Today, A Blue Million Books is host
to M.C.V. Egan, the author of The Bridge of Deaths. I’m anxious to talk to her about her book,
which currently has sixty-five reviews and one hundred fifty-four likes on
Amazon. How does she do that? We’ll talk, but first, meet M.C.V. Egan:
M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria
Catalina Egan, the author of The Bridge
of Deaths. She was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, and from an early
age became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin
Castillo, principally the story of how he died.
Catalina has lived in several countries and
is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish.
Maria Catalina Egan is married and has one
son. Although she would not call herself
an Astrologer, she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in
Astrology. This is one of her many past times when she is not writing or
researching.
Peace is her ultimate passion.
And a few words about her book:
With the Second World War a mere two weeks away, the crash
of an airplane in Danish waters near a bridge called Storstromsbroen did not
get the attention it would have had today or in times of peace. While Bill is
looking for psychological answers to his recurring nightmares, he meets Maggie
who is very familiar with the bridge in his dreams. She urges him to look for
these answers through past life regression therapy. They join forces with
Catalina whose grandfather also died in the same accident that haunts Bill's
dreams.
Hello, Catalina, and welcome to A
Blue Million Books.
Hi, Amy. I am
so honored and glad that you invited me to A Blue Million Books.
Happy to have you here. The title of your book is The Bridge Of Deaths. How did you come up with that title?
It is almost as if the
title chose itself. When I was
researching the 1939 plane crash that the book documents, the bridge
Storstomsbroen was an inevitable presence, as the plane crashed very close to
that bridge and went in the water in between two police jurisdictions.
I was able to visit the
area several times, and I became aware of two things: That after the plane
crash of the G-AESY in the summer of 1939, as the Second World War unfolded,
the bridge became a marker for allied troops on their way to bomb Berlin, and
the Germans mounted anti-aircraft guns to shoot down the allied planes. The
bridge was surrounded by death on both sides.
I also found out that it
had become a rather popular bridge to jump off for people who chose to commit
suicide. It was inevitable to name it The
Bridge Of Deaths.
Absolutely. How would you describe your book in a tweet? (140
characters or less.)
Cross The Bridge Of Deaths into 1939 uncover
secrets a well-documented historical Journey with a fictional twist & a touch
of the paranormal
You had to leave out a period to make the 140 characters exactly, but I'm impressed, and it still counts! I leave out punctuation a lot on Twitter so I can fit it all in. Excellent job! How did you create the plot for
this book?
My original intention was a well-documented true
story. There were two problems with
this. Inasmuch as the research was from traditional resources; archives,
history books, newspaper microfilm, interviews with people related to those in
the story, engineering reports, real autopsies. The research was also based on
two very un-orthodox sources; documented and recorded past life regressions and
psychometry; psychics holding two watches that came from the crash.
On the one hand, the subject of the past life
regressions requested anonymity; something I promised to honor, and I had
personally become too involved. I created three main fictional characters that
helped the reader navigate through the historical data as well as experience
the esoteric, if you will:
One character is named Catalina, and the only thing
she and I have in common is that we are the granddaughter of the first body
retrieved from the plane. I am a married mother and have a very full life. I
have never been torn in my philosophical beliefs, I was raised a Catholic and
slowly, naturally, and quite painlessly I found my truths.
The second character is Bill, who represents the
actual subject who underwent the four past-life regressions.
And finally, my favorite character--Maggie--helps
the story flow with a fun narrative.
Your book sounds fascinating. Do you outline or write by the seat of
your pants?
I write with a combination of both methods. As I
explained above, I have a full, wonderful life. I almost always carry a small
tape-recorder; I have been known to record very long-winded sessions during a
school carpool line that became full chapters. I sometimes just record a
thought. I do create basic outlines and lists; I feel I have to know where I am
heading, otherwise how do you foreshadow and help the reader feel like they are
peeling layers in a story? I do lean
very much on lists and my outlines grow and change.
Do you have imaginary friends? When do they talk to
you? Do they tell you what to write or do you poke them with a Q-tip?
Again I do both, especially with my work in
progress. Which is a far more character-oriented vs. story-oriented book, as is
TBOD. Just a few nights ago I was pondering on a scene from the book I am
writing now, and there were things that did not feel coherent, and I started to
doze off, and I realized that the way to make it work was to tweak a secondary
character. I had a pen and note-pad by my bed, and I wrote a few notes. I went
to sleep, and I woke up around 3:00 a.m. (thank God my husband is a sound sleeper,)
and I added something that I am very excited about to that character idea.
When I checked my messages, I got an e-mail from a
woman I had never heard from before, and her name was the name of the character
I had chosen! I got chills.
Whoa! That gives me chills.
So I guess you could say they talk to me, I can
tell you with Maggie I cooked and visited and felt a very real presence; and
yes I miss her! I do however have to
‘poke them with a Q-Tip’ if they are dormant, as of course there is no such a
thing as writer’s block, and it is their entire fault! I am so lucky to be a
writer I have fictional characters to blame my woes. ;)
I think that’s one of the perks of having imaginary friends—you can
blame them! How do you develop your characters?
This is very pertinent to my WIP. I do not use the
same technique every time, and I like to explore and play. I can perhaps choose
to interview my character and ask anything from their age to their passions. If
I am struggling, I will make it as mundane as a job interview.
I try to imagine them and ask them questions about
happy, sad, exciting and boring things. I make sure they are reacting as who
they are and not who I am; although to some extent, since I do not work with
fantasy or aliens, I do believe a bit of me must go into the characters.
When you start a new book, do you know what the entire cast will be?
Not at all! I worked so hard with just two
principal characters for TBOD, and in an author’s note I explain how Maggie
came to be, and she solved so many issues. After that, I can guarantee that I
will always be flexible and open-minded about adding and deleting characters
from a story.
Which character did you most enjoy writing?
How I wish I could write
about my work in progress! The characters there are a BLAST! This is an answer
that has recently changed from other interviews, so please, if you find one
that says Maggie, I was not lying--I answered what at the time I believed to be
the truth.
I gave Catalina fears
that I do not possess, and I also gave her certain attributes that are not
mine. The truth is, it was such fun to give her doubts about psychics and
contradictory feelings about her faith. Alone and lonely, I gave her the space
for a HUGE obsession, which with me always had to be a part-time one.
Well, Catalina, that’s eight questions, but I’m
going to cheat a little and ask one more. I’d like to know how you find names for your characters.
I am fluent in
four languages and familiar to varying degrees of communication in several
others, so when I am struggling with a name, I do think of the adjectives that
describe a character and try to find a name in any language that means just
that. A quick example is Todd; it means fox, so if I had a male character that
is sly like a fox, foxy handsome, any attributes to said animal, the name Todd
would help me develop the character.
Catalina, thank you so much for
talking about your work with us.
Amy, I have to say
this was one of the most interesting and fun interviews I have had.
Why thank you! Thank you so much! I hope you'll come back when your next book is published.
Catalina is currently working on a
novel with a co-author, Jolie DeMarco, called 4COVERT2OVERT IN 33 DAYS. She says it is very different from both
of their previous works, but they hope people will find it entertaining as much
as they may find it eye-opening. It has a paranormal and historical slant. Catalina
says it’s very different working in tandem with someone else and very fun.
Find Catalina:
