EDITH PARZEFALL.
Come sit under the wattle tree, Edith. You have visited me in Australia but you aren't Australian. Tell us where you come from.
What one place in the world
appeals to you the most?
What is the setting for your latest MuseItUp release, Crumple Zone?
Crumple Zone is set in the Atacama desert in Chile, a fascinating place of stark contrast: a lush coast line set off against the barren desert rimmed by tall volcanos.
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| Cover Designer: Nika Dickson |
Crumple Zone is set in the Atacama desert in Chile, a fascinating place of stark contrast: a lush coast line set off against the barren desert rimmed by tall volcanos.
Tell us a little about this novel?
Crumple Zone is psychological suspense unfolding along Ruta 5, the Pan-American highway running from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Lara is crossing her own emotional desert as she travels through Chile and hooks up with a seemingly charming backpacker—until trucker Enrique crashes into her and thwarts her flight from life and his escape from reality.
Mostly, Lara is a child of
my imagination, although she shows some traits of my younger self, taken to
some extreme. Of course I won't reveal which traits. :-)
Now you have us guessing. :)
Since revisions are fairly
painful for me, I've become far more disciplined while crafting a novel. It
spoils the fun of simply running with the muse but allows for more fun and
satisfaction while polishing the story. I'm slowly turning from a true panster
into a half-hearted plotter. In terms of percentages? I have no idea. I only
know, without that tiny seed the plant wouldn't grow, no matter how ideal the
sun, the soil, and the fertilizer might be.
Why writing? Why not some other craft like painting or quilting etc?
In school, art class was
too painful. Thinking back, I know I could have enjoyed painting, potting, or
anything creative, but teachers forced creativity into molds that made my muse
sulk. Why walk in shackles, instead of learning to climb a rockface? Since I
always loved to read books or listen to stories, it came fairly natural to try
my hand at it myself.
Is there anything that can pull you away from writing?
Traveling to unknow countries is a force that can make me drop my virtual pen quickly but I'm always hoping for an interesting story to spark. Friends can pull me away from writing fairly easily, because usually, they are very understanding when I turn into a recluse. So once they start dragging me away from my computer, I'm happy to comply and glad that they are still willing to talk to me.
Traveling to unknow countries is a force that can make me drop my virtual pen quickly but I'm always hoping for an interesting story to spark. Friends can pull me away from writing fairly easily, because usually, they are very understanding when I turn into a recluse. So once they start dragging me away from my computer, I'm happy to comply and glad that they are still willing to talk to me.
Could you share an excerpt please?
The Atacama Desert changed colors the further south Lara drove. A
hundred miles north of La Serena, earthen and reddish tones indicated a more
fertile soil. Not only rocks, but dry shrubbery broke the smooth surface. Tiny
green bushes sprouted white blooms. Suddenly, the desert turned purple. A web
of flowers covered the sand and washed up the slopes of the hills.
“Wow, look at this,” Lara exclaimed. She
switched to four-wheel drive and took the X-Trail off the road, carefully
picking her path toward the first patch of color. She jumped out and knelt at
the bed of flowers, no more than four inches tall. They swayed in the gentle
wind, but she managed to take a few photos that weren't blurred. “This is
fantastic.”
Her gaze arrested by this miracle of nature, she didn't look at him. “Of
course they mentioned the blooming desert, but I didn't think we'd get to see
it.”
“Why not?”
“It's rare. Only
when the earth is moist enough can these tough little flowers make a stab at
life, growing their little stems and leaves and buds and blooms, so they can
spread their seeds before they die in the dry heat.” She gazed up at him and
smiled. “We're damn lucky, dude. There must have been a light drizzle during
the night.”
***
Thank you, Edith. I've enjoyed our time together and hope you and JJ will visit us again, if we don't get to your place first. :)
Edith's books are available from
and more of her books at here at her Amazon page
