Authors To Watch: Dax Marie, Author of Conch Shell Confessions @conchieconfess #vbt

Dax Marie was five or so, when the man that she would otherwise call, “father” gave Dax her issues. What’s the medical terminology for that? Oh, Daddy Issues! For nearly the whole of her life she has tried to deny this grave medical condition and up until about seven years ago, she was doing alright. By no means was she swimming through the world with ease, but she did like aight (that’s hood talk for alright).

It was not until sometime in high school when she discovered her self-diagnosed condition. Sigmund Freud (you may have heard of him, he’s like a coke-head genius) told Dax (in a text book) that she has Penis Envy. Poor thing, she was absolutely flabbergasted!

“Me, Dax Marie? Associated with male genitalia?” she thought to herself.

So, it was then and there, her junior year of high school that she knew what

she was destined for...MEN.

Dax’s latest book is the memoir, Conch Shell Confessions.

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Title: CONCH SHELL CONFESSIONS
Author: Dax Marie
Publisher: Author House
Pages: 202
Genre: Memoir

BOOK BLURB:

This is a book about love: hunting it, chasing it, losing it, tripping, and falling into it.

And yes, it's a book about sex: hunting it, chasing it, losing it, tripping from it, and falling onto...ahem...it.

But more than anything, it's a book about self-discovery, navigating the learning curve of adulting, and learning the kind of tough lessons that only come when you have to pick yourself off the floor, block a guy's phone number (for the second time), and clean some curious stains off your dress.

I dove headfirst into love and sex, and for better or worse, they have taught me that sometimes you just need to try the world on for size to really understand what it is you want and learn who you are. So here's my experience in the world of men.

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We welcome you to My Bookish Pleasures! Can you tell us how you got started writing non-fiction?

My current book, Conch Shell Confessionals is actually my memoir. I felt compelled to tell a