An Interview with M. LaRose

M. LaRose wrote her first story while in first grade: a thriller titled The Peach-Fuzz Monsters. Unfortunately, that story was lost to the sands of time when her parents failed to preserve the manuscript. Today, M. LaRose writes paranormal romance inspired by human passion and the mysteries of nature. Kirkus Reviews called her debut novel, The Flower Eater, a “delightfully entertaining story of how one woman’s effort to destroy helps her learn how to save.” Her second novel, Lost in the Hall of the Mountain King, was a quarterfinalist in the Screencraft 2019 Cinematic Book Competition. M. LaRose lives with her husband in the green mountains of Vermont.

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Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

When I was a kid, my mother brought me to the town library every weekend, and I read voraciously, bringing home piles of books. The library had a collection of fairy tales called Lang’s Fairy Books, comprised of twelve separate volumes, each named with a color. I loved those old-world stories, with their magical plot twists, enchanted people, talking animals, and cautionary warnings. A common theme running through many fairy tales is that ‘pride goeth before a fall’ and the importance of respecting both one’s elders and the impoverished, for you never know when a crone is really a witch, or a beggar really a fairy, who may help you if you treat them kindly – or punish you with magic if you treat them rudely. I also love the role that woodlands and forests play as atmospheric backdrops for those stories, because I think, deep down, we all still feel our inextricable link with plants and Nature, in all her mystery. As an adult, I read a variety of genres, but when it comes to writing, at least so far, I’ve felt most drawn to conjure fantastical plots. I’m also interested in romantic struggles and psychological drama, so my current works feature adult characters dealing with situations of romantic angst mingled with paranormal or speculative elements. My first novel, The Flower Eater, is set in a medieval-style world, while my new novel takes place in a national forest. I’m sure my love of old-world fairy tales influenced both stories.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I was working on the sequel to my first novel, The Flower Eater, when I suddenly got the idea for an entirely different story. I was riding in a car and happened to be listening to a classical music station (not my usual choice, but for some reason I tuned to it that day). A dramatic, eerie piece of music came on, and while listening it, an idea blossomed in my mind. That musical piece was In the Hall of the Mountain King, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875. Listening to it, I began imagining who that mountain king might be and what could be happening in his hall inside that mountain. Before long, I had the gist of a new novel and shifted my writing focus to that story. It’s almost ready for publication now.

For The Flower Eater, the seeds of that idea came from a mix of things swirling in my subconscious. In my twenties, I once rented an apartment in a Victorian house, where I learned that the landlord and his wife had met when he was a priest and she was a nun. They’d fallen in love, left their orders, and went on to have four children. That situation always intrigued me: the inherent tension in someone taking any vow, but especially one of chastity, then experiencing a change of heart or temptation that leads them to break the vow. That quandary forms the heart of The Flower Eater. I’m sure I was also influenced by an old movie I saw on television when I was a kid: the 1947 film version of Black Narcissus, based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden. Instead of a nun, I made the heroine of The Flower Eater a young priestess in a fantasy world.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

I love titles (and chapter headings), which come to me easily. A title often occurs to me first, as the seed of an idea that triggers me to imagine a story to fit the title. Years ago, I worked in a bookstore and saw a book on a shelf that was about ‘lotus eaters’ – as I recall, it was a scholarly work about some asian religion. I didn’t read that book, but the idea of someone eating flowers resonated in my mind with a childhood memory in which I and another little girl actually ate a bunch of flowers off a bush in the yard. Fortunately, the flowers we ate were non-toxic! (But in the name of safety, I’m not going to tell you what they were.) When I was older, seeing that book about ‘lotus eaters’ and recalling that childhood memory spurred me to imagine a fantasy world in which a young priestess has reason to eat some dangerous flowers. The title of my new novel, Lost in the Hall of the Mountain King, incorporates the title of the classical music piece by Edvard Grieg. I just added the word ‘lost’ and had that book’s title. (There’s something ominously exciting about that piece of music that inspired my story’s plot.)

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

As I’ve mentioned, my new novel, Lost in the Hall of the Mountain King, was influenced by a piece of classical music, so that music would definitely be featured: In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. And there’s a song from the 1980s or early 1990s called Self Control by Laura Branigan that would also be great for that soundtrack.

For my first novel, The Flower Eater, I imagine a soundtrack that features the Celtic folk singing of harpist Loreena McKennitt, especially her version of A Blacksmith Courted Me – the mood and lyrics of that song strongly mirror the heartache of the heroine in The Flower Eater.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, I was clueless about what to do with myself and that degree. So I spent my twenties working in retail clothing sales, in a book store, and as a bank teller. I’ve also worked as a secretary for architects and for a financial management firm. For more than twenty years, I’ve been the office manager in a state government agency that provides services for crime victims. All of those jobs have given me experiences or knowledge that inform my writing in one way or another.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I rely on my imagination more than on research, but recently I read Paul Stamets’ non-fiction book Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. I expect that book will help me write the sequel to Lost in the Hall of the Mountain King.

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

I would tell my younger self not to be so hung up on perfection and fears of failure. I used to be held back by inner doubts about each sentence I wrote, but I finally learned to just get the words down. Once you’ve finished that first draft, you can polish it up and fix things. During editing is when you can clean up grammar, rephrase things, and remove redundancies. I’ve found that editing is much easier than the initial writing, but you need to get that first draft done! As a way to get myself back into the flow when writing, I often reread the last section I wrote and do some simple edits, but it’s most important to keep the first draft moving so you can get to the full-on editing stage.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

Foremost, I hope that my stories take the reader on an entertaining adventure and make them feel the character’s emotions. When the story is done, I want readers to feel uplifted or hopeful. Because there’s too much trouble and discomfort in the real world. We all need a mental escape sometimes.

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