AWRW Interview of Paranormal Urban Fantasy Author: Marigold Deidre Dicer

Welcome, everyone!

Marigold Deidre Dicer has been reading since she fell in love with Enid Blyton’s mysteries at the tender age of eight years old. She began writing full length stories at fifteen years old, and the novelty hasn’t worn off. 🙂 Please welcome paranormal urban fantasy author, Marigold Deidre Dicer, to A Well Read Woman blog! I encourage everyone to leave her  a supportive comment!

Hi Marigold. Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed on A Well Read Woman Blog! Please, tell us a little about yourself and your background.

Well, I’ve gone back to uni to become a high school teacher, since my career in geology didn’t… ugh… let’s just say working in a literal hole wasn’t the dream job I hoped it would be. I’ve always loved reading, way, way back to the hungry, hungry caterpillar days, though Enid Blyton was the first author whose books I just ate up.

When I finally came to terms with the knowledge that “globe-trotting adventuring archaeologist” was not a real job, I decided to write a book about an adventuring crime-solving archaeologist. Best fun I ever had, but the book will never see the light of day. It was just good silly fun.

Ha ha! That’s funny, Marigold! What else have you written? 🙂

I’ve published my debut novel The Black Swan Inheritance, which can be found at all major retailers:

Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo

And I should mention to your readers and fans, that The Black Swan Inheritance is on sale for a limited time, for a bargain $ .99!

I’ve also written a lot of flash fiction and short stories on my blog which you can find here. And poetry (mostly haikus) which you can find, here.

Please tell me about your novel, The Black Swan Inheritance.

What if something extraordinary happens to you, but you’re still messed up from the ordinary?

I drew on my own experiences with anxiety and panic attacks for Anita’s story, along with some of the self-discovery themes. There the parallels end. Anita’s life and personality are very different from mine.

Anita has inherited the magic of Black Swan, transforming her into a witch who draws on dark powers. Powers that can only be found through carnal needs…

But Anita isn’t a bad person, and she’s determined to use her ill-gotten gains to benefit others. Just as soon as she’s gotten a handle on them, and as soon as the undead cults leave her alone.

Emma Wakeling designed the cover, and she draws some awesomely trippy stuff! Check out her deviantart page, here. 

I love that you wove your own experiences with anxiety and panic attacks into your story. I too suffer from those, dreadful panic attacks, and I think I can relate a lot to Anita myself, (in that way… at least undead cults aren’t bothering me!) 😉

Please give us some insight into the lead character of The Black Swan Inheritance, Anita. What actress could you see playing her, if your novel was adapted for film?

Anita Bhatnagar is an only child. Her mum died before she can remember, and she was raised by her single working dad (until he remarried a year ago, but she’s on good terms with her stepmum and you’ll find out why when you read the book).

 

Anita has difficultly socializing and took solace in her studies, until the pressures she put on herself became too much. Her self-designed isolation got to her, and that led to some bad decisions in high school. I remember when I was in high school and I had this idea of who I had to be, which clashed terribly with who I actually was. It took me a long time to sort through the difference and embrace and accept myself. Anita’s currently going through the same process in this book – she has a lot of regrets, and she deals with it by pushing it from her mind as much as possible. But we can’t deny who we are and what we’ve done. We need to learn to accept ourselves, and work out who we want to be.

 

Pallavi Sharda as Anita in The Black Swan Inheritance

Who could play Anita? She’s only eighteen so that’s very young, but I definitely think Pallavi Sharda could play a grown-up and mature version of Anita.

Great choice!

What genre are your books? What draws you to this genre?

I like anything with magic or monsters, so I mostly write paranormal/urban fantasy, but I’ve also dabbled in steampunk, and I’ve got a few ideas of horror and sci-fi that I want to get down. I’ll be writing until I’m dead to get everything outta my head!

I like mystical things. I like to explore theoretical scenarios, so the people need to be real for that to work. I’m an idealistic realist.

Do you have a trailer for your book? What are your thoughts on book trailers? 

No, I don’t have a trailer for my book! I’ve seen a couple, and to be honest, I’m not sure about them. While I am guilty of clicking on something because it’s got an interesting cover, I’ll always have a quick read of it first to work out if I might like it. I’m just not sure if book trailers provide enough information in the advertisement. If a book trailer incorporated quotes from reviews, then yes, I think that would work.

I noticed in a review of The Black Swan Inheritance, that a reviewer mentioned the story is told in first person. Do you feel this helps the reader connect more with the main character?

 

I decided on first person because it was a very personal story. A lot depended on Anita’s innermost thoughts, fears, and motivations to drive the story. Anita’s very rough around the edges – she can be very isolating so I needed that first person perspective to get that close connection to her.

I use third person when those inner-most thoughts are not so crucial, and I want to place more emphasis on a character’s actions, for instance, when I have a character who’s very physical. Third person for extrovert, first person for introvert. That’s my rough rule of thumb.

Is there anything else that I haven’t asked that you would like your readers and fans to know?

I am so close to finishing the first draft for the sequel but I haven’t been able to work on it as much now I’m back at uni. So disappointing to be so close and yet so far! I delve into witchcraft mythology a lot more in the second book, dissecting the potential of the maiden, mother and the crone version of witches. Real medieval stuff in a modern setting. I’m loving it!

That is great! Glad to hear The Black Swan Inheritance is part of a series!

How can your readers and fans discover more about you and your work?

 

Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads Author Page, Google +

 

And finally, are you interested in blogger reviews for The Black Swan Inheritance? How can bloggers get in touch with you?

Absolutely! Anyone who wants to provide an honest review of my book can email me at nogaku89@gmail.com for a free copy. I can offer epub, mobi, or pdf. Or if you would like a smashwords coupon, I can do that too!

Great! Thanks, Marigold!

The Black Swan is native to Australia, unrelated to the pure White Swan of Europe. She is found in the strangest of places – from ugly mines to ordered farmland, beautiful bush to battered beach.
Yet, she always shies away from humanity.

The Black Swan is always beautiful, surprisingly resilient and very, very powerful. Most Black Swans are wise enough not to use that power to challenge the status quo.
Most…

Anita had the kind of reputation in high school that no one wants to carry into adulthood, especially since she wants to be a doctor like her dad. Now at university, she is determined to be good, but one little end-of-semester celebration can’t hurt, right? Well it can if she ends up having a one-night stand with a werewolf that triggers a dark awakening. Turns out Anita’s over-active libido isn’t just hormonal – it’s magical.

The Black Swan is a powerful legacy that brings both temptation and danger. Having now inherited the title and all that comes with it, Anita finds herself beset upon by ancient abominations that won’t take no for an answer. No wonder the Black Swan had been driven to seclusion and banishment in the past. But Anita is determined not to run away – she is here to help, whether the medieval dragon-wolf or the undead cultists want it or not.
She will be no one’s pawn. She will rise to the challenge.

If she can just manage to deal with her own flaws first. Anxiety, panic-attacks, and bouts of bitchiness does not a diplomat make.

***WARNING***

This New Adult Paranormal Fantasy includes regular coarse language, violence, sexual references and a sex scene.
There is also reference to rape. Not in any detail, but there is reference to it. ***

 

ebook, New Cover Edition, 235 pages

Published January 26th 2015 (first published November 2014)

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, New Adult

Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo