Interview baroque et surprise d’AUFGANG, un trio qui pense pour six

Début du mois de septembre, interview organisée à partir d’un texto. Je retrouve Francesco Tristano, Aymeric Westrich et Rami Khalifé dans un café glauque de Simplon, interview décontractée et un peu fatiguée. La tête ailleurs, je n’avais pas pensé au fait qu’ils puissent parler français, j’avais donc tout préparé… en anglais. Eux non plus ne sont pas tout à fait là. Rencontre pas préparée et en fin de journée = pas une interview mais une discussion qui part tout azimut.

M : Je vous laisse vous présenter comme vous le souhaitez ?

Aymeric : Salut c’est Aufgang… et vous écoutez NRJ (rires). C’est la question la plus difficile que tu puisses nous poser en fait. Ca fait très longtemps qu’on se connaît. En fait j’étais avec Rami au conservatoire de Boulogne il y a quinze ans. Rami est parti à la Julliard School à New York où il a rencontré Francesco. Et moi je suis allé rendre visite à Rami et j’ai couché… (rires, Aymeric devient rouge écarlate) J’ai été avec Francesco heu… mais qu’est-ce que j’raconte !

M : …et tu as rencontré Francesco…

Aymeric : … oui et j’ai rencontré Francesco et… il était super sympa. Et… Aufgang est né de cette union ! (rires)

M : rapidement après votre rencontre ?

Aymeric : Non non… Cinq ans après je crois. On s’est connu en 2000 ou 1999.

Rami : Non j’ai rencontré Francesco en 2000 !

Francesco : Début 2001, avant les attentats.

Discussion pendant 5 minutes sur les dates, des gentils noms d’oiseaux volent.

M : Je ne pensais pas que la question était si difficile ! Donc il vous a fallu huit ans avant de sortir un album ?

Francesco, Rami, Aymeric en chœur : Peut-être / Oui / Non

Eclat de rire général, les gars on se reprend, c’est sérieux ! Francesco reprend le micro…

Francesco : Bon alors, Rami et moi jouions en duo au piano pendant pas mal de temps, en cherchant tout le temps de nouvelles influences, de nouvelles sonorités et collaborations. Et on a eu en 2005 la possibilité de monter un concert avec Rami au Sonar de Barcelone – qui est un peu le festival d’electro de référence. Et Rami a proposé de jouer avec Aymeric qui avait déjà joué avec lui et son père. Moi je connaissais très bien Aymeric mais je n’avais eu l’occasion de jouer avec lui alors qu’eux avaient joué en formation de jazz. Et donc en 2005, on s’est mis ensemble pendant une semaine et on a monté un show d’une heure en une semaine. C’était un peu le lancement du groupe quoi… mais on savait après ce concert qu’il fallait qu’on continue et… il se trouvait aussi que notre futur producteur était dans le public et il a dit « Bon les gars mettez-vous d’accord on enregistre un album ». Après ça a mis, non pas quatre ans mais deux ans et demi. A partir de l’enregistrement jusqu’à la sortie de l’album, il y a eu effectivement deux ans et demi de travail, de postproduction etc.

M : D’où ma question suivante, je me demandais comment est-ce que vous écriviez ces morceaux là, est-ce qu’il y en a un qui donne une ligne et les autres se calent dessus ou c’est vraiment un travail à trois ?

Aymeric : C’est moi qui fait tout… Réponds Francesco

Francesco : Non c’est pour toi

Aymeric : Rami t’es où ? Arrêtes tes mails !

Mince c’est reparti pour un tour, je vais peut-être arrêter de poser des questions en fait, je les dérange et ils ont l’air fatigués… Rami est tendu et fait des percussions avec ses index sur la table sans discontinuer.

Francesco : Ca varie, on a plusieurs façons de bosser ensemble. Mais déjà on vit dans trois villes différentes, c’est-à-dire Paris Beyrouth, Barcelone donc c’est vrai que sans l’email c’est compliqué. On travaille beaucoup en s’envoyant des fichiers. Parfois la base, c’est les pianos, c’est-à-dire qu’on écrit une idée basique, on la développe un peu, on l’enregistre en MIDI, on envoie les fichiers. Aymeric fait des bases rythmiques, des basses, des programmations des synthés, il les renvoie. On redéveloppe les pianos, etc, c’est une espèce de ping-pong à trois. Mais parfois l’idée principale vient d’Aymeric, il nous envoie une espèce de base de track, et sur ce Rami et moi développons des pianos par-dessus mais ça dépend. Mais c’est vrai qu’on se sert énormément de la technologie pour avancer dans le travail étant donné qu’on n’arrive pas encore à se téléporter et à être ensemble toutes les fois qu’on les désire.

