Q&A with Marj Charlier

From my Q&A with Marj Charlier, author of The Rebel Nun:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The first title I worked with was The Rebel Nun of the Merovingian Kingdom, thinking I needed to make it clear that this was a historical novel set in Gaul in the early Middle Ages. But most people don’t know the Merovingians from a hole in the wall, and it’s a name that’s hard to pronounce. My husband suggested cutting it to The Rebel Nun. I think it carries a lot of water because it immediately flags the central conflict of the book. It’s about a nun who does not behave like she is expected to behave. It’s about nun versus church. And The Rebel Nun is an oxymoron that sparks curiosity: Why does she rebel? What does she rebel against? Besides, a literary agent once told me...[read on]

Visit Marj Charlier's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Rebel Nun.

The Page 69 Test: The Rebel Nun.

Q&A with Marj Charlier.

--Marshal Zeringue