Inspiration By Monique Domovitch
I dreamed of being a writer for years before I decided to take the plunge in my mid fifties. I quit my job and started my first novel, giving myself two years to figure out whether I actually succeed at it or not. Lucky for me, it all worked out.
The one thing that took me by surprise was that the process of writing is nothing like I had imagined it. I had never expected it to be some kind of mystical experience during which I would be possessed by a story demanding to be written. I only wish it were that easy. But I was shocked to find out that writer’s block is an almost daily occurrence—at least for me. After each scene, I find myself asking, what next? Every new one needs to be set—the place, the time, the characters involved and the emotions at play between them. I went through a long period where I would just plug away at the computer, determined to get work my way through, and getting nowhere. Then, one day, in frustration I gave up and went to wash the dishes, and ideas suddenly came surging forth on their own. That was when I figured out that the best thing to do when I get blocked is to walk away from the computer. I is when I get my best ideas—doing something mindless like washing the dishes or cleaning out the fridge. And then I hurry back to the computer.
Starting a new novel is somewhat different. Sometimes the inspiration for a story will come from something I read in a newspaper or saw on television—usually some kind of a difficult situation. I’ll find myself wondering how different people might react in such circumstances. And from that little germ of an idea, I start building a character and a story.
That is how I built my characters in my Scorpio series. I had read an article about the effects of abuse on a person’s life. Some, the article explained, turned their pain into ambition, and were unable to develop healthy love relationships, while others needed love so desperately that they often remained in relationships long after they should have left. That is how Alexander Ivanov, the male character, and Brigitte Dartois, the romantic interest in Scorpio Rising were born.
Since the publication of that series, I’ve had numerous requests for a third book, and the good news is that I am now working on another book, similar to Scorpio in style. In this one, my main characters are the perpetrators of a Ponzi Scheme and their victims. It will be full of drama, and as in the Scorpio books, full of unexpected twists and turns.
I would like to mention that I also have two new books coming out soon. Getting Skinny, a murder mystery being published by Carina Press, will be out on February 13th. The other, Looming Murder, published by Obsidian (under my pen name Carol Ann Martin) will be out in June. I’ve been told that they are laugh out loud funny, quite a departure for me. I hope my fans will enjoy them as much as my Scorpio series.
Monique Domovitch was born in Canada, where she led a number of successful careers, from top model during the 70s, to financial adviser with her own national television show. Now, in what she calls the best part of her life, she launches into yet another career, this time as a fiction writer. Now, with two novels under her belt, and a contract for three murder-mysteries with Obsidian, she seems once again, headed for success. http://www.moniquedomovitch.com
Set in New York and Paris amid the glamorous and competitive worlds of art and real estate, Scorpio Rising takes the reader from the late 1940s to the 1960s through the tumultuous lives of its heroes.There is Alex Ivanov, the son of a Russian immigrant and part-time prostitute. He yearns to escape his sordid life and achieve fame and fortune. His dreams of becoming a world-class builder are met with countless obstacles, yet he perseveres in the hope of someday receiving the recognition he craves.Half a world away, Brigitte Dartois is an abused teenager who runs into the arms of a benefactor with an agenda all his own. When she finds out that her boss has an ulterior motive, she flees again, determined to earn her living through her art. This career brings her fame, but also the unwanted attention of her early abuser.
Monique Domovitch’s debut novel, Scorpio Rising, is a compelling tale filled with finely etched characters and a superb understanding of the power of ambition. Scorpio Rising promises to resonate with all who once had a dream.
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