Rami : C’est que Logic c’est magique aussi…

Aymeric : Logic c’est magique.  C’est le logiciel de production et de composition qu’on utilise pour retravailler les morceaux. On a tous les trois le même pour que chacun puisse travailler et retoucher de son côté.

Francesco : Et puis il y a les moments où l’on retrouve principalement sur la péniche d’Aymeric pour avancer dans l’edit et vraiment concrétiser l’écriture des morceaux, décider des sons. Et après on se retrouve en studio pour mixer. Donc il y a aussi des moments où l’on bosse ensemble pratiquement 24h/24 et puis chacun repart à ses projets et voilà.

Rami : C’est bien d’avoir des projets alternatifs aussi car cela permet de donner un souffle à Aufgang. Parce que si on était que concentré sur Aufgang eh bien… Je pense qu’on a tous besoin de toucher à plein de choses et de pouvoir se retrouver au final pour avancer sur Aufgang. Non ?

Eclats de rire des deux acolytes qui se retenaient. Et c’est reparti pour des désaccords…

Francesco : Si on ne passe pas du temps uniquement sur Aufgang, c’est parce que ce projet n’est pas viable pour nous !

Rami : Si, on pourrait passer plus de temps sur Aufgang, ce n’est pas une question de viabilité mais de richesse culturelle, de pouvoir faire autre chose parce qu’on en a la capacité. On pourrait s’enfermer 6 mois et ne bosser que sur Aufgang, on ne mourrait pas de faim. Ce n’est pas une excuse. L’excuse pour moi c’est plutôt une envie d’explorer autre chose dans la musique.

Ok, tentons de reprendre les rênes…

M : Et si l’un habite Paris, l’autre Beyrouth et le troisième Barcelone, comment se fait) il que le nom du groupe soit allemand ?

Francesco : Bah parce que lui (Aymeric) il est français, lui (Rami) est libanais et moi je suis luxembourgeois.

M : Une triangulation qui ne tombe pas du tout sur l’Allemagne donc…

Francesco : du tout…

Aymeric : Sisi, si tu calcules… nan mais c’est un truc de francs-maçons, tu ne peux pas comprendre !

Francesco : Aufgang l’idée c’est celle de la montée, de monter en altitude. Le Sonnen Aufgang en allemand, c’est le lever du soleil. Pour nous cela se traduit en montée progressive vu qu’on aime la musique minimaliste qui consiste à répéter le même motif et à gagner en intensité et en puissance simplement par le fait de répéter, la montée se produit de façon naturelle.

Aymeric : maintenant tu dois sa chronique Titchee car elle avait exactement capté et traduit ça.

A mon tour de rougir comme une tomate, mais je suis contente de constater que je ne me suis pas plantée !

M : Rami tu as évoqué les influences musicales, dans ma chronique je comparais justement votre travail à l’expérimentation à laquelle a pu s’essayer Battles en plaçant la batterie au centre des morceaux, en transgressant les rôles classiques auxquels les instruments doivent s’astreindre. Vos pianos ne sont pas de simples outils, ils deviennent des partenaires dans la mesure où vous expérimentez beaucoup de choses avec, et ils occupent les différents postes du groupe, parfois ils sont centraux, parfois annexes… Quelles influences musicales vous ont marqué pour vous aider, à vous motiver pour façonner votre musique ?

Aymeric : C’est très intéressant cette idée que le piano se substitue à la batterie dans son motif répétitif et sa place pas forcément centrale dans les morceaux.

Rami : De toutes manières, nous ne voulions pas que les pianos soient des solistes dans Aufgang. D’ordinaire on prend le nom du pianiste pour nommer un trio ou un quatuor. Le piano est un instrument soliste par essence. Mais comme nous on est anti-pianistes, et anti-solistes, nous ce qui importe c’est l’atmosphère et le son.

