She hates
her family. He’s hiding behind his teenage sex life. They form a band as an
escape.
On tour,
can they start over....or will all secrets come out on the open road?
Carla Bucchio never cared about things
like boyfriends and SATs. If she did, maybe life at 20 would be more exciting
than developing photos on Long Island. When she chooses the guitar over a
social life, it only makes sense because no one talks to her anyway.
Music may be Pete Albrecht’s life but what
good is his talent if he has no one to share it with? When he’s not getting
bitched about coffee at work, he’s getting nagged about college by his
girlfriend. What would they say if they really knew about him?
At the outset of the new millennium where
boy bands and backup dancers have saturated pop culture, the two college
dropouts start a rock band. Despite his girlfriend’s manipulations and her
mother’s drunken disapproval, they form a secret connection through the music even
if she’s a little Riot Grrrl and he’s a little Krautrock.
Before heading out on their cross-country
tour, tragedy turns the world upside down forcing them to decide if the band is
just a teenage dream or their gateway to freedom…and to each other?
Slanted and Disenchanted is the
provocative first book in Lisa Czarina Michaud’s coming-of-age Disenchanted
series. Told with wry humor and nostalgic 90’s undertones, it’s High
Fidelity meets Moxie that explores sexual tension in friendships,
the confusion of adulting, the love and chaos of family….and the soundtracks
that get us through it all.
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/Slanted-Disenchanted-Total-Young-Adventure-ebook/dp/B099Q15VJ5
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slanted-Disenchanted-Total-Young-Adventure-ebook/dp/B099Q15VJ5
Author Interview
1. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what
would it be?
Don’t compare yourself to another writer’s journey. I was
fortunate to learn this early on and now feel inspired by and am truly happy
for the successes of others. Writers supporting other writers just feels
better.
2. Favorite childhood memory involving books?
I grew up in New York City in the 80s and my favorite store
was Books of Wonder, which was located at the time on Seventh Avenue near my
apartment. It was then I learned that I didn’t just love books for their stories,
but I loved the actual books themselves; how they felt in my hand; how they
smelled; how they looked and the idea that I can go anywhere in the world and
be a part of any life as long as I had a page to turn.
3. If you could dine with any literary character, who would it
be and why?
Henry Chinaski, the Charles Bukowski alter-ego. I would just
have to make sure the house is stocked with enough scotch…good thing he goes
for the cheap stuff!
4. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
Not at all. I wanted to be a scientist. Scientist of what
precisely? I have no idea. I just wanted to be a “scientist”.
5. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would
they be?
Curious. Cautious. Campy.
6. Have you ever met anyone famous?
When I was 21, I found myself at a birthday party for Ben
Affleck, hosted by his fiancée…you know, this little-known artist named
Jennifer Lopez. The friend I had gone with double-dog dared me to wish Ben (who
was standing with J.Lo) a happy birthday. A dare you say? I took a gulp of
champagne and walked over like I knew them. I gave them both a hug, told them
how great it was to see them, in which they returned the sentiment. I wished
Ben a happy birthday and went on my way. I’m almost certain they looked at each
other afterward like, “Who the hell was that?!” The one thing that stands out
upon meeting J.Lo was not that she’s as beautiful as you think she is, but that
she smelled like her own perfume, “Glow” by Jennifer Lopez. That was my big
take away.
7. How long, on average,
does it take you to write a book?
I wrote the first draft of
my novel Slanted and Disenchanted in three months. But from
“door-to-door” with rewrites working with my amazing editor Monica, beta reader
feedback re-writes and more re-writes, it took a year and a half.
8. How do you select the
names of your characters?
I don’t. They chose their
names.
9. What are your top 5
favorite movies?
“Welcome to the Dollhouse”
“Mermaids”
“Stand by Me”
“Dans Paris”
“Halloween”
10. Do you have any advice
for aspiring writers?
Don’t wait for inspiration
to come. You have to chase it like down like your senior year crush and even then,
it might not come. Just keep writing!
