Interview with Sharon L. Connors, author of Curse of the Marimé
Published May 23, 2005
Exactly ten days after his passing, I awoke to find Kazzy's gentle dark eyes gazing at me, tongue lolling happily in a huge doggy grin. In my mind, I heard, "don't be sad, Mommy, I'm okay now."
I know what you're thinking. You're saying to yourselves, "Ah...she just had a dream." But that's where I'd say you are wrong. A few hours later, I received a call from the vet's office telling me that Kazzy's ashes were ready. I believe it was Kazzy's way of telling me he was coming home where he belongs.
To this day, there are moments when I feel the soft rub of fur against my leg or see a blur of sable out of the corner of my eye and Gypsy is sleeping in another part of the house or out in the yard. Kazzy is here with us of this I have no doubts. It comforts me because, to this day, the grief of his loss still pains us like a knife through our hearts.
What do you see as the influences on your writings?
I have two interests as far as my writing is concerned. I like crime-drama stories and the paranormal, and I love gothic lore and legend. I have been interested in the supernatural since a very young age. I've read and watched everything I could on the subject throughout my life. To this day, I hold the soap opera Dark Shadows from the sixties as a major influence. In this genre, I can let my imagination run wild.
For as long as I remember the strange, ghostly, and the unexplained have captured my imagination. I soaked up anything I could on the subjects. As a teenager, I delved into witchcraft and spells, experimented with Ouiji boards and held séances. I watched the old vampire and ghost stories and movies and read every paranormal and gothic book I could get my hands on. I loved books set in mansions with marauding ghosts. Later, I turned my passions to vampire stories. Anne Rice captured my interest with her Vampire Chronicles in the eighties.
In my late teens, always up for a heart thumping thrill, I loved going places that legend deemed haunted or scary. I went to old cemeteries and perused the century old head stones, visited an old deserted asylum once, and wandered through empty houses. We have legends of the Jersey Devil in the Wharton Track, also known as, the Pine Barons in Southern New Jersey. We used to go out to the Pine Barons and drive around at night. In some places, there weren't even streetlights, just dense forest on both sides of the road. Sometimes, we would even park the car along side the road and watch intently out into the darkness, hoping to see something, but we never did venture out of the car to investigate. I was not that brave, let me tell you. A couple of years ago I wrote a short story inspired by the South Jersey legend titled, A Jersey Tale.
- Interview with Sharon L. Connors, author of Curse of the Marimé
- Published: May 23, 2005
- Type: Interview
- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Interviews
- Writer: Parker Owens
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Comments on this articleComments
If this is satirical or, at best, some kind of joke, but could you in future PLEASE leave my people out of it? You're, for whatever reason, reinforcing the very stereotypes that our ancestors were raped and hanged and flogged and gassed for; stereotypes that were never true in the first place. We're not mysterious and we dress just like everybody else does. Yes, there are some aspects of the culture that we don't share with outsiders but, then again, do you really want to hear about how I do my laundry...? Because I don't want to hear how you do yours. Unfortunately the 'academia' regarding my people is woefully and laughably out of date and people like me (educated Romani) are trying to rectify that, as I'm doing here--regardless of the intent behind the whole thing--but we face people who refuse to believe that we're not magical, people who want to experience some romantic ideal of the bloody difficult way our ancestors lived (not, mind you, by choice) and then, on the other hand, people who believe to this day that we're subhuman filth not fit to breathe the air everybody else does.
I'm Romani (Sinti nation); I live in the year 2005, I drive a Toyota, I'm getting divorce and going back to university to finish my graphic design degree and I've got more than enough on my plate already without constantly having to refute this new age rubbish that makes us (the Romani) look worse than we already do and just attracts more hocus-pocus-crunchy-granola-aura-seeing idiots and hippies. I have a big problem with that 'Gypsy spirit' crap, and I can't for the life of me figure out why people who were 'Gypsy in a past life' have to ANNOY US SO MUCH IN THIS ONE, along with doing us a huge disservice by perpetuating this romantic, exotic garbage.
We're not exotic. We're not mysterious. We're plain and ordinary but we have to deal with this kind of thing and then, on the other hand, the media can get away with saying the things they couldn't say about any other race (and, yes, we're a race; we are not a lifestyle). We may be despised and misunderstood and hemmed in and constantly slandered but we are not MYSTERIOUS.
Dear C. Novak,
As a writer of fiction, I'd been inspired with Romania and its rich history. Having gotten caught up and indulged in my gothic fantasies, I, by no means, meant to cause you any distress. I sincerely apologize that I have.
Sincerely,
Sharon L Connors
As one of the critiquers of 'Curse of the Marimé and a friend, I really enjoyed reading this interview. Curse of the Marimé is one of my all time favorite novels that I have ever had the pleasure of critiquing. I'd would highly recommend everyone to keep a look out for it.
Thank you, Amanda.
Your enthusiasm for this story is much appreciated as well your critique and editing skills, not to mention your continued friendship and support.
Fondly,
Sharon L Connors
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