BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver: The Soul Saver [1]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Michele Brouder to talk about Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver (20 September 2015,Michele Brouder, 204pages), a Young Adult Paranormal Romance, book one of The Soul Saver series.

"...a sharp, unique adventure..."

"...Claire is a sharp witted and funny girl..."

"Smartly written adventure!"

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Hello Claire, a big welcome from London! Thank you for joining us today.

Here at BooksChatter we love music; do you have a music playlist that you used in Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver, or which inspired you whilst you were writing it?

"I love to listen to music when I'm writing and I always create a playlist for specific books that I'm writing. Here are some of the songs on the Playlist for Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver."

Lovely selection - thank you.

What was the inspiration for Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver?

"I am an American living in Ireland. I thought how cool would it be to have a female, Irish teenage character with supernatural powers. Kind of an Irish, female superhero."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"The things I share in common with Claire are being a homebody, love of reading and a strong sense of humor."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The Scarlett Rugers Design Agency in Australia did the cover and I couldn't be happier with it. The thing I loved was that Scarlett actually reads the manuscript before she designs the cover. She presented me 3 concepts but this was the first one and I knew as soon as I looked at it that it was 'the one.' The cover ties in some important elements of the book and I loved the combination/contrast of the edgy and the church-y fonts. I also loved the colors. The bold blue and the orange which is symbolic of a fireside. In Ireland, because of the cold and damp, everyone (just about) has roaring fires in their fireplaces. Sitting by the fire is a pastime."

I can understand that - you will either find me in front of a fireplace (I have retained all of the original ones in our house) or hugging a radiator... with a nice pint of Irish stout, for medicinal purposes, of course, as it is full of iron! ;-)

Why should we read Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"She's a funny, irritable Irish heroine. There are not many Irish heroines with supernatural powers in commercial fiction. Like most teenagers, she's anxious to start living her life. She has plans, dreams, hopes and wishes. She also has a terrible crush on her best friend, Chas. But she learns an important adult lesson: that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. It's unique in that it combines daily everyday life in Ireland, Ireland's ancient history, her beautiful landscape with the supernatural."

I like the sound of that! **adds book to the TBR pile**

Can you tell us something quirky about Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver, its story and characters?

"When I first started writing this, I had given the heroine a very Irish name. Her name was Blathnaid O'Sullivan originally. It's pronounced Blaw-nid. But I couldn't get it past my writing group or anyone outside of Ireland as they couldn't pronounce it. I was disappointed but I decided to change it. So I chose Claire, after County Clare where I met my husband."

Who would you recommend Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"It's suitable for anyone over the age of 15. It's a pretty clean read except for some mild swearing. I'd also recommend it for anyone who is interested in Ireland or anything Irish, or interested in the supernatural or ancient history."

If you could / wished to turn Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver and the Soul Saver series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Great questions. I always do a vision board before I write and include images of people who resemble my characters as well as images of places in the book or themes that run throughout the book.

For the cast:
Claire: Susan Loughnane (from Love/Hate),
Chas: James Norton (from Grantchester) and
Ari: Marc Elliot (from Eastenders),
Julia: Judi Dench, and
Harry Bennett: Donald Pleasance.

Location would definitely be the southwest of Ireland, and more specifically the Dingle and Iveragh peninsula."

Funnily enough, Dingle is the only place in Ireland that I have been to - and I did catch a glimpse of Fungi, the resident bottlenose dolphin!

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I read everything from juvenile fiction to literary to YA to romantic comedy to crime fiction. I love to write YA and romantic comedy. Would someday (way down the road) like to try my hand at crime fiction."

What is your writing process?

"Initially, I think about a story for a while. In my head I see it as a movie reel. Then I write down everything I can in longhand from start to finish; I find it helps if I know how it's going to end. I do not edit at all. I do not rewrite. I write in a stream of consciousness way, what I like to call word vomit, just get the story out of my head and onto paper. Then I go back and create a document on the computer. Unfortunately, sometimes I can't read my own writing. Then I think of how I can tease out certain aspects of the plot or what developments I need or how the arc needs to progress. Then I write and write it over and over again. For all writing is really is rewriting. A lot."

What is in store next?

"Claire will be back in Volume 2 of the Soul Savers series (hopefully by late next year), where she continues to wrestle with being a Soul Saver, but this time her beloved Ireland is at risk—there have been some alarming changes in the country. Some more nascent superpowers will emerge. Julia ends up in trouble and a visit to the convent finds shocking changes. There will be more development with her relationships with Chas and Ari. Right now, there are tentatively 3 books planned for the series."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"When we first lived in Ireland we had a goldfish, a hamster, a canary, 2 cats and a dog, mercifully not all at the same time. Since we've moved back to Ireland in August we've gotten a kitten. My younger son loves animals and we've always had cats or dogs. And he had his heart set on getting a ginger cat to name it Steward Benard. It ended up being a girl kitten and we still call her Steward. Although sometimes I call her kitten or ginger. She loves to sit on people's shoulders! We are now in the market for a puppy."

What a gorgeous little girl! Hello... Stewart! ... I love shoulder cats; there aren't that many around. I only ever had one like that, and she used to sit on me like a scarf :-)
Thank you so much for sharing with us!