1. What inspired you to write A Travel in Time to Grand Pré?
In a plot that came to me in 1996, I knew how I wanted the story to begin and I knew how I wanted the story to end. While I was sure about certain elements for inclusion in the story, I was very surprised at how the story unfolded.
I was inspired by my French Acadian heritage, my fascination with genealogy and current DNA findings, my attraction to quantum physics (courtesy of the spiritual and metaphysical realms) and my enthrallment with the plausibility of a holy bloodline as discussed in The Holy Blood, The Holy Grail.
In addition, it seems that I had been duly positioned, beforehand, to conduct extensive research: authors, books, websites, email communication with countless individuals.
When the time came for me to begin writing, the entire process took less than six months.
2. How would you describe your novel?
Mainly fiction, many non-fiction elements have been interwoven into the overall tapestry; that of French Acadian history, the pre-Columbian voyage of Henry I Sinclair in 1398, the Cathars of Montségur, the Knights Templar and the Merovingians; all are combined with elements of quantum physics, metaphysics and spirituality.
Coming at it from a personal perspective, while there is much truth contained within, it is up to each individual to accurately discern his/her own truth throughout the reading. That having been said, each person will come away with their own thoughts and reflections.
3. What do you want your readers to get from this book?
First and foremost, I want them to be most thoroughly entertained. I want them to enjoy reading for the pure pleasure of reading.
Secondly, I want to assist the reader in experiencing a multitude of emotions (laughter, tears, philosophical thought), all of which earmark a writer who has been able to become one with the text.
I have been told by a great many people that I am a catalyst, meaning one who leads another to new information and/or new discoveries, thereby precipitating an event or a change in the life of another. If this serves to be true for a great many who read A Travel in Time to Grand Pré, while ingesting the spiritual messages scattered throughout the text, making them their own in the way that was needed at the time of the reading, then I will have succeeded in my undertaking as an author.
It is also my hope that each time the reader revisits the text, that he/she will glean something new and noteworthy about themselves.
4. Clearly, then, some of the research would have been your own interpretation of what you found. Can you explain how you came to be able to utilize this research?
Being a writer allows one to avail of artistic license when it comes to interpreting research, especially if they wish to place a different slant on something that may have been discussed by another writer. For myself, it all comes down to creating believable and credible characters, seamlessly weaving them into a dynamic and entertaining storyline.
If I have been able to provide the reader with a storyline that touches their inner being, allowing them to experience a myriad of emotions, then I have succeeded.
If I have been able to weave a tale that leaves the reader thinking about the endless mysteries and possibilities that each of us carry within us on this journey we call life, then, so, too, have I succeeded.
5. Tell us about some of the more prominent characters in the book. How did you bring them to life?
Every writer has to take the time to become one with the characters that he/she creates. In this way, they draw on their own experiences of life. As a writer, it is your job to create personalities that are both believable and credible.
Madeleine Sinclair connects with the Knights Templar, courtesy of her Sinclair lineage, a lineage that connects with King William of England. While she has always been fascinated with her genealogy and the numerous royal connections that abound, she has always felt more at home with the French Acadian ancestry of her mother. These are the roots that have always beckoned, although she knows naught why.
Michel (dit Sophie) LeBlanc connects with the Merovingians, courtesy of his connection to Bertrand de Blanchefort, the sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar, a great reformer of the order from 1156 to 1169. Michel does not understand why he is not content with his life in Acadie; that is, until he meets Madame Pêche.
Madame Pêche, a time traveler from fourteenth-century France, propelled forward to eighteenth-century Acadie, becomes both Michel’s dearest friend as well as Madeleine’s confidante.
Gabriel Sinclair, a Mi’kmaq cousin to Madeleine, courtesy of Henry I Sinclair’s pre-Columbian voyage of 1398, has a special treasure that he gifts her with, for she has been decreed the one to share this ancient and valuable tome with the citizens of the twenty-first century.
Together, these four central characters become involved in an unveiling that has long been destined by time itself.
6. A Travel in Time to Grand Pré also appears to contain some deep rooted spiritual messages. What do you see as being the most important message in the book?
Ahhh, you have now touched upon the portion of the story whereby I wish to engage the reader in thinking about the endless mysteries and possibilities that each of us carry within us on this journey we call life. The most important message is actually a dual message of love as well as divinity.
Many have forgotten their divinity. In so doing, they believe themselves to be separate from God. Nothing could be farther from the truth than this.
Within this forgetting lies limited beliefs, opinions and judgments, none of which are functional in navigating one’s way through to the higher expression of the God within, so that each may continue this expansion of the Father/Mother into forever.
One of the most challenging tasks we face is to become nonjudgmental. As you learn to disentangle yourself from both emotionally charged situations as well as from the collective mindset of laws, rules and dogma, you are finally able to experience your own freedom and resolution.
It is the embracing of this higher vibration that an internal shift in consciousness takes place, thereby enabling you to Become (who you truly are).
This is the way to remembering the sacredness of all life. When you respond to people with love and compassion, you readily move from conflict to harmony. Such is the very freedom sought by all.
When you remember, embrace and share your divinity, you free others to walk their truth. You become accepting of their truth, for such is whom they are. So, too, do you remember that all are continually evolving and changing as per their own individual experience(s).
This also adds to both the greater collective experience as well as the totality of God, which means, as well, that God is also continually evolving and changing. How could it be otherwise for this loving energy that is ongoing and forever?
Living a life of gratitude, trust, love and peace is what generates more of the same, thereby continuously affecting others in a positive way. Radiating the complete and total realization of being one with the Creator is what enables, and allows, others to feel safe and secure within one’s very presence. For many, this is exactly what may be needed to begin to elicit an arresting change within their very Being. It is impossible not to experiences the effects of such love and acceptance.
Compassion is who we are. The keys to compassion lie in the ability to embrace all experiences as part of the one, without judgment. This is the greatest challenge that all face as they move towards greater states of personal mastery, which is the return to your truest form.
Demonstrating love through compassionate allowing means that you must love others enough to allow the range of their experience. Compassion is what you allow yourself to Become.
7. Which leads us to another interesting aspect, that being that the reader in drawn into the spiritual equation of searching for their own Truth, which also equates to getting in touch with their own divinity, correct?
Exactly. This is such an important aspect to the lives we are currently living as spiritual beings. It is my hope that the message(s) contained within this novel are what will deeply resonate.
For some readers, this may be the first time that they will have been exposed to such a message. In this light, it is my hope that the words shared within A Travel in Time to Grand Pré will serve to awaken all to the divinity that we share.
One must take the time to enter the stillness of their own being, for all inherent Truth can only be found within. You need nothing on the outside to tell you that which you already know.
We are approaching a monumental breakthrough as can be applied to consciousness, both individually and collectively. The more we come to know who we really are, the more we live who we really are.
In this way, our divinity shall be made manifest through love, peace, harmony, empathy, compassion, acceptance and nonjudgment.
A dear, dear friend of mine puts it this way.
A Travel in Time To Grand Pré is a journey to infinity. Magical and visionary, the more often I read it, the deeper in time I find myself. There is always something new, and it feels like Michele has hidden it there for the reader to find.I am honored by her very words.
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