Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.
Recently, we interviewed Marieke Lexmond, who has recently released The Dagger (Madigan Chronicles #1)(Read the reveiw here). The second installment The Magical Tarot Deck (Madigan Chronicles #2) will be published in Late Spring 2021.
Marieke Lexmond reads tarot cards, loves food, photography, and travel. She has two sassy little dogs that she likes to take everywhere and have their own Instagram account @urbandogsquad. Her background in filmmaking enabled her to travel and live around the globe. Storytelling is in her blood, from saving her allowance from a very young age to buy books to her master’s degree from the Dutch Film Academy. Fantasy and science fiction are her favorite. She prefers to write fun and mystical stories. Her attraction to nature and places with a magical history brought her to New Orleans and the West Coast of Ireland. As a pagan, she felt an instant connection to the land; it feeds her imagination and has become the inspiration for the Madigan Chronicles. The Dagger (Madigan Chronicles #1) releases in Fall 2020, followed by The Magical Tarot Deck (Madigan Chronicles #2) in Late Spring 2021.
You can follow the witches on IG and FB @underthewitcheshat and Marieke on her IG account @Mariekelex
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Writing definitely energizes me. I get a boost if I exceed my goal of a thousand words for the day. I’m not someone who sits behind the computer all day long. I need time to think if I get stuck and do things like the laundry or walk the dogs.
Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I write what’s in my head. This story has been there for a very long time, and it took many years before it found its right form. I hope that readers like it. But I think you have to create from the heart, and you can’t do that if you constantly worry about what other people might think.
Can you tell us a little about the process of the Tarot Cards for each chapter in the book?
Each chapter represents one of the minor arcana of the tarot. I’m thrilled to collaborate with the cards design with my long-time friend and artist Nicole Ruijgrok. She’s also my brainstorm partner and helps me move the story forward. I love the process of trying to find the essence of the tarot card and give it our spin. Nicole throws some ideas at me and sketches, and we go back and forth until we’re both happy. Her imagination is endless—such a joy to work with her.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Book two in the Madigan Chronicles is written, and we’re working on the tarot cards at the moment. We aim to publish it in late spring 2021. I’m currently writing book three and am about halfway.
Do you read your book reviews? Do they please you or annoy you? Do you think you can learn a lot from reading criticism about your work?
I do read my book reviews, and of course, the positive ones make me happy. But I also think there is room to grow, and even though you can’t expect everybody to like your book, sometimes reviews give me ideas in which area I can improve myself.
Were your parents interested in literature? Did they read a lot? What books did you have in the house?
My parents were not avid readers. For as long as I can remember, I saved up my pocket money to buy books. The first series that I remember is the children’s book Pinkeltje by Dick Laan. From there on, I read The Famous Five of Enid Blyton’s and more along those lines. My Mom often threatened to throw away my books as I tend not to hear anything anymore when I disappear into their world. I love immersing in the story.
What authors do you like to read? What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I find this a complicated question. I like many different books for different reasons. The book that changed my course of reading was The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. My eldest brother introduced me to them when I went to stay with him for a holiday for a week. I was sixteen, and in hindsight, a brilliant move, as I only laid on the couch reading—the easiest guest. From then on, I read loads of science fiction and fantasy, which is still my favorite genre. Other authors coming to mind are Tanith Lee, Orson Scott Card, and Isaac Asimov. But I mixed it up with writers like Jeanette Winterson, Ian McEwan, or Annie Proulx, something different.
Who and what ultimately inspired you to become a writer?
Our move to America changed the course of my career. In the beginning, I was very limited in what I was allowed to do as I didn’t have a working permit like my husband. I started writing and found out I love it!
How often you read?
Not as much as I would want to anymore. It’s difficult for me when I’m in the middle of writing a book to read. As I quickly get lost in a world and don’t want to stop reading the book! And for now, I need to stay in the Madigan world. So, I generally stick to something lighter, like a romance novel or romance/thriller. When I’m writing, I watch more TV-series and even with that, it’s impossible to keep up—so many choices.
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