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Author Interview Maxime Trencavel
1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?
The genre is chosen by the story. Or more apropos, I use the specific genre type needed to tell each part of the story line. Hence, one will see reviews of The Matriarch Matrix commenting on “another one of those hard to classify books” or cite multiple genre types. All true. For example, the first reader review of The Matriarch Messiah was pleasantly surprised by the strength of the romance storyline. Something one doesn’t expect in a Sci-Fi thriller.
I wrote this series to address social issues, to raise awareness of war crimes against women (which I am told happened in my family), to help readers challenge their stereotypes or propensity to form judgement without most of the facts. Much of the strife we see in the world today comes from the lack of understanding of each other. In both The Matriarch Matrix and the sequel, The Matriarch Messiah, the protagonists have to overcome their initial impressions, be open to learning about each other, and work together to solve the mysteries and overcome the dilemmas put in front of them.
2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a first born, middle or last child and how does this shape your view of the world?
Last born. That POV can be seen with the adoration which Peter has of first-born Zara. Albeit, Peter is first born as well. Zara is larger than life. For that last born sibling, the amazing accomplishments of the older siblings, especially when their scholastic awards adorn the walls of the school, make them seem larger than life.
3. Where is your favorite place to write?
Where I normally write is in a quiet part of where ever we are living and where no one is disturbed by the click clack of typing. In Brussels that is an office desk in our bedroom or at the desk in the living room when everyone else is sleeping. At the beach, Spain, Caribbean, Florida, California, we usually have a dedicated room for me to set up office. With laptop, second portable screen, and internet, I can write most anywhere we go. As long as there is somewhere to hike, walk, bike ride during my breaks to clear my head and plot the next sections.
4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains?
In early draft of The Matriarch Messiah, the developmental editor made a remark that I didn’t kill anyone off at the climatic end. The same as in The Matriarch Matrix, for which some readers felt less than satisfied without the “bad guys” dying. So, at risk of a spoiler, my developmental editor who also did the proofreading was content as she saw the revisions one will read in the published The Matriarch Messiah.
Regarding the chapter or sections the editors say to toss; I cry. It’s like someone asking you to cut off your hand or your foot. I debate. I hike. I bike ride. Then try to shorten and tighten up. That failing. Ouf. Delete.
5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them?
My favorite author? Well, the one who was my favorite going into the first book, The Matriarch Matrix, is an infectious disease MD thought leader. And we know after this last pandemic how important this medical specialty truly are. I’d want to chat about the next plague, next super resistant bacteria on the horizon. There is too much press on violence and not enough on how humans are losing the arms race against malicious microorganisms. I am surprised this physician writes religious mystery suspense rather than medical science fiction.
6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows.
What a question. If I say, then I’ll never be able to answer this question anywhere else. Frankly, I am boring person. Except when the fingers go flying on the keyboard. In other parts of my life, one could say I have been successful at the top of the game in various and different endeavors. Figuring out this book business, the overcrowded natured as self-publishing has put millions of new books into the market each year, these are challenges that drive me each day to find a solution to break through. Feels like trying to win a Euro Lottery with only a few tickets.
7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a back pack for company. What three items are in your survival pack?
Solar panels attached to a large battery. Laptop. Sat phone with internet connection. Hmm…did I leave out utensils for eating? I guess I’d get slimmer writing the next book.
8. If you could have one super power in your existence, what would it be?
Read minds. Isn’t that what a successful author can do? Understand exactly what will get which reaction from which phrases, situations, descriptions to leave their readers ready and wanting for more. I often wonder if the major publishers have conducted in-depth market research with readers to have this all dialed in. If they have, I have never seen any presentation or write-up of such data in any writers conference. Industry secret? Or is the publishing industry behind the consumer product good industry in understanding the consumer?
9. Favorite snack?
Depends on the time of the day. Morning – yogurt. Midday – banana. Afternoon – cheese stick. If I’m out on a multi-hour bike ride, then I’ll indulge in a patisserie at the midway stop. Miam. That said, if I’m out on an urban area walk, I’ve been known to have some various family favorite patisseries follow me home.
10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit?
Shouldn’t say what I’d do in a car in case anyone is really reading this. That said, on a bike, I’ve been known to descend off mountain tops and high passes with some of the best. As I was taught, don’t take the lead. Let someone else go off the cliff first and you can break and make the turn.
Now, if the root of the question is plotter or pantser, then I’m a hybrid. I am a corporate strategist. So, I map out the book and the chapters. But once the fingers at let loose on the keyboard in all out prose, who knows what is about to happen.
