Today, we’re interviewing Marta Chausée. She is a Southern California 
author, poet, playwright and artist. She’s also been a boutique owner, forensic document examiner, mental health therapist and life coach, just to name a few of her pastimes. So, you can tell this will be a great interview..
Jim: Tell us a little about your cross-cultural background, and how that has influenced your writing – if it did.
Marta: My cross-cultural background influenced everything about me, so of course it had to influence my writing. But I’m so much “in it” that I can’t see the sauerkraut for the Heinz 57 flavors.
I grew up confused. I was proud of my German mother and crazy about my German grandparents, but in kindergarten I soon learned being German was not popular. Then there was my high volume, highly demonstrative parents. It was a buffo, high coloratura world in which I grew. As an adult, when I first visited Italy and heard people alternately screaming at each other, then singing and laughing with one another, I felt right at home.
Jim: I heard that you once slept in the luggage rack of a train compartment from Gibraltar to Madrid. How did that come about, and will that figure in one of your books?
Marta: You know, Jim, when you’re young you do many foolhardy and daring things, thinking nothing of your own stupidity.
I crossed the Northern Sahara once with three friends and fifteen crazed Moroccans in a beat-up, rusty old Jeep with not enough gas. We had to beg some petrol off a Jeep filled with generous Aussies that we met in nowhere, siphon it into our tank, and listen, breathless and starry-eyed, to their war stories, before we moved on.
The trip from Gibraltar to Madrid in a luggage rack? Same deal– ran out of money in Marrakech. Stowed away on the train to Madrid. Those things seemed normal then.
I’d say my odd, adventurous spirit seems to find its way into my books.
Jim: Before we get into your debut novel, tell us a little about your non-fiction writing.
Marta: In the distant past, I co-authored a book on a psychotherapy model, which has not yet been published. You never know, it could still happen. I am also self-published under a pseudonym in self-help books.
Other than that, I have written several short memoir pieces, which have been published online and in literary reviews. One won me first place in the Claremont Friends of the Library contest in 2010.
Jim: And just a little about your poetry.
Marta: I wrote poetry from 7th grade through high school. My poetic parts went dormant in adulthood, with a few exceptions, until I participated in the Mt. San Antonio College Writer’s Weekend four years ago. Something about that crazy Swedish Canadian poet, T. Anders Caron, made my poetry awaken from hibernation and I’ve been spouting new poetry ever since.
I won a few little prizes in 2009 and 2010. I took an intensive poetry-writing workshop with John Brantingham last fall. I learned I still have a lot to learn. April is National Poetry Month, so unleash your inner poet by joining the folks at writersdigest.com who give prompts and encouragement to write a new poem each day of April.
Jim: How did you happen to write a mystery set in a resort? Have you ever lived in one?
Marta: They say to write about what you know. I know about hotels, resorts and wives. That’s why my debut mystery is set on a swank playground in Central Florida. (It is total fiction, however, lest you get any bad ideas about the hospitality industry. 🙂
Jim: Your mystery Murder’s Last Resort was a winner in the 2011 Dark Oak Mystery contest. Give us a little glimpse into it.
Marta: Murder’s Last Resort is a period piece set in the mid-80s in Central Florida. There are no cell phones or DNA tests to make life easy and getting away with murder hard. It’s all a game of cat-and-mouse and trying to figure out who done it by reading human nature.
Maya French, the protagonist, is a bit of a snoop, sticking her nose into business which is not strictly hers. On the other hand, her husband is a suspect from almost the start, and she suspects that’s just wrong. She aims to right the wrong.
Jim: I’ve read it and want to know if this is a standalone mystery, or can I look forward to another in a series?
Marta: This will be #1 in a series. Hints were dropped in Murder’s Last Resort about at least two other cases Maya French solved prior this one. That would make them prequels, I suppose. In that case, should they be numbered -1 and -2?
Jim: Marta, you wouldn’t surprise me if you did number them -1 and -2. I’ve heard you live in a tree house. What’s the story on that?
Marta: I have a two-story California cottage on a small, private, and heavily treed property. I live on the second floor. Every view is green. The branches of the Chinese elms seem to embrace my elevated indoor and outdoor space. First time visitors to my home say, “Oh my gosh– you live in a tree house”. It’s only fitting. I was a dedicated, tree-climbing tomboy as a kid.
Jim: Lastly, I have to know something about the Flying Luck Dragon, Falcor.
Marta: Falcor is a small, silky, white canine who was rescued off the streets of Fontana by my former dance partner, Richard Allen. When Richard died unexpectedly in 2011, his adult children said they’d have to give Falcor, who was named Gumbo at the time, to the pound, as their pit bulls would eat him for breakfast. I said, “That’s not going to happen.” and fostered him.
I have two sons. Independently, when they first saw him, they each said, “Oh, he’s Falcor, the Flying Luck Dragon, from The NeverEnding Story.” Indeed, with his big brown eyes, wide grin and long, flowing, white ears, he looks like he’s smiling and flying through life, ergo his new name.
Jim: Thanks, Marta, for a great interview. Readers, her book is fun, as you can tell from this interview. Murder’s Last Resort is available in paperback and Kindle editions at http://amzn.to/194bdCZ. And leave a comment if you have a moment. I’ve put in a new, even simpler Captcha. If you have any trouble with it, please e-mail me at jim@jamesrcallan.com . Thanks.
