New interview with poet Cendrine Marrouat

Please welcome poet Cendrine Marrouat back to Reviews and Interviews. Five Years and Counting: A Journey into the Mind of Soul Poetry is now released, so I thought it would be fun to check in with Cendrine again.

You can see the first interview here.

Summary:
Poetry is an evolutional process, a reflection of the human mind. Every person goes through life and changes on a regular basis. That is exactly what Five Years and Counting is about. Cendrine has regrouped five years of poetry and arranged her pieces according to life’s most important stages: birth, teenage years, adulthood, and elevation. This last stage represents man’s understanding and realization of the ultimate fulfillment in life.

Five Years and Counting is the testimony of a soul that has endured and embraced challenges to enjoy life to its fullest. No matter what your beliefs are, the words of this unique poetic voice will touch your heart and bring you comfort and inspiration...

Welcome back, Cendrine.

Please tell us about your writing process
During the day, I do research, contact artists for interviews on my Examiner.com pages (I am a freelance journalist and hold five titles) and answer e-mails. Night-time is usually dedicated to anything creative: writing and finding new ideas for potential projects.

My writing process always follows the same pattern. After I have found a title, I usually go with the flow, knowing that things rarely take the turn I initially intended. However, as a professional translator/proofreader and perfectionist, I find myself editing my writing a lot. So, computers definitely make my work easier (and cleaner).

What was your goal for writing this book?
Five Years and Counting: A Journey into the Mind of Soul Poetry is very unique. While my other collections focused on a part of Man’s spiritual journey, my new book brought all the stages together under the same idea: growth and change. I wanted to help people enjoy life to the fullest. I believe that poetry has the power to uplift the mind in incredible ways.

Were any subjects harder to write about than others?
Whenever I decide to sit down to write about a specific issue/topic, I have already started the mental process of coming to terms with it. As a result, putting my feelings on the white page helps strengthen my beliefs. So, in the case of Five Years and Counting, I have not really found any subject more difficult to write about than others.

How are you promoting Five Years and Counting?
I set a few hours aside daily to promote the book (and my other products). I love social networking sites. I have two Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter accounts. Each one of them is used for a specific purpose, even though I like cross-promoting once in a while. The link to the book is also included in my e-mail signature. And I have created a few trailers that are available on my YouTube page.

I like interviews on blogs (like yours) and Internet radio stations (Blog Talk Radio, for example) and I issue press releases once in a while to improve my chances of being picked up by online news channels.

Online promotion could not be complete without a website, a newsletter, and a blog. These three tools are absolutely essential for any author. I send my newsletter once or twice a month and update my news blog almost daily.

I also use Hootsuite (very similar to TweetDeck) to send blasts to all the networks where I have an account. These networks include Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Multiply, Friend Feed, etc.

I also find that sharing/writing educational blog posts on marketing and branding in my Creative Ramblings blog, contributing to several other sites -- such as WAGTi Radio and WAGTi Media Group -- and working as a freelance journalist for Examiner.com are very helpful.

As far as offline promotion is concerned, I always have business cards and a copy of Five Years and Counting with me. I hand out the cards and let people look at the book. However, I am not pushy. I learnt one very important thing when I was a teacher: An author must always approach people in a respectful way and with something that will grab their interest. For example, I usually mention that I am a freelance journalist. When I feel that people are interested in knowing more, I introduce the new book.

To me, authors are entrepreneurs before anything else. So, they must bring something unique to the table. With good branding and long-term goals, success is inescapable...

What do you enjoy most about being a published writer?
After five self-published books, I know what to expect, the kind of pitfalls to avoid, and also that hard work and many hours of research are involved. Doors do not open easily for self-published authors; most print newspapers and magazines will not review self-published books. And, a major hurdle is that winning the hearts of potential readers can take months and sometimes years. Despite those challenges, I love the freedom and the fact that I have total control over my products.

What has most surprised you about your publishing experience?
My publishing experience has been more humbling than surprising. It has taught me that every reader is different. Basically, it takes much more than just dropping a link on someone's page and then waiting until they purchase your book. You have to build relationships, first. In a way, it is like top-notch customer service...

What do we have to look forward to from you?
I am really excited about the release of the new version of my debut CD, "Rizen" (November 29, 2010). I added two tracks featuring the voices of April Sims and Tantra-zawadi. Their renditions of my poems is amazing! People can listen to extracts from the album and pre-order their autographed copy at http://www.cendrinemarrouat.com/?page_id=169.

My latest poem, "Grains of Sand" is part of the Into the Desert exhibition, an online event organized by Eight Cuts. People can read my contribution in the "embrace" section at http://eightcuts.wordpress.com/. On November 18, 2010, the exhibition will be featured at the O3 Gallery in Oxford, England. More dates are planned...

A dream of mine would be to direct the two plays that I wrote in 2007. I have started looking for theatre troupes in my area. However, before that, I want to tour some Canadian cities to introduce my new book and CD to more people. Yet, as any other independent artist, I do not receive any financial help. So, I have to plan things according to my own limited budget. Come what may, as they say! ;-)

How can people get in touch with you?
I invite people to take the time to look around my Website and subscribe to the newsletter and/or the blog.

Lisa, thank you so much for hosting me once again!

Thanks for stopping by again, Cendrine. It's been a pleasure.

Details about Cendrine's newest book are below.

Book trailer: http://tinyurl.com/2eatd3y
Format: soft cover
Number of pages: 165
Publisher: Lulu
Publication date: September 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-557-42429-0
Price: US$19.99

Interview with poet Cendrine Marrouat

Today I'd like to welcome poet Cendrine Marrouat to Reviews and Interviews.

Born in France, Cendrine is a poet, published author, spoken word artist, translator, and aspiring photographer residing in Canada. She writes for Examiner.com, WAGTi Radio, and WAGTi Media Group. Before Five Years and Counting, she published four other poetry collections and authored a spoken word album. She is currently working on a second CD. Cendrine is the founder of www.soulpoetrysite.com and www.creativeramblings.com. She has a deep passion for educating and inspiring her fellow human beings.

Cendrine, welcome!

Please tell us about your newest release, a book of poetry titled Five Years and Counting: A Journey into the Mind of Soul Poetry.
Five Years and Counting is my fifth collection. It is a book about poetry as a reflection of the human mind and a testimony of the kind of growth anybody can experience if they understand that life is what they make of it. It may be painful at times, but overall, it is extremely beautiful.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to regroup five years of my poetry in one collection. I arranged the pieces according to what I believe are life's most important stages: birth and childhood, teenage years, adulthood, and elevation. The last stage represents man’s understanding and realization of the ultimate fulfilment in life.

The book will be officially released in a few months. For more information, people can refer to the books's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/fiveyearsandcounting.

How do you select poems to be part of a collection?
I do not really select poems. I always start with a title. And as most of my pieces all fall into the same category, spirituality, they are usually relevant to the title and theme of the book. So it is really easy to incorporate them into any collection I want to write.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think it was only a year or two ago. Before that, a lot of people frowned and laughed and it bothered me. Then, I stopped paying attention. As a result, writing became a healthy and spiritual experience in the purest sense of the word.

What inspired you to write your first book?
Five years ago, when I started writing, my goal was just to share my poetry through my website (http://www.soulpoetrysite.com). However, a lot of readers encouraged me to make a book. Still, I was not really sure of what I wanted to do.

At the end of August 2005, my mother committed suicide. She had attempted to take her life several times already, so I had prepared myself for the worst. As a result, I was able to grieve in a very healthy way and also fast. Death became an important topic to me.

One night, I sat in front of my computer and started writing my first book: Short Poetry for Those Who Fear Death. I really wanted to use my experience to help people overcome the fear they have and offer a positive vision of what I believe is a logical continuation of life. After all, it is not because we do not know what happens in the hereafter that we can draw definite conclusions.

Did you learn anything from writing your current book? If so what was it?
The first part of Five Years and Counting is a translation of the French book that I published in 2006. Going through this particular process really forced me to think differently. The entire book helped me put things in perspective and dive back into questions left unanswered. So I can say that I learnt a lot about myself. I gained a better understanding of my role as a human being.

Do you have any advice for other poets?
A lot of people are “scared” of poetry because they were forced to study it in school. At that time, they did not have the choice to discover it on their own terms. So, poets must understand that their mission is to help readers to reconnect with poetry.

Poets should always pour their heart, mind, and soul into what they do. They must have their own voice and never copy or compare themselves with others. Also, they should always use tools such as dictionaries in order to check their typos, even if they only want to share on a blog or a website. Quality is a very important factor. And finally, the language they use should be accessible so that readers can relate to the message.

In my career, I have heard many poets complain that they are tired of not being taken seriously. I actually did my share until I understood Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Too many poets have not done enough research or taken the time to find effective ways to promote themselves. It is very easy to write and publish a book nowadays. Marketing it is quite another matter. Basically, it all boils down to hard (and smart) work, patience, positivism, and a professional attitude.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I am a very slow writer. It takes me weeks and sometimes months to pen anything. And I cannot start a poem without a title.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
The other day, I was telling a friend that I have been living the life of which I dreamed as a child. I remember wanting to be many things when I was little. I wanted to change lives. And I believe that it is exactly what I do now.

Cendrine, thank you for visiting Reviews and Interviews. I definitely fall into the category of being afraid of poetry - forced to read and discuss in high school and college. I have written a bit of my own, and enjoy find poets whose prose strikes me.