11. What book do you wish
you had written?
Not so much an entire book
but lines in a book where I’m like, damn, that’s good. One line I recently read
was in André Aciman’s “Find Me” where he questions if music makes life
palpable, more real, or perhaps less real? For someone who turns to
music in times of joy but especially in times of sorrow and complete distress, this
observation felt relevant to me, so much that I wish I wrote it.
12. Tell us 10 fun facts
about yourself!
1. I grew up in the Chelsea
neighborhood of New York but have lived on Long Island, Olympia, WA, Los
Angeles, CA, Brooklyn, Paris and now in the countryside in France.
2. My first internship was
as record-store liaison for the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal label (I was paid in
concert tickets with plus ones! And merch like t-shirts and vinyl that I still
have to this day).
3. I was an extra on tv
shows in the early 2000s. I sometimes see my 20-year-old self in reruns of Las
Vegas and The O.C.
4. I moved to France in my
late-20s with a suitcase, an ill-advised dream and a terrible handle on the
French language.
5. I play a 1950s surf blue
Telecaster electric guitar. I’m currently looking for bandmates! Anyone? Anyone?
6. I come from a family of
jazz musicians and foodies. My dad recorded a family album in the 60s with a
young Chick Corea and my family’s market was described as being busier than
Samantha’s bedroom on Sex and the City.
7. I’ve cut all my hair off
and donated it two times to make wigs for the Locks of Love organization.
8. I went to an open
audition for the play Rent. I waited in a line that went entirely around
the block just to make an ass out of myself. It was pretty awesome.
9. In high school I joined
the cheerleading team to be ironic and punk rock (I had the bleached-out hair
and rhinestone spiked necklace to go with my uniform) and ended up loving it
because it was dorky AF. I ended up the captain by senior year.
10. I am half Italian and
half Mexican with an Irish (maiden) last name.
13. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I like playing guitar because I think there is a creative flow
between music and writing and I sometimes write the best sentences while doing
my scales or doing a gentle campfire strum. I also like doing Yoga by Adriene
on Youtube.
14. Do you listen to music when writing?
Yes, but it can’t
just be anything otherwise I get distracted. I like “Turn Blue” by The Black
Keys, “Michigan” by Sufjan Stevens, “Miles Smiles” by Miles Davis, anything by
the Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey, “Until the Hunter” by Hope Sandoval and
the Warm Intentions and Chris Cornell when I’m writing love scenes.
15. If you had to pick a celebrity to cast for your main
character, who would it be?
Léa Seydoux when she had dark hair for her role in
Christophe Honoré’s La Belle Personne. That was always how I imagined
Carla and with Pete, it took a while. I had his hair, his features, his body
type but I didn’t have a complete face. And right before my book went to press,
I saw a movie with Timothée Chalamet and was like, bingo, there he is, my
French, musical prodigy bad boy. Because I like to live under a rock when I’m
writing so I’m not influenced by pop culture, I had no idea who he was but now
when I read bits from my book that’s who I see, and it works perfectly.
16. Do you have a favorite food/snack/drink when writing (or
anytime)?
Café allongés which is like an Americano. I sip on them while
writing.
17. How do you choose your book covers?
For Slanted and
Disenchanted, I was so lucky to work with the talented Hayley O’Connor. She
made me fall even more in love with my characters!
18. What’s one thing you’d like to say to your readers?
A lot of the book will feel autobiographical, and parts are,
but to an extent. Despite Carla’s Italian American origins and dark hair, I
relate to Pete much more because he speaks his mind, has a carnivorous appetite
for music history and culture and only wants to see the best in people where
Carla is much more guarded and cynical.
Author Bio
– Lisa Czarina Michaud is an American
writer living in France. Her work has been published in Narratively, marieclaire.co.uk,
The Huffington Post, xojane, as well as other publications. Slanted and Disenchanted in her
first novel.
Social
Media Links –
twitter: @lisacmichaud
Instagram:
@lisacmichaud
Facebook: @lisaczarinamichaud
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