Francesco : Mais c’est ce qu’elle dit, le piano n’est pas un accessoire mais un all-around instrument. On peut jouer des percussions dessus et dedans, on peut jouer des sons qui se rapprochent d’un synthé et qui sont complètement liés dans la programmation qui suit pour l’électronique. Et c’est intéressant car au Sonar en 2005, on avait partagé la scène avec Battles. J’ai entendu cette comparaison plusieurs fois, c’est peut-être pas stylistiquement mais comme nouvelle façon de concevoir comment fonctionne le groupe. Et c’est juste. Après nous on ne veut pas se fixer une formule, là c’est notre premier album dans le sens que déjà on a mis du temps à le produire, à nous focaliser sur la direction dans laquelle on voulait aller, mais il y aura d’autres projets. Le piano est un instrument tellement riche, qui offre tellement de possibilités qu’on va explorer plein d’autres choses. Et on a l’idée pour le prochain album de faire des choses encore plus expérimentales avec des quarts de tons, pousser le côté percussif, et pratiquement jouer de l’anti-piano, s’en servir comme de tout sauf un piano.

Rami : Un nouvel instrument.

Donc là, ils n’ont pas du tout répondu à a question mais c’était intéressant quand même…

M : Sans transition, parce que je n’en trouve pas, il y a au centre du disque un morceau qui marque une symétrie. Il est calme et mélancolique, il est dédié à quelqu’un qui était cher ou vous faites allusion à quelqu’un de connu mais je n’ai aucune culture ?

Aymeric : J’ai perdu un pote très cher en mars dernier et j’ai demandé aux copains à pouvoir lui dédier un titre. C’est un track qu’on avait déjà fait. Au départ j’avais choisi Soumission car Kévin c’était un surfeur toujours parti aux quatre coins du monde. Soumission pour moi c’était une plénitude avec une sorte de chaos complètement fou à la fin. C’était pas mal par rapport à sa personnalité mais je ne voulais pas changer le titre de Soumission donc j’ai choisi ce sans-titre qui semble écrit sur mesure alors que ce n’est pas le cas.

M : Vous avez des dates prévues ?

Francesco : On joue le 19 novembre au Café de la Danse et on bosse sur une tournée fin novembre.

On s’arrête là, mais j’avais oublié d’éteindre le micro. Aymeric est toujours en forme (“Le Pont des Artistes c’est une émission d’Europe 1 ça non ?”), Francesco trouve que Paris manque de vraies nuits et me propose ses services en DJ Set, Rami revient dans la conversation lorsqu’on rêve d’organiser un concert dans le parc de la place des Vosges histoire de secouer tous ces vieux riches…

Merci à Audrey (Discograph) qui a organisé cette rencontre au pied levé.

Cette interview ne sera pas diffusée sur Radio Campus Paris car Rami m’a gratifiée d’un concert de percussion de phalanges sur la table et de bip de mails reçus via son IPhone qui ne permettent pas d’exploiter les bandes. Pas de problèmes les gars, vous allez devoir vous y coller à nouveau ;) !

Interview and Giveaway: "Flight of the Goose" by Lesley Thomas

Flight of the Goose by Lesley Thomas was kindly offered to me by the author herself.  She also generously sent me a second copy to give away to a lucky reader.  I’ve had this interview sitting around for awhile and am sorry to say that I never got around to posting it.  So without further ado, here’s Lesley Thomas and I discussing her book.  See the bottom of the interview for details on how to win your own copy of Flight of the Goose.

 

 

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Lesley Thomas was nice enough to say yes when I asked for a short interview.  So a big thank you and welcome!

Q.  My first question is about the cover art of “Flight of the Goose”.  The front is what looks like a sepia photograph depicting a beautiful landscape (my guess is tundra?) with a child running gleefully through it.  Did you have any input with the cover and are you pleased with the result?

A. That is an old family photo. It was taken in the region in which my book is set, Bering Strait. It is tundra, Inupiaq territory and the land of so many of my relatives through marriage, and their ancestors going back centuries. My Inupiaq stepfather used to be carried on his grandmothers back through those very hills as she foraged. I grew up there too and spent much time alone in those high hills, roaming.

