I would like to thank Ms. Maliga who was kind enough to agree to an interview to go along with my review of her recent release Out of the Blue. And don't forget to check out the giveaway--info can be found at the bottom of my review for Out of the Blue
About the Book
Tell us a bit about
your novel.
Sylvia Gardner is an
innocent young woman who has been told by her mother that she’ll never amount
to anything. Vivian Gardner repeatedly tells her daughter not to trust any man
because they only want to use her. Sylvia falls in love with a British actor
after seeing him on TV, a man who has no idea she exists. After two years of
yearning for Alexander Thorpe, she summons the courage to take what little
money she’s saved from working two jobs, and heads off to England to find him.
He lives in a small Cotswolds village and that’s where she stays--in the only
hotel in Windrush-in-the-Combe.
Alexander is going through a
personal career crisis, as he wants to continue making art films. He still
hasn’t embraced the notion of “going Hollywood.” Additionally, the walls of
loneliness and booze are closing in on him as he’s between acting gigs.
After two weeks, Sylvia is
running low on money, so she looks for a job. Until that fateful night when the
actor enters the hotel’s pub …
What gave you the idea
for Out of the Blue? How long did it take you to write?
I took some time off from work and traveled around England
for several months. One of the villages where I stayed had a
hotel/pub/restaurant and staff occupied two of the six rooms. One of the staff
members was a gregarious Italian woman who was there to improve her English. There was a “television personality” who had
once upon a time acted in some British “telly” shows. I'd never heard of him
but the way he was treated by the locals clued me in that he was important. The
young Italian woman knew about him—guess she saw his shows in Italy or something,
and she was really interested in the actor.
This book took about twenty years to write. I lost count of
how many drafts it underwent. It got its start on DOS and I remember saving it
on those 5” floppy disks. Every time I bought a new computer and/or a new
version of Windows, the manuscript also was upgraded and revised.
Which character was
your favourite to create? Why?
Alexander because he had to be this beacon that attracted
Sylvia. I wanted him to be memorable and have lots of depth. Getting into his
head was a challenge, but it was fun as he’s a decent guy, not like some of my
other characters in some of my other books.
If you were asked to
make a soundtrack for Out of
the Blue, what songs would be on it?
Those mentioned in the book,
so you’d get rock, reggae, pop, jazz and disco! For example: Passion [Rod
Stewart], You Gotta Walk and Don’t Look Back [Mick Jagger & Peter Tosh],
Baker Street [Gerry Rafferty], and Autumn Leaves [Miles Davis].
If your book was
turned into a movie, who would you choose to play the leading characters?
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers who was in The
Tudors and also played a young Elvis – quite convincingly. Another
contender is Stephen Moyer [Vampire Bill in the Trueblood series] as both Alexander and as Curtis, my lead in The Wilkes House Haunting. Stephen is a
bit of a chameleon so that’s why. As for Sylvia, that could be Anna Paquin or
Natalie Portman.
What’s your writing
process like?
Plop myself in front of the computer and start typing. Sometimes I
distract myself by visiting Pinterest. There’s something therapeutic about
looking at travel pictures or cute animals frolicking about. Or those photos of
cakes and cookies and other desserts…and the chocolate…OK, then I got back to
work again.
About the author
What is a normal day
for you? Take us through your usual routine.
After having a light
breakfast, I either go skating or go back to sleep for another hour. Usually I go skating and afterwards I stop
off at a park where I can walk around in a peaceful and serene environment and
can feed my squirrel-friends. I’m able to reflect on my current and/or future
writing projects as I walk around the lake. Then I pick up a croissant on the
way back to my house and take a shower, using my own soap, and change into my
comfy sweats. I’ll work on my various projects until dusk. Then I go for brief
evening walk. Afterwards, I have dinner—usually pizza, Indian or Chinese
takeout. I always eat and read so I try getting caught up on various books that
way—as I eat slowly and read quickly. I return to my writing until around 10
o’clock and then it’s time for a movie.
When you’re not
writing, what else do you like to do?
Ice skating as it’s
something physical and requires lots of concentration—along with some balance.