THE MATRIARCH MESSIAH
Maxime Trencavel
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GENRE: SciFi
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BLURB:
Zara Khatum, a woman haunted by ancient visions, finds herself drawn deeper into the heart of a perilous quest. Guided by a mysterious voice, she seeks to fulfill an ancient prophecy and find the cavern of blue light – a sanctuary rumored to hold the key to saving humanity. But the path to salvation is fraught with danger, and Zara is torn between her destiny and her heart.
A shadowy organization, known as NiQihs, seeks to exploit the power of the legendary black object, the source of Zara’s visions, for their own sinister ends. They are not alone. The world’s superpowers, driven by greed and ambition, race to control the artifact, threatening to unleash unimaginable devastation.
Joining Zara in this dangerous pursuit is Rachel Capsali, a brilliant Israeli archaeologist driven by a personal quest to uncover evidence of Asherah, a forgotten goddess who held a pivotal place in ancient Israelite faith. Unbeknownst to them, both women are bound by a shared destiny – a prophecy foretelling the cavern of blue light and a final, heartbreaking truth: two women will fight to the death, and only one will save us all.
Adding to the complexity, a passionate triangle forms as Rachel vies for Peter Gollinger’s affection, a man deeply entangled in the ancient mystery. Zara, torn between fulfilling her destiny and her own feelings for Peter, finds herself caught in a web of conflicting desires.
As Zara and Rachel navigate a treacherous landscape of hidden agendas, betrayal, and relentless pursuit, their rivalry for Peter’s affections intensifies. Can love survive the forces that threaten to tear them apart? Will the quest for salvation lead to a heart-wrenching sacrifice?
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Excerpt:
Another dewdrop hits her nose. But this time, she does not wipe it off as it mingles with the drops from her eyes while she searches inside for the strength to remember that which remains unresolved in her life, with her family, with her destiny. Is he really the one? Should she reveal what should only be revealed to the one man who will bring her to her destiny?
A purse of her lips and she finally says, “Sara, my great-grandmother, she was our link to the wisdom of generations of spiritually inspired women before her.”
Still facing away from Peter, she says, “Sara liked you. She saw something in you when she first met you at that first dinner at her ancestral house when we were staging for our mission to retrieve the object.”
Turning back to him, she says, “Sara said to my grandmother Roza, her daughter, that you harbor the same light her husband, a Sufi imam, my great-grandfather, had within him when they first met.”
She points to his eyes. Blue ones which naturally go with his once-blond and now-sandy-brown hair. “Sara said the light is blue. The light we should seek is blue. The world thinks the light is white. But the one we seek, we yearn for, we die for, is blue. She so feared dying before she could find the blue light. For in the blue light, we shall return”, she said.
Peter, who knows so much trivia because he is an editor of all sorts of topics, papers, and books, is speechless until he finally mutters, “Blue? Where did that come from? I’m not getting the connection to the mystery of the ancient matriarch we solved.”
“As you had with your grandfather, your pappy, who entrusted you with an ancient family oral tradition, passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, as far back in time as that temple, the world’s oldest temple, which our follies led to be destroyed, so there is a line of similar wisdom passed down in my family line. But through the women. Mother to daughter and to granddaughter.”
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Maxime Trencavel Bio and Links:
Maxime has been scribbling stories since grade school, from adventure epics to morality plays. Blessed with living in multicultural pluralistic settings and having earned degrees in science and marketing, Maxime has worked in business and sports, traveling to countries across five continents and learning about cultures, traditions, and the importance of tolerance and understanding. Maxime’s second novel, The Matriarch Messiah, was conceived, outlined, written, and edited in different locations in Belgium, including the Turkish and Kurdish neighborhoods of Brussels, in various islands of the Caribbean, in Colombia, in Madrid, Malaga, Mallorca, Spain, London, UK, and on the two coasts of the United States.
Book and author website: https://tailofthebird.com/
Author Blog: https://tailofthebird.com/blog
https://www.facebook.com/MaximeTrencavel/
https://www.instagram.com/maximetrencavel/
Links to The Matriarch Messiah pre-sale at $0.99 intro pricing (release date March 17, 2025):
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/series/mystery-of-the-matriarchs
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-matriarch-messiah/id6742783963
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Matriarch_Messiah.html?id=I_9LEQAAQBAJ
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It’s a pleasure to have you here Maxine! Congratulations on this exciting release!