Though a few readers, some macho men, thought the cover should have shown a shaman mask or perhaps something with guns, (saying the girl is too “domestic” and more for a woman’s novel, like that is a bad thing. Well, I am a woman and women read my book as well as men, and the book is about a woman. I love the photo and what it represents. I think showing a child is perfect. Perhaps she is the child born from the union of the two characters. And the photo shows the land, such a big part of the story. I love how the small mountain in the photo was exactly like the mountain my main character roamed upon in summer and through her childhood (picking blueberries). And the hills are of course where Gretchen has her spiritual connection to the Earth and where she spies on her birdman. The photo doesn’t show it very clearly but the little girl has blueberries on her face from gorging on them like a bear cub, from the ancient traditional freedom of “summer camp”.

Q.  What inspired you to write this book?  I confess to knowing little to none about Alaska’s people and/or traditions.  Did you hope to enlighten those who may be in my shoes? 

A. I didn’t really set out to enlighten others so much as to understand myself better, maybe. An identity thing. Like the first part of my novel where narrator says how you have to look back from a distance to understand. I had a very rare and complex upbringing. The Arctic is my homeland and where all my family still lives; it is where I grew up and was formed – I always feel moved very deeply in my soul when in the Arctic, more than other places on Earth. My best friends were born there and died there. In addition, I am deeply bonded with the Inupiaq culture, from my early exposure to village life, and my mother encouraged me to assimilate, then through the family marriages that meshed outsiders and Native. I was taught – nurtured in – the Inupiaq ways by many traditional mentors and then my stepfather and his mother, so it is an intrinsic part of me; I am bicultural. (I think part of it might be genetic too, since my grandfather was from the Arctic, in Norway’s Lapland. It looks exactly the same as the photo, and there are reindeer, wolverine, the same berries, the same ways of sharing and honoring spirits and elders. And I am part Sami so am descended from hunting-gathering nomads of the Arctic). I also wrote the book to honor an old childhood friend who died at a very early age – in a way the story is a eulogy for her. Her spirit visited me a lot at night in dreams while I was writing the story. She influenced me – and it – tremendously. At times I felt like was channeling the Otherworld while writing, in a shamanistic way.

That’s the mystic’s answer – Freud would say I had ‘complexes’ to work out. Whenever I write a book it always manages to get set in the Arctic, as if I am unconsciously compelled to go there. I wrote a science fiction novel and even it was on an Arctic-like planet with hunter gatherers. But I also always write about the conflicts and creative union of culture, the old and the new, outsider and indigenous, good and bad, all ambiguity you get when you combine two very different world views, and that is no doubt due to the way I was raised in my bicultural family. My next books (see bottom question) will be set in the Arctic.

All that being said, sure, I wanted to let others in on the great beauty of the Arctic, its animals and people, and to warn them that is very fragile and endangered. I did want to preserve the old ways somehow, and to honor them.

Q.  I would think your surroundings would influence your writing but I notice you now live in Seattle.  Just out of curiosity, how much of the book was written in Seattle and how much in Alaska? 

A. I don’t know – I visit family a lot and spend summer in the homeland, asking all kinds of questions and absorbing new cultural and earth lessons. I never stop learning or researching and would like to keep amending Flight of the Goose. I keep learning new things about subsistence and the Inupiaq traditions as the old people up there open up more and more. My brothers learn more from their wives, and Elders feel safer to talk about the old ways now that outsiders don’t disparage, abuse the knowledge, use it against Natives through colonization, or mock it racistly (not that I ever doubted- I always honored ancient ways. But the fact remains I have a white identity, I sure look white, and will always be an outsider). The old people also feel an urgency to pass knowledge and stories along while they are still alive.

Readers ask me a lot about why I live in Seattle when I so obviously love and know the Arctic. My living in Seattle but channeling and writing about the Far North reminds me of the Kite Runner author, writing about Afghanistan as an immigrant/refugee living in California. I have a love-hate relationship with the Arctic; it is not the land I want to get away from or feel pained by, or the bears (though I fear them as well as honor them) or mosquitoes or the cold and dark or the old culture, it is the society of Alaska I feel pained by. The dysfunction of the new Alaska. It is a frontier, a colony, a deeply ravaged land, the people in post traumatic stress and ongoing stress and I get traumatized by the emotional pain, especially as a sensitive, empathic woman.

Q.  How has your life changed since you wrote “Flight of the Goose”, and do you have plans for writing another novel sometime in the future?

