M.J. Rose

…The power of words is no less potent than a love potion. I think it’s quite obvious that Virginia Woolf knew the secret to writing an effective love letter –

Throw Over Your Man: Virginia Woolf’s 1927 Love Letter to Vita Sackville-West

by Maria Popova

“…and I’ll tell you all the things I have in my head, millions, myriads.”

“What makes an extraordinary love letter? After Monday’s omnibus of famous correspondence, I revisited a lovely decade-old book titled The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time, which features missives from icons like Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Frida Kahlo, Franz Kafka, and Mozart, covering everything from tender love to lust to bitter breakups.

Among them is this 1927 letter from Virginia Woolf to English poet Vita Sackville-West, with whom Woolf had fallen madly in love….”

More here.

M.J. was on a blog tour last year for THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (now in paperback) and she guest blogged about lost fragrances as she went! (Tune in often as we post more links to her numerous delicious posts. Your senses will thank you!)

…And so, here’s a peek at M.J.’s Guest Post at Mrs. Q Book Addict on the unforgettable Weil – Cassandra…

“M.J. Rose: I’ve been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances… since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother’s dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination… (researched and described with the help of the perfume writer Dimitrios Dimitriadis)….”

For the complete post about Weil – Cassandra click here.

Here’s some exciting news: M.J.’s novel, THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES, is coming out in trade paperback today.

THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES was the Indie Next Pick for March of last year, Best of 2012 – Suspense Magazine, and Best of Spring Mystery/Suspense PW and Amazon – with a starred and boxed PW review.

In case you have not read the book yet, here is the story straight from M.J.:

“Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, was fascinated with and some say obsessed by scent. Marc Anthony built her a fragrance factory and the famous queen was said to have kept a recipe book for her perfumes, entitled Cleopatra gynaeciarum libri. That book has been described in writings by historians Dioscorides, Homer and Pliny the Elder.

No known copy of the book exists today.

That missing book stirred my imagination and became the seed for THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES. While writing, to remain in the world of the novel, I burned incense and my favorite candles – those created by Frederick Boucharday. When the novel was finished I searched out Boucharday to give him a copy of the yet to be published novel.

Boucharday was intstantly intrugued by THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES. First, as a reader, he said he was taken with the mystery and romance of the story. In my tale scent plays a strong role when it comes to ones memory. Boucharday, who creates using oils and classic ingredients, said that it spoke to him as a perfumer.

The ancient fictional fragrance at the heart of my novel is called, Âmes Sœurs, which means “Soul Mates” in French. Inspired by the book, Boucharday has brought the scent to life with his version of Âmes Sœurs , the scent of soul mates. Âmes Sœurs hints of Frankincense, Myrrh, Orange Blossom and Jasmine. It’s smoky uncommon finish suggests the past and the future, and lost souls reunited.

In what I hope will be a perfect combination of fragrance, fact and fiction, Boucharday and I have brought both perfume and storytelling to a new place.”

Here are some of the excellent reviews we mentioned! –

“Compelling… suspenseful tale. Once you catch a whiff, you will be enchanted”. —Associated Press

“Enthralling… A supple and elegant thriller…There is simply no more daring writer than MJ Rose, and her blisteringly original The Book of Lost Fragrance shows why.” —Providence Journal

“Provocative…a sweeping sense of romance and history.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A time-defying journey filled with passion and danger…A kaleidoscope of memorable characters and exotic locales.” —Shelf-Awareness.com

“Rose has entered another realm and written what is bound to be one of this year’s best books.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred and Boxed Review