130: Writing with Passion and Perseverance - Interview with Frederique Molay
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Hey there word nerds!
Today\\u2019s DIY MFA Radio guest has a fantastic double life. Author Fr\\xe9d\\xe9rique Molay began her career in politics and administration as chief of staff for a commission of the French National Assembly. She then worked for local government in Burgundy, ran in the European elections, and was elected in Sa\\xf4ne-et-Loire.
She also writes crime novels and won France\'s prestigious crime fiction award the Prix du Quai des Orf\\xe8vres for The 7th Woman, which went on to become an international bestseller.
We had our conversation through a translator, a different format than you\\u2019re used to from DIY MFA Radio, but I hope you\\u2019ll stick with it. Molay has some brilliant insights about writing and I\\u2019m so excited to share our interview.
In this episode we discuss:
- Publishing foreign titles in the United States with Le French Book
- Vulnerability and idealism in writing
- Work life - family life - writing life balance.
Plus, their #1 tip for writers.
About the Author
Writing has always been a passion for Fr\\xe9d\\xe9rique Molay, author of the award-winning international bestselling Paris Homicide series. She graduated from France\\u2019s prestigious grande \\xe9cole the Institut d\'\\xc9tudes Politique and has a Master\'s degree in Business Administration. She began her career in politics and administration as chief of staff for a commission of the French National Assembly. She then worked for local government in Burgundy, ran in the European elections, and was elected in Sa\\xf4ne-et-Loire.
At the height of this brilliant political career, Molay was also writing crime novels and won France\'s prestigious crime fiction award the Prix du Quai des Orf\\xe8vres for The 7th Woman, which went on to become an international bestseller. She took a break from politics to write Crossing the Line and The City of Blood, two other titles in the Paris Homicide series.
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In addition to being a knight in the Confr\\xe9rie des Chevaliers du Tastevin\\u2014an order of wine lovers who promote Burgundy wines\\u2014Fr\\xe9d\\xe9rique also taught French in middle school for a short time, sharing her passion for writing with young teens.
The political virus never left her, however, and in June 2015, while writing Looking to the Woods, Fr\\xe9d\\xe9rique returned to politics, as chief of staff for a newly elected senator. She now splits her time between Paris and Chalon-sur-Sa\\xf4ne, between police procedurals and politics.
Looking to the Woods
When a ten-year-old girl\'s mutilated body is found in a public park in Paris, chief of police Nico Sirsky takes action. But his elite team of homicide detectives isn\'t on the case for even twenty-four hours before a second child is found murdered and left to rot inside a middle-school classroom. With the City of Light on edge awaiting another gruesome discovery, the clock starts ticking for Sirsky to catch the elusive killer who calls himself the gamemaster.
As the pressure mounts, Sirsky is also confronted with a conundrum in his personal life: his girlfriend is inexplicably pulling away from him. But he must once again put his own problems aside when the investigation turns up nothing but taunts from the killer. It will take an entire team of police psychologists, forensic specialists, and criminal investigators to uncover the truth hidden in a web of murder more tangled than any of them could have imagined.