born in Brooklyn from an embittered mother, he climbs his way to a better life in New York.
Scorpio Rising is also about beautiful Brigitte Dartois, a thousand miles away who also has big dreams and raging ambitions.
This is the story of two people whose single minded obsessions are put to the test when they meet. Will they choose love, or success?

Monique, welcome to the Purple Jelly Bean Chair Review and thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me. Please have a seat in the Purple Jelly Bean Chair and make your self comfortable. 

What is your name and where do you call home? 

My name is Monique Domovitch and I was born in Ontario, Canada, in a small town called Hearst, which nobody ever heard of. I am the oldest of ten children, which means I told a lot of bedtime stories to my brothers and sisters when I was growing up. You could say that was how I first became attracted to writing. Nowadays, I write on my laptop, which makes it possible for my husband and I to travel as much as we do. When we aren’t travelling, we and our three dogs, share our time between our homes in California and British Columbia, Canada.

What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?

Scorpio Rising is the story of the rise of Alexander Ivanov, an ambitious Scorpio, and the climb to success of Brigitte Dartois a beautiful French artist. It is also about the thin line between lust and love and ambition and greed, and what happens to two people forced to choose between love and career. The sequel, The Sting of the Scorpio, will be available in September, and I’m now debating a third instalment which I would call The Son of Scorpio.

Do you have plans for a new book?  

I've just signed a three-book contract with Obsidian—an imprint of Penguin US—for a murder-mystery series which I am presently writing under the name Carol Ann Martin. I also have one novel in the hands of my agent and a second one which I’m also working on. My poor husband has had to take up cooking otherwise he was in danger of starving to death.

At what age did you know you wanted to become a writer?

I've always known I wanted to write, but it took me a long time to gather the courage to pursue it professionally.

What or who inspired you to write?

I was always an avid reader. I remember hiding under my blankets with a flashlight after lights out at night. Writing was just the next step in my love affair with books. 

Do you gift books to readers for book reviews?

Yes, I love to gift books. I hope to expand my readership and will gladly gift books to readers.

When you start to write a new novel, what is the process for you, do you start with a small idea and when you sit to write is that when the story starts to flow, or, before you start to write do you already have the whole story worked out?

I’ve tried a number of processes and I wish I could say I’m very organized in my method of writing, but the truth is that I start with a small premise. What if a person found out that...? And I go from there, starting with developing the main character, then building the story loosely, by which I mean a beginning, middle and an end. Other than that, I pretty much let the characters tell the story themselves. Sometimes they surprise me and take the story onto a different path. I love when they do that, even though that usually causes me a lot more work.

When you write, do you write from start to finish, or in the middle, or at the end first?

Oh, I can’t seem to do it any other way than in a straight line. Whenever I try to pre-write some scenes, I only have to rewrite them entirely later. So there’s no point. But, having said that, I always seem to have a hundred notes ahead on my manuscript. Don’t forget to mention this... Don’t forget to have her say that...

Have you based any of your characters on someone you know, or real events in your own life?

 I like to think that all my characters are made up of elements stolen from many people. I might like the voice of one person, the mannerisms of another, the aloofness of a third...and so on. In Scorpio Rising, one of my favourite characters is the movie star and she is a composite of about a dozen Hollywood stars from the sixties.

What books have most influenced your writing most and why? 

Every writer I read influences me. I pick up something from each one. The only thing I deplore is that now, reading has become partly homework. I can’t pick up a book and read without putting on my critic’s hat. I look at how that writer develops his plot, how he unfolds the story and so on. 

Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?
Today, I’d have to say Kate Morton. Yesterday it was Jodie Picoult. It depends on whom I’m reading at the moment.

Do you prefer eBooks, paperbacks or hardcover?
I love my Kindle. I can get a book downloaded in seconds. How great is that? But I will always also love traditional books.


Are you a self published (Indie) Author?

Yes, I am. My recent book, Scorpio Rising, is my first novel, written a couple of years ago, and which I decided to self publish after signing my three-book deal for a completely different genre from my Scorpio series.

What is the best advice that you can give to aspiring writers?
Sit down and write. You won’t get anything done if you wait for inspiration. Just like anything else, becoming a good writer is ten percent talent and ninety percent hard work—in this case you can define hard work as rewriting about ninety times.


Cats or dogs?
I am totally a dog person. My husband worries every time we drive anywhere near the SPCA. I can’t set foot in the place without falling in love with yet another dog. I have three already and if I had a lot of money, I’d open my house to every dog that needs a home.


Where can your readers follow you? 
My website, Moniquedomovitch.com is scheduled to be up and running any day now.
My blog: http://monique-domovitch.blogspot.com/

My facebook page: Monique Girouard Domovich

My Goodreads author page:

Twitter: Moniquedomovitc


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Scorpio-Rising-ebook/dp/B005EJGXZ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1312924435&sr=1-1

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world.  I hope you share this interview with your friends.  Nattie