I tend not to think about anything other than what I’m doing so that’s what
makes it so therapeutic both physically and mentally.
I also enjoy making my own
soap and bath and body products. Within the next few months, I’ll be spending
more time in the kitchen as I’m going to write and photograph another book
about my aromatic creations.
Tell us about the day
you found out Out of the Blue was going to be published. How did you
react?
Since I’d been working on
the book for so long, it seemed a bit odd. Therefore, I dove right into my next
project; a chick-lit/horror novelette entitled An Author’s Nightmare.
Is there a certain
book that has made a lasting impression on you?
Many books have. I think The Road
did, as Cormac McCarthy is such a poetic writer and I was intrigued with the
apocalyptic theme. Michel Faber’s The
Crimson Petal and the White is a massive book, but so riveting--a Victorian
story that doesn’t hide the grittiness of 1870’s London. Paul Theroux’s Mosquito Coast and his nonfiction work Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through
China along with his sequel to The
Great Railway Bazaar, Ghost Train to
the Eastern Star. There are tons of other books, but ultimately anything
written by the Dalai Lama impresses and inspires me.
What made you want to become a writer?
I could use my imagination. I also got my first library card
in kindergarten so I grew up reading a lot, especially biographies and
autobiographies. I imagined writing my own book when I was in grade school.
Later, I began writing one-act plays and short stories. In high school, I wrote
part of my first novel and abandoned it a year later as I tried to writing a
fantasy novel. That also went nowhere. I kept trying and finally managed to
complete a full-length stage play followed by a screenplay. While I went out to
L.A. to write movies [and some TV], I kept getting the feeling that novels and
short stories were more my speed and began writing them. I didn’t have to worry
about budget constraints or some of the wacky above-the-line talent.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what five
things would you want to have with you?
A small grocery story and library. Maybe a Target.
What’s next for Lisa Maliga?
I keep saying I’m going to finish Leaving Nadir, the sequel to Notes
from Nadir. Another horror short story
is being written and will appear in a bundle along with Satan’s Casting Call
and An Author’s Nightmare.
Bonus Questions
Favourite movie/TV show/food/season?
A
few: Little Buddha, Dead Man Walking, Apocalypse Now, The Wizard of Oz,
Halloween [original], Psycho, Kundun, Seven Years in Tibet, Casino, Goodfellas,
The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Schindler’s List, Magnolia, Boogie
Nights, Hotel Rwanda, Seven, Sunset Boulevard, Gladiator, A Clockwork Orange,
Platoon, Heaven & Earth, Natural Born Killers, Salvador, Scarface, Kill
Bill [both], Pulp Fiction, The Terminator and it’s sequel, The Apostle, Alien
and Aliens, Dawn of the Dead [2004], Ratatouille, Pinocchio, Rosemary’s Baby,
JFK, Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver, and The Good Shepherd...plus loads more.
TV:
Homeland, Breaking Bad, Dexter, True Blood, SouthLAnd, Mad Men, American Horror
Story, Walking Dead [season 2 was boooring but this season is like season 1:
intense], Dragnet [have seen all of them], Weeds [except for the last 2 seasons
when it should’ve ended], Californication, Oz, Amazing Race, Curb Your
Enthusiasm, The Sopranos and the first few seasons of Survivor.
Who would you give the award to for best first kiss (in a
movie)?
Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog in The Great Muppet Caper.
Sweet or salty?
Sweet. Namely,
chocolate. Chocolate bars, chocolate shakes, chocolate ice cream, chocolate
pudding, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies ...
Worst
fear?
Running out of whipped cream when I’m about to have hot
chocolate.
Author
Bio:
Lisa
Maliga has been writing ever since she learned how to put crayon to paper back
in kindergarten. Since then, she has learned to type and uses a laptop, citing
it as way more convenient.
A
fan of taking digital photos, you will find some of them on her website and in
her nonfiction books. The masthead is a shot of the Pacific Ocean taken at
sundown. Variations of this photo are seen on the covers of North of Sunset
and her short story collection, South of Sunset. As an avid
squirrel-watcher, all photos in Squirrels in the Hood were taken by the
author.
