Welcome, Readers.
Today’s special guest is debut novelist Michelle Dim-St. Pierre. She’s
talking a bit about Pinnacle Lust, her writing, and a few other tidbits.
Bio:
Michelle
Dim-St. Pierre, Nurse and Author
Michelle Dim-St. Pierre was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel, where
she spent more than half of her life before relocating to the United States.
She lived through four wars and served in the Israel Defense
Forces for two years. Unlike her first year of service in an armored division
in the Golan Heights, she spent her second year serving in the medical corps
where she interacted directly with the injured soldiers of the Peace of Galilee
war and their families. This interaction, along with the exposure to the
hospital atmosphere, fascinated Michelle and further touched her heart.
After graduating from school with a BS in Nursing in
Tel-Aviv, she practiced internationally for 32 years in various positions in
the surgical field and quickly advanced into health care administration. During
her career she worked in the Operating Room, Recovery Room, and CCU—along with
many other duties.
At first, writing
was Michelle’s outlet, but it soon became her passion. So, recently she left nursing and became a
full-time writer. Her international background, along with her military and nursing
experience is always at the tip of her pen. Her first novel, Pinnacle Lust,
starts the Pinnacle trilogy.
Michelle is a world traveler who enjoys cooking epicurean
food and creating original recipes.
Welcome, Michelle. Please tell us
about your current release.
Pinnacle
Lust, published in
January 2015, takes place in Israel, during Operation Desert Storm. It is a story, about an illicit affair that leads to
great love, betrayal, and an unregretful commitment. Sharon Lapidot, is a
beautiful young nurse who falls deeper and deeper into an affair with a married
doctor. Her world is shattered by powerful and eroding mistakes, but her
courage leads her to an unregretful commitment in a land far from home. It is
only eighteen years later when her daughter discovers that the man who raised
her is not her biological father.
Besides
the affair between nurse and doctor, Pinnacle
Lust deals with:
-- The
power of love in a woman’s life and the resilience of the human spirit.
-- The
real, raw emotions of an escalating affair—the duality
of love and hate, lust and anger.
-- The
demanding life of a young, single career woman who lives in Israel.
-- The
culture in Israel and how the Jewish religion factors into that with the
dichotomy of the religious and the secular Jews.
-- The gaps
and the links between secular Jews and Hasidic Jews—tying the two groups
together by their roots and beliefs and separating them by their every day
lifestyle.
--The
effect of Operation Desert Storm on everyday life in Israel.
--The
political relationship between Israel and the U.S.
What inspired you to write this book?
There are many things which I hear, see and know but can’t share, so I
write about it and call it fiction. Whether
I witnessed these events or was part of them, I can’t tell…J I believe that every
minute of my life is another brush stroke to my writing—military service,
nursing school, work, social, news, gossip, and even the grocery store—you name
it. Pinnacle Lust is not an autobiography, but it is fair to say that some of
my personal experiences inspired my writing.
Excerpt from Pinnacle Lust:
The air was
saturated with the aroma of the melting cheese fondue. The windows fogged up
and started to sweat. The cold, stormy weather outside conflicted with the cozy
ambiance inside the house. The wind whistled and I could hear the rain pouring
down, hitting the roof and gutters. I had second thoughts about the table I
set—was it too formal?
“So, when was
the last time you were involved in a relationship with a woman?” I finally
responded to his earlier confession.
“It was a
long time ago.” He laughed.
“Are you
gay?” I asked.
“Hell no!”
“Thank God.”
I laughed and walked toward him. I leaned with my back to the counter, went up
on my toes, pushed with my palms and lifted myself up on top of it, next to the
stove. Now I could see his face and I could try to hold a conversation with
him, forcing him to look straight into my eyes.
“You sound so
relieved. Why do you care if I’m involved with someone and whether I’m gay or
not?”
“Obviously, I
do.” Did I just admit that I have an interest in him? I thought and watched him
stick a skewer into one of the bread cubes.
“You want a
bite?” he asked while dipping the skewer in the cheese mixture. “Here.” He
pulled the skewer from the pot and directed it to my mouth. “Be carful—it’s
hot.”
No, no, no.
You are not feeding me. This is way too romantic. I was uncomfortable. “I’ll
hold it for a minute,” I said in effort to save the situation.
I studied
every move he made. He had so much charm, his presence made a statement, and he
was very charismatic.
“Can I ask
why you aren’t involved in a relationship?” I quizzed him while blowing on the
hot cheese-covered bread.
“I’m not
sure. I never thought about it like that.” He looked at me as if he had to
think more about it. “You know…I really don’t ask women out—I’m not sure if
they are interested in me. I’d rather not take the chance of being turned
down.”
“You’re not
sure if they are interested in you? You’re kidding, right? Who wouldn’t want to
date you?” I said strongly and laughed.
“Someone like
you, I guess.” He looked at me with a smile and refilled my wine glass.
“Ha-ha-ha,” I
said with an insulted voice.
“Here, let’s go. Come dance with me.” He
lifted me up from the counter.
“Dance?”
“Yes, dance
with me—here.”
Before I
understood what Ron was saying, I found myself sharing one floor tile with
him—a slow dance with my hero in his own living room.
What exciting story are you working on
next?
I am now working on the second book in the Pinnacle Trilogy, which I hope
to release early next year. Simultaneously, I am working, on the third book in
the trilogy. And whenever I experience writer’s block, I shift over to a
different project that is slowly coming to life on my desk, an exciting
cookbook filled with surprises.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
Though literature was always my favorite subject in school and writing was
never a problem for me, the truth is that only upon the release of my debut
novel, Pinnacle Lust, did I
considered myself a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?
From my perspective I am writing 24/7—my mind is writing at least three
times more than my own hands….:) But, being a first time published author, I
spend a good part of my day dealing with social media, marketing and promotions.
Most of my writing is done late at night, after business hours.
What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I find myself writing the best romantic scenes when I quarrel with my
husband.
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a nurse. Even
as a small child, I knew that caring for people was my true passion—what I was
built for. I remember running around my childhood home with my first toy
stethoscope, blood pressure cuff and thermometer, which my family had rather
reluctantly condensed into a small leather briefcase for me after tiring of my
incessant begging. I practiced and practiced—on them, on my friends, and on any
visitor who happened to linger at our house longer than five minutes. Looking
back, their reluctance may have stemmed from a weariness of opening their
mouths and sticking their tongues out, yet again, instead of the distaste for
the gathering of toy medical supplies and leather briefcases for an overly eager child.
Anything additional you want to share
with the readers?
My readers can find out about updates about my projects by signing up for
my free newsletter.
Links:
Thank you, Michelle!
If you'd like to learn more about Michelle, she has a couple more virtual book tour stops coming up:
Monday,
June 22 @ Women's Writing Circle
Guest Post
Friday,
June 26 @ Deal Sharing Aunt
Review