A. It changed big time when I was doing a lot of author events and getting to teach at writers conferences, and took a hiatus from my day job. I got to make friends with other authors from all over the nation, and wear the hat of author for the first time and it felt great. I loved it. But now I am back to the daily grind of teaching ESL for a living, having learned the lesson that for most of us authors, we have to keep the day job. Literary fiction is not very lucrative for most of us, even if we get good reviews.

I will write another novel – probably an eco=thriller – set in the very post modern Arctic. Global warming is altering the Arctic swiftly and radically, more than any other place on Earth except the Moldaves. The renewed plans for rampant oil drilling, right off the coast of my hometown and the Chukchi Sea adds another dimension.

My other plan is to write a novel set in the ancient Arctic of Scandinavia and delve into my own genetic past.

Q.  Finally, let’s finish with my usual final bookish questions! What kind of books do you like to read? What is your favorite book? Who is your favorite author? Finally, what are you reading now and why?

A. I just finished a book that delighted me: Finding Nouf, a mystery set in modern Saudi Arabia. I know a lot of Saudis at the university and since I was a kid was always fascinated with both archaic Bedouin and modern Wahabi-state controlled urbanites, especially the lives of women there. This book was well written and reminded me of Martin Cruz Smith’s work (he is a favorite, especially Polar Star) I read some reviews of Finding Nouf that criticized the author for being incorrect on some of her facts, but I feel a lot sympathy for that. We can’t be perfect. Also, I know editors and marketing teams are responsible for a lot; they will override an author and change things culturally if they feel it will make American readers like the book more.

Oh, to get back to your question: I love Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible, Peter Matthiesen’s At Play in the Field of the Lord, and the post-Victorians, especially Thomas Hardy. I love Dickens and Conrad, the Romantic poets (grew up on them, since we didn’t have TV). My first adult novel, which I read and loved at the age of 7 was To Kill a Mockingbird, followed quickly by Never Cry Wolf by Mowat.

This year I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction political science, economics, the rise of American Empire, and – if you will – apocalyptic science about climate change and peak oil, ecological breakdown. I am reading that “downer” stuff because I am concerned, and want to know what is happening and what is likely to happen. They are like my oracles. And I always love anything about Carl Jung or Joseph Campbell, or world mythology and anthropology.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Huge thanks to Lesley Thomas.  If you’d like to be entered to win this amazing book, leave a comment here telling me why you want to win a copy of this book.  For an extra chance, you can blog/tweet about this contest- but be sure to tell me you did it, and provide a link

 

Missed my last post?  It was: FOCUSING ON CHARLAINE HARRIS: SOOKIE AND TRUE BLOOD FAQ

My heart is my home.

I listened to two interviews with Barbara Marx Hubbard this weekend. One of Integral Enlightenment with Craig Hamilton, here. He started a new series and you can subscribe here.  
The other one was with Claire Zammit of Women on the Edge of Evolution, here. (To subscribe go here)   Especially in the second interview it is very clear to me that Barbara is a woman (of 80 years) who is very often inside the vortex. She is a seer who talks about where we’re going. Beautiful interviews with so many great visions and insights. I recommend everybody to listen!   In that second interview they also talk about the American dream, that everybody has a house, their own home. The first thing I thought is, that’s right, only it was taken literally. A real house. When we look at that symbolically the own home is my heart, my inner being, who is home everywhere.  Where ever I lay my head, that’s my home, as the song says. With the ‘example role’ America does it is great to see that is what we do. The inner journey to ‘my heart is my home’.  I was pondering a bit on that and at that moment my daughter turned the TV louder with a concert of the Jonas Brothers.  :D I took my headphone and thought, a bigger house, (literally ) is in my vortex. At the same time I think about (and feel) my own calmness, my ability to focus and to concentrate, the value and the the appreciation of the moment now, of my live as it is now. In my minds eye I see a picture of American houses who are ‘normally’ big and I  notice, that much space doesn’t exist in the Netherlands, and I think, with a very big population on earth as we have now, as Barbara also says in that conversation, we can’t do anything else then experiencing that space in ourselves, inner space, inside the vortex, to experience that space on earth. In the vortex it all fits perfectly and grand, outside the vortex hardly or not at all. I noticed I had felt difficulty with demanding so much space for me, and my daughter , which from outside the vortex looks like demanding something while there is not enough. With insights like this I feel myself inside the vortex much easier and faster with my desire of a bigger house and more space. It was a resistance I hadn’t notice clearly yet, even though I had noticed there was resistance somewhere. I still live in this house while I feel the desire to move for quite some time now.   Almost at the end of the interview with Claire Zammit and Barbara Marx Hubbard I notice I ‘can’t’ ignore anymore the constant use of the word ‘need’. We need this and what is needed is that. I noticed Americans use the word need a lot and it gives me a feeling of ‘not right’. An ‘off’ feeling. I also get slightly rebellious, I don’t need anything, it is all already here. Or, I want! What need? No need, I want it.   Words vibrate something and I got a thing with language, words and what and how we say things. I thought lets take a look at what the dictionary says. 
 
v. require; be in distress, be under hardship; be obligated
n. necessity, requirement; shortage of an indispensable item; distress, hardship   And the dutch translation is the same.   I’ve been saying for a long time already that I don’t use this sort of words in that way. Now, with the series ‘Inside the vortex’ from Abraham Hicks I understand even more that what I always feel is right. An outside of the vortex leaning, out of the inner being leaning story gives words like need. Or trying. Or protection.  So it is more a step 1, a question. And the answer is inside the vortex. In my inner all, All that Is. While I was listening I noticed that with ’need’ they really say, we are inspired to. That would make the whole story more inside the vortex than outside the vortex. Not, it is needed to come together as in a shortage, more it inspires such plans.  ‘This question inspires me with this idea and this vision. This is what I see where we’re going.’
Or as Barbara says with being attractive; the question attracts this sort of ideas or directions. I’m attracted to this idea, this path, with this question. That attracts this direction for me. It draws this idea on. I think it is a beautiful way to say things in English, it feels good and full, in movement.   In the dutch language we don’t use the word ‘need’ as often as Americans, we use ‘must’ a lot. I say mostly ‘we want to share’, not ‘we need to share’, or as the dutch say, we must share’.  Or I say something is useful. Or looks useful. Feels useful.  Not necessary, not needy, not required, obligated. Rather fantastic, a beautiful option from lots of possibility’s. The best path seen from here.  In dutch I would say something like, it would be fantastic (and the word fantastic feels really good because my fantasy feels inside the vortex for me, in my inner being, the dreamer, the shaman, the seer, the alchemist) when we would come together more blah blah, with examples of possibility’s I see.

 

I’m attracted now, full of eagerness, to use ‘inspired to’ in English, and to notice how that will come out of me in the dutch language.  

 

 

[VIDEO] J Cole on Kanye West, No I.D. and album being almost done

J Cole talks to Nick Huff of Hard Knock TV about his new album being almost done and how he has worked mainly with No I.D. He also shares his thoughts on Kanye West, if we can expect production from him on the new album and talks about his favorite debut albums. Check out part 1 of the interview where J. Cole speaks on Jay-Z Beanie Sigel Situation, Drake comparison and mixtapes and how they can help/hurt an artists career.

a non-catholic at the catholic center

Rebecca Lentjes, a sophomore at NYU and a non-Catholic member of the Newman Club at the Catholic Center, isn’t sure if she’ll ever convert to Catholicism. Lentjes, from Alabama, GA, said that her Episcopalian family didn’t often attend church and that the conservative religious beliefs in her hometown turned her off.

When Lentjes got to NYU, she explored different faiths. She went to the Islamic Center and read books about Buddhism. She also attended the Catholic Center spaghetti dinner “for the free food” and soon after went to a picnic at Central Park. She said that she felt welcomed at those events, but she didn’t commit to the Catholic Center until she attended a retreat.

Lentjes participates in community service projects such as taking food to the homeless and putting on a Christmas party for poor children in the Lower East Side in Manhattan.

She said that although she doesn’t always agree with other members’ religious beliefs, she appreciates the company. “It’s nice to have a group of people with really good values that don’t want to get high or drunk every night,” she said. “I’ve already made these friends. I don’t want to quit because I’ve decided not to follow their religion.”

An Interview with...Monica Burns

Please welcome Monica Burns to Author Toolbox, folks! Wheeeee!

Emmy: Welcome, Monica. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today. It’s very much appreciated.

To start off, would you mind taking us through your publication journey?

Monica: Wow! That could take a while since I’ve been writing since I was nine years old. LOL

Seriously though, I started devoting myself full-time to writing with the intent to publish in 2002 after I got pneumonia and was out of work for two months. With over 150 channels there wasn’t a thing to watch. So I entertained myself by writing and surfing the Internet where I found a supportive group of romance lovers. From there I sold to New Concepts Publishing in 2004 with my first story released in January 2005. In 2007, I sold to Samhain Publishing and in 2008, I landed two contracts with Berkley Sensation for a total of five books for publication starting January 2010.

Emmy: I admire anyone who is dedicated enough to keep plugging on in the publishing world. Was there ever a time when you considered giving up on your dream to become a published author?

What a lovely cover!

Monica: Absolutely. Two times I can recall specifically. One was just before RWA National in 2004. I’d just been rejected by Red Sage Publishing for their anthology and I was devastated. I debated not going to the conference, and I almost hung up my pen right there and then. But I kept on plugging away. The second time was in 2008. I’d been working on a paranormal series that I loved, and everyone was rejecting with the exception of two publishers. One publisher suggested they’d take a look if I revised. I didn’t want to change the flavor of the books, so after some thought I passed. My agent thought I was crazy, but a few weeks later, Berkley made an offer and I accepted. A week or two after the contract offer, I explained to my agent that my gut tells me things, and I listen. She was understanding, but I know there are others who thought I was crazy. So I’m really glad I didn’t give up. See what I would have missed??? LOL

Emmy: Instinct…best to listen to it, I’d say!

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Monica: Writing is hard, but you have to work at it. The ladder upward is hard to scale, and unfortunately not everyone will make it. BUT, you don’t know whether you might be one of the ones who does scale the ladder if you don’t keep plugging away. Perseverance is critical to that first sale, not talent, not networking or anything else. Just the STORY and perseverance is what will make a first sale, whether in ePub or NY.

Emmy: How did it feel to see your book on the bookshelves?

Monica: Unfortunately, my small press books are seldom in chain stores, so I’ve yet to just stumble into a bookstore and see my book without prompting the store to order. BUT, I’m hoping that will change come January with my first Berkley book.

Emmy: What is the best part about being an author?

Monica: I can escape the real world. Just like readers who read to escape the doldrums of life, I get to escape into whatever corner of my imagination I choose. It’s sort of like traveling to a foreign country and do whatever I want.

Emmy: Would you mind telling us about your latest release?

Monica: My next release is Kismet, which is a Victorian erotic romance set in Morocco. This book is very special to me. It’s a rewrite of a book that was a cathartic writing experience. I’m delighted that Berkley loved it enough to give the rewrite a chance for me to share it with readers. Here’s the cover copy.

It was a gamble she was born to make…

Raised in a brothel at a young age, Allegra Synnford quickly learned that survival meant taking charge of her

SQUEE!

 destiny. Now, a renowned courtesan skilled in the pleasures of the flesh, she chooses her lovers carefully—vowing never to be vulnerable to any one man. Until a mesmerizing Sheikh strips that control from her…

With a man who wasn’t used to losing.

Sheikh Shaheen of the Amazigh has been hiding from his past for a long time, but not enough to forget how another courtesan made him abandon his life as the Viscount Newcastle. It’s why the yearnings this dangerous temptress ignites within him are so troubling. Worse, thoughts of Allegra pervade every fantasy, threatening to undermine his cover. With old enemies circling, experience tells him he must resist her charms at all cost. In fact, he’s betting on it. That’s a risky wager when it comes to a woman of pleasure. But Allegra has her own reasons for playing games…with a man who can’t afford to lose.

What happens between them is Kismet…

Emmy: Now for the more laid back questions! What would be your ideal menu at a dinner party—let’s say three courses—and where would you go to eat it? Any destination in the world. Oh, and what would you wear? (I’ve just handed you a credit card with unlimited funds so you can buy your clothes and shoes for the evening…what is your dream store/designer?)

Monica: Three courses, a lovely salad with cheese, almonds and some type of vingerette, roast pheasant under glass and some sort of French pastry. I would want to eat this meal in Maxims in Paris, France. Maxim’s has been around since the late 1800s and at one time was the ONLY place to be seen in Paris. I’m not a big fashion hound, so I can’t name designers, but I’d love to find a black dress that would show off my ample bosom while playing down my far more ample hips. *grin*

Emmy: When you have the time to read, which authors’ books are you most likely to pick up? Do you select those in the genre you write or go for something completely different? And, have any of those authors inspired you in your own writing?

Monica: When I read, there are some writers I never miss. Loretta Chase and Michelle Moran are two I can’t pass up. Same for Shiloh Walker, Angela Knight and Christine Feehan. Michelle is the only one who doesn’t write romance. She’s historical fiction, but I love, love her books, and they do have some romance in them. I also love Sabrina Jeffries and Lucy Monroe and Nalini Singh. It’s hard to pick any one author who inspired me because I’ve been writing since I was nine-years-old. If I had to say inspiration, I would have to say the classics of Dumas, Dickens, Ocrzy and Victoria Holt. Those were some great stories!

Emmy: You have a day off to spend as you wish. Anywhere in the world, unlimited funds, and the twenty-four hours are guaranteed to feel like a week. How would you spend it?

Monica: Rome. It’s where my upcoming paranormal heroes hail from, and I would want to see as many monuments I could in that 24-hours to get a feel for the city and see it through the eyes of my heroes.

Emmy: Well, Monica, it’s been lovely having you here and learning all about your writing career. Thank you so much for joining us! Long may you continue writing!

Worst Snowboard Fall EVER. Interview with Brett Butcher.

This is not for the weak to watch ,
Every time I see it I cringe.

The Snowboard Realms interviews Brett Butcher.

SnowboardRealms- What happend ?

Brett Butcher – It was day two of Snowboarder’s Super Park and after hitting the 90 footer all morning, the attention turned to the massive hip. About 20 of us where feeling it out and warming up. There was a weird rut in the far right takeoff, so a few guys started to hit the takeoff more too the middle. I believe it was the fourth or fifth time I had dropped. I remember getting a little swirly in the bottom of the transition and got pushed right

SBR- When you were in the air what were you thinking?

BB- The second I left the lip I knew I was done for. There was a shadow line at the bottom of the transition and I was already out of the shade and over the sun as I was peeking. I could also hear the gasps of everyone watching. I new it wasn’t going to be good. The only thing going through my mind was to stay loose and land feet first. The fall didn’t knock me out so I remember it all very vividly. Watching the video, it looks like I’m falling forever. When it happened it seemed to have gone by quicker.

SBR- What were your injuries from the crash ?

BB-My injuries from the fall where a compressed L1 vertebrae and a blown out sternum. My back broke on impact. Once I hit, my body went numb. Everything hurt. *Friends where by my side instantly helping me out and Ski patrol was close too fallow. They advised me to get a ride down in the toboggan and take an ambulance to the hospital. I had never been on a toboggan ride nor have I been in an ambulance and I was determined to avoid it. Ski Patrol was very reluctant to let a friend take me to the hospital but after some discussion they agreed and told me I had to sign a waver to release me from their care. By this time I had been laying in the snow for a good 10 minutes and everything was sore. Felt like I got hit by a truck. This is when things took a turn for the worst. There was a ton of pressure in my chest from the fall and as I sat up, the pressure released blowing out my sternum. I instantly started to freak out thinking I was dying. My chest was gurgling and I was having trouble breathing. Ski Patrol jumped into action and raced me down to the ambulance.

*( myself and another dude were the first on the scene , I’m in the purple hoodie with the shaved head. I remember we started running towards him before he had even hit the ground. This was one of the scariest moments of my life. I thought for sure he was going to be broken in half. When i got up to him he was gasping for air and we just tried to keep Brett calm. I was really scared for him. )

SBR- Are there any lasting injuries from this crash ?

BB- It has been 18 months since the fall and my back and sternum still get sore from time to time if I don’t stretch. I have a bulge on my chest from where my sternum blew out and that will be with me forever. I swear I am shorter because of the fall!

SBR- When you think back to the fall, how does it make you feel ?

BB- When I look back at the fall, I feel very fortunate. I wasn’t really feeling the hip but decided to hit it again. I usually am good about listening to the little voice in my head. But that’s life, you live with the choices you make. Looking at the footage, I fully believe it’s a miracle that I am walking, let alone alive. Landing any other way would have been devastating. It hasn’t changed the way I snowboard but it has made me think a bit more about what I am hitting and how I am feeling that particular day on my snowboard.

check out Brett , were happy he’s alive too.

theSnowboardRealms.