Wow, this was cool. Keep writing this kind of texts, you will get a lot of people to this text if you continue writing this.
Sweet blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’vebeen trying for a while but Inever seem to get there!
Appreciate it
Jim, I am impressed with the “legs” your blog has. And now, along with Austin, I’m dying to know– how DO you get yourself listed in Yahoo News?
Best regards,
Marta
If your books are half as fascinating as you are, I think you have a great career ahead of you. I am putting yours at the top of my to be read list right now.
Another comment from one of my blog followers:
Lovely, my dear! Delightful! I was enthralled by the first Maya mystery and look forward to the prequels.
Thank you, sweet friend, who hiked through many Spanish fracasses with me, including a miserable stay in Avila with only a German x-word puzzle and a pot of boiling water in which to brew tea for comfort. Claudia, I think I can speak for us both when I say, “It was truly another orld.”
Here’s a comment from a blog follower of mine, Judy K:
Nice. I thought that was a great review for the world to read!
/judy
***
Thank you, Judy, for weighing in. 🙂
What an interesting interview and such amazing life experiences! Get that next book out soon, Marta.
Hey Sally, great to hear from you! Thank you for your positive feedback. Hope to see you in the general SoCal area soon.
Great stuff here. I’m with Carole. I want to see that turned into a novel or possibly some poems!
Hey John! Thanks for checking in and giving me that all-important and much needed prod to keep turning life’s stuff into works of art. 🙂
Jim & Marta,
Thank you for an entertaining interview on both your parts. I appreciate you all the more, Marta, with every new tidbit I learn about you. I think your journey through the desert and baggage car make an excellent basis for a novel.
I hope everyone gets a chance to read Murder’s Last Resort–what a fun read it was for me!
~Carole
I want to thank you, Carole, for your unflinching support! Can’t wait to dig my teeth into Eve’s Amulet.
Dear Jim– Thank you again for interviewing lil ole me. I have to make a comment, though. I am mathematically challenged, but your site required I make 5-7 calculations for the captcha on some, but not all, replies. I gave up on some of them and started over at a later time, where I breezed through at once. I thought I was capable of simple addition and subtraction– now I’m not so sure. (?)
I wish I had half the spirit you had and have. What an exciting life! I think some of you comes through in Maya, and readers (like me) and going to be wringing their hands, waiting for the next book in the series. Terrific interview!
I remember Falcor from when we manned a booth at a California event. You’d just rescued him, and he was adorable. I’m so glad you took him in.
Yes, Marja, we bonded right away at the San Gabriel Valley Lit Fest, didn’t we? I still say you are the most organized and professional person I have ever met, quietly and swiftly making everything right at our booth.
Thank you for your praise and encouragement.
How great to see my new friend, Marta, here on your blog, Jim. She and I spent time together last February in California. This is a great interview and I’ve learned lots more about Marta. I’m still reading her book but, what I’ve read so far, is so filled with life and humor and Marta-ness, that it’s a pleasure. Thanks for hosting her, Jim.
(Wow. Now this site is requiring simple math of me. Whoa boy.)
Eileen, you are so kind. Thank you for your positive comments. We’ll talk after you finish the book. I’d like your opinions… 🙂
Maya French is a hoot. Glad to hear there will be more of her adventures. Good to learn more about Marta, too.
Thank you, John. You are very kind. I’ll be reading Sooner Than Gold very soon, and look forward to it.
Maya French is a hoot. Glad to hear there will be more of her adventures. Enjoyed getting to know more about Marta, too.
Jim, this was a fun interview with Marta (she’s great) and almost as zany as she is in real life. I loved Murder Last Resort and looking forward to the next edition.
Now on the other hand (a quick plug), Jim writes wonderfully. You should check out his work. augie
Hi Augie! Thank you for weighing in on this, and making a comment.
I am almost finished with Cleansed by Fire by Mr. James Callan himself and LOVE it!
Woah, I realize now that I knew very little about Marta! I think your unbelievable upbringing made you unique, colorful, and very interesting. Your book, Murder’s Last Resort, was VERY GOOD. I hope you continue to write novels. -1 and -2 are surely gonna be good!
Hey, Chris! You are everywhere on the web. I am flattered you took time out to read this interview. Thank you. I’m working on +2 right now– I’ll zag back to -1 and -2 after that…
Great interview and loved learning about a new author whose book sounds fantastic! Mysteries are a fav of mine. Thanks.
Hi Carole~ Thank you for reading the interview. Hope you get to know Maya French and give me some feedback after you do!
What a fun interview. I enjoyed all your adventures a lot and can imagine that your first book is a fun read as well. I like that you live in a tree house. So do we and it’s fun to take people out on the front porch, that hangs out into the trees. They always say it’s like being in a tree house. So maybe we’re kindred spirits. My adventures are almost as exciting as yours, though they all took place in Arkansas. Thanks for entertaining us.
Hi Velda! Thank you for your greenery-inspired, kindred spirit comments! I’ve been to Arkansas several times (almost moved there once, another fine tale to tell) and know it can be filled with adventures. 🙂