I’m pleased to welcome Juli D. Revezzo and her latest release, Sing a Mournful Melody…
Where did you get the idea for your novel?
The idea for “Sing a Mournful Melody” came from a daydream about a woman (Maribelle) hearing a ghostly voice from her Victrola. As I looked into the time period in which I wanted to set the story (1901) I found a phonograph developed by Alexander Graham Bell called a Graphophone. It’s a version of the record player that people don’t seem to know much about, so it drew my interest. The story of Maribelle’s beloved composer husband, and what becomes of him, blossomed from there.
What book have you read that you wish you would have written?
Oh, I wish I’d written “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, or Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Barring that it would be great to know Coleridge or Woolf, I think. 🙂
What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?
I hate to say it, but social media. That’s the biggest time suck in life these days.
What’s your favorite book of all time and why?
My favorite book of all time? Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock is probably my all-time favorite fantasy novel. As far as Classics, I have to go with LeFanu’s story from 1872,“Sir Dominick’s Bargain” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798) as an influence on my inclusion of Supernatural elements in my work. They particularly had an influence on the genesis of my story “Sing a Mournful Melody”.
What do you want readers to come away with after they read “Sing a Mournful Melody”?
I hope they will enjoy the story. Perhaps it will send their spines. 😉 Maybe, they will even learn something they hadn’t known before.
Would you rather have a bad review or no review?
That’s a tough question. A think a bad review. For all that they sting, I’ve noticed they do boost the signal a bit. 🙂
What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?
From the first time I picked up a pen, I have pretty much always experimented across genres. However, I would like to try my hand at a historical novel. In fact, I’m working on a Gothic romance right now, so it’s a distinct possibility I may tick it off my bucket list eventually. 🙂
What is your favorite…
Movie: I’m a movie fan, so there are many. Room with a View, Excalibur, Enchanted April, Pan’s Labrynth, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy…I could go on, but I won’t bore you. 🙂
Music: I enjoy a wide range of music—Rock, blues, heavy metal, classical, some new age, even some alt-country. Johnny Cash rocks, Elvis is good too. 🙂
Place you’ve visited: South Carolina.
Place you’d like to visit: Italy or Ireland.
TV show from childhood Beauty and the Beast and Isis.
TV show from adulthood: I loved Gilmore Girls. Currently I’m obsessed with Once Upon a Time and Sleepy Hollow.
Food: Italian
Sports team: I must admit, I don’t pay attention to sports.
Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? I do like a good game of Monopoly but I must admit, I veg out in front of a movie on the DVD player more often than not, these days.
Thank you for joining me, Juli. Some very interesting information. I agree about the bad reviews. Uh, and you know I liked that you mentioned Elvis in your list of music 😉
Juli would like to ask readers a question now…
Who is your favorite Gothic heroine?
Blurb:
At the turn of the 20th century, tragedy has left Maribelle grief-stricken. After her beloved husband is murdered, his body disappears from his crypt. Worse, ghostly voices call from the widow’s Graphophone. Is she losing her mind, or does something wicked this way come?
Excerpt:
Maribelle, Maribelle. The words rang from the Graphophone in the corner, its needle humming across the short cylinder.
A shudder crept over her skin. Maribelle frowned and berated herself. Of course she was alone. How could she have expected otherwise? And yet, the voice gave her pause.
She couldn’t remember any song that mentioned her name, couldn’t remember having left the Graphophone running. Certainly not in so short a time.
“By God,” she said approaching the Graphophone, intent on shutting it off, “how could you let that thing scare you?”
“Maribelle,” the disembodied voice of the Graphophone said, deep and different now, “I know what you would do. You wish to die.”
Maribelle gasped and halted in her tracks. “How could you?”
The voice continued, oblivious to her question, “I have another suggestion for you.”
She flicked the switch on the side of the Graphophone’s case. “Be quiet, won’t you? I can’t hear myself think.”
She turned toward the door.
“Maribelle,” the voice came again.
Maribelle screeched in shock and turned, heart fluttering like a nervous sparrow’s wings.
The Graphophone played on its own. Its polished nickel tone arm glowed with a gloomy blue light as its needle scraped across the brown wax cylinder.
“As I said, I have another suggestion for you, if you’d listen for moment.”
Maribelle reached toward the needle. “I will hear no more,” she said.
“No,” said the stranger’s voice. “Listen to me. The one you loved is gone forever. No one can reunite you.”
She sniffled. “I know that much, sir.”
“So all the authorities say. But what do doctors and police truly know of death?” said the voice. “They cannot help you. Perhaps I can.”
“Sing a Mournful Melody” is available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/MOURNFUL-MELODY-Gothic-short-story-ebook/dp/B00PF0IQWY
and Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/MOURNFUL-MELODY-Gothic-short-story-ebook/dp/B00PF0IQWY
About the Author:
Juli D. Revezzo is a Florida girl with a love of speculative and romantic fiction and legend, and loves writing stories with all kinds of fantastical elements. She is the author of The Antique Magic series and the Paranormal Romance Harshad Wars series, New Adult romance Changeling’s Crown, and many short stories. She is also a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour. To learn more about this and future releases, visit her at: http://julidrevezzo.com
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