Melissa Senate

An FBI agent, tormented by a death he wasn't able to prevent, a crime he's never been able to solve and a love he's never forgotten, discovers that his true conflict resides not in his past, but in a…Past Life.

Chills. Welcome to THE HYPNOTIST, “the very definition of thriller,” now out in paperback, by the famed M.J. Rose. I’ve long been a fan of her exquisitely written, tightly plotted suspense novels—and her incredibly interesting history.

The international bestselling author of 11 novels, M.J. Rose self-published her first novel back in 1998—and Lip Service became the first self-published and first e-book to be chosen by the Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club and the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream publishing house. The founding member and board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com, M.J. Rose also runs two popular blogs; Buzz, Balls & Hype and Backstory.

To celebrate the paperback edition of THE HYPNOTIST, M.J. Rose is visiting the blog today to talk about the novel—and reveal some surprises:

Q: Tell us about THE HYPNOTIST:

A: An adventure, a love story, a clash of cultures, a spiritual quest. Haunted by a twenty-year old murder of a beautiful young painter, Lucian Glass keeps his demons at bay through his fascinating work as a Special Agent with the FBI's Art Crime Team. Currently investigating a crazed art collector who has begun destroying prized masterworks, Glass is thrust into a bizarre hostage negotiation that takes him undercover at the Phoenix Foundation—dedicated to the science of past life study—where, in order to maintain his cover, he agrees to submit to the treatment of a hypnotist.

Under hypnosis, Glass travels from ancient Greece to 19th century Persia, while the case takes him from New York to Paris and the movie capital of world. These journeys will change his very understanding of reality, lead him to question his own sanity and land him at the center of perhaps the most audacious art heist in history: the theft of a 1,500 year old sculpture from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Q: What do you think readers will relate to most about your book?

A: The yearning to understand the mysteries that we see all the time but can't prove - the undeniable but elusive magic of deja va and feeling we know someone we've only just met. 

Q: What would everyone be surprised to know about you?

A: I was left back in 7th grade and am very dyslexic. 

What are others saying about THE HYPNOTIST?

"THE HYPNOTIST is the very definition of thriller: threats modern and ancient, winding around one of the world's great museums, with a cast of compelling individuals who move through gloriously exotic settings.  M. J. Rose tells a story built on the idea that saving love is indistinguishable from saving the world."  -Laurie R. King, New York Times bestselling author

"Riveting! MJ Rose is at the top of her game in this fast paced, literate and stylish tale set in the international world of art, archaeology and intrigue. THE HYPNOTIST is, dare I say, mesmerizing," -Jeffrey Deaver, New York Times bestselling author

And Publishers Weekly magazine gave it a starred review and called it a “Stunning page-turner.”

Thanks to M.J. Rose for visiting the blog! For more info about MJ and a wealth of information about the book and The Reincarnationist series, visit MJ Rose’s website: http://mjrose.com/content/books.asp

Visit her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MJ-Rose/168238353223960

And follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MJRose

Thanks for visiting, M.J.!

Not only did I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Juliette Fay's debut novel, SHELTER ME, but it had a huge effect on me as a writer. From the first chapter, I said: Wait, you can do this? Your character can be that HONEST? That herself? And this other BIG thing that's going on, that can happen too? Seriously, there were a lot of those moments for me in SHELTER ME, and that beautiful novel made me understand that I could go much farther with the truth of my own characters than I had been willing to in the past. (So thank you for that, Juliette Fay!)

When I heard that her second novel, aptly titled DEEP DOWN TRUE, was being published (January 2011, Penguin), I read the description and immediately ordered it:

Newly divorced Dana Stellgarten has always been unfailingly nice—even to telemarketers—but now her temper is wearing thin. Money is tight, her kids are reeling from their dad’s departure, and her Goth teenage niece has just landed on her doorstep.  As she enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance and is befriended by the town queen bee, Dana finds that the tension between being true to yourself and being liked doesn’t end in middle school . . . and that sometimes it takes a real friend to help you embrace adulthood, in all its flawed complexity.

I asked Juliette if she'd stop by the blog and she kindly said yes:

Q: Tell us about Deep Down True:

At heart it’s a growing-up story. The main character, Dana, is a bit naïve and a little immature—caring too much about other people’s evaluations of her, paying attention to the superficial things rather than the truths beneath. When her husband leaves, and her kids start to struggle, she’s forced to face facts—about herself and the people around her, some of whom aren’t so good for her.

It’s also a story about leadership. Shakespeare said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” I think there’s a way in which parenthood thrusts the need for “greatness” upon us. We have to rise to the occasion of guiding these tender little beings through the vicissitudes of life—no small task! Dana is a follower, and has to figure out pretty quickly how to lead her family through tough times.

Q: What drew you to tell this story?

I’ve always been fascinated by middle school—both the real experience of the tween/teen years and by the middle school-ish behavior that adults can get into sometimes. I hated middle school, myself. It seemed like a dangerous experiment in zoo-keeping: “Let’s put all these pubescent, hormonal, insecure beings in one cage and see what happens.”

Q: What do you think women will relate most to about the novel?

My hope is that every woman will find something that resonates—how we define our self-worth, how we feel about our bodies and our brains, and if we have daughters, how they take their cues from us. How much our friendships with other women mean to us. How Motherhood can breed uncertainty in even the most self-assured, and pride in even the most self-doubting. And the agony and ecstasy of mid-life dating!

Q: What does the cover represent?

Oh, my gosh, we went through so many covers we could have clothed many naked books. At one point we had a photo of two kids whispering, and I wrote in a scene where Morgan and Grady whisper to each other, so readers wouldn’t rightfully ask why we’d chosen it if it never happened in the story. But then the sales reps didn’t like that cover, so we went back to square one. This cover is not “representational,” which means it’s not supposed to be a scene from the book. But it’s beautiful and inviting, and several readers have suggested it looks like a little spontaneous altar, a fitting symbol of Dana’s inner growth. I kept the whispering scene anyway. I just liked it.

Q: What would everyone be surprised to know about you?

My not-so-secret addiction is babies. I have this intense primal joy reaction just seeing some chubby little six-month-old giggling at his mom or sleeping in his dad’s arms. The youngest of my four kids is eight now, and there are no more newborns in my future, so I find my baby greed growing. When I hold one I get ridiculously happy and serene. I practically lactate.

Now that we've heard from Juliette, what are OTHERS saying about DEEP DOWN TRUE?:

“When I wasn’t inside the world of this book–because this is a book that you enter instead of merely read–I longed to be. I love it for its intensely human characters and for the way the author grants them their flaws as generously as she celebrates their daily decencies, their persistent hopefulness, their moments of personal grace.” –Marisa De Los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In and Belong to Me

"Heartwarming, funny, well-penned, unexpectedly suspenseful, this is a solid page-turner, right through to the touching end.” –Booklist

“Engrossing, touching, and immensely satisfying. The truth shines on every page. I’d almost be willing to go back to junior high if I could sit at Juliette Fay’s lunch table!” –Beth Harbison, New York Times bestselling author of Thin Rich Pretty

Want to know more about this very talented author and her novels? You can find her online:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/Juliette.Fay.author

Twitter: @juliettefay http://twitter.com/juliettefay

Website: http://juliettefay.com/

Newsletter: http://juliettefay.com/newsletter/

Thanks to Juliette for stopping by!