The Band 4 – The Air We Breathe

Tonight our guest is Marguerite Nardone Gruen. She is a new novelist having never written before or aspired to be a novelist. She had a dream one night and couldn't stop thinking about that dream so she sat down and wrote it out. Her first book 'The Band 4-The Air We Breathe' came out in Feb 2016. It will be a trilogy because so many kept asking for more. The sequel 'Ed-For Love and Hope' is due in July. We have conducted an interview with Marguerite.

What are the challenges you had faced before becoming a trilogy novelist?

Not knowing anything about the printing or publishing business – I searched Google to learn what I needed to do and how to find a publisher. It was amazing searching and reading what to expect and how to find a reputable publisher. I pulled up the top self-publishers and started reading their blogs to see what people were saying about them. I was shocked about how many people were so dissatisfied with their publisher. They either weren’t getting emails and calls back or not getting their royalty checks. Then I found Friesen Press and they had an A+ Better Business Rating so I went with them.

Why did you name the sequel 'Ed-For Love and Hope'?

Ed is a main Character in my first book ‘The Band 4 – The Air We Breathe'. When I wrote his part – it was mainly because I felt Marguerite and Chase needed a friend outside of the group Chase was in. I made his part so special and at the time I don’t know why I wrote him like that. I had no intentions of writing another book at all. Then my friends and family kept asking me to continue the story. They wanted to read more about this main couple - they loved them so much. But my mind was blank until all of a sudden I thought - I am going to make the second book about Ed. I was listening to Ed Sheeran when I was writing ‘The Air We Breathe’ and I happen to love red hair. So that is also how I pictured Ed in my book.

When do you plan to release it?

I am in the final editing stages of the book and hope to have it out by the middle of July.

What is the supernatural twist in your story?

The couple can feel each other’s emotions. That is how they met. Marguerite felt Chase was distressed when they both were in the same coffee shop one evening. Then he started feeling her. Once their children were older, they too could feel their parents. They knew their father could not breathe when he was not with his wife and vice versa. They thought that connection was a gift from God. Then when all of the children married, they discovered they had that same bond with their wives which solidified the fact that they were all meant to be together. Also, something happened in Ed’s life that he realized only Chase and his children would be able to help him with. He was counting on the bond they all shared to help him in the future. His term for the connections they with each other was ‘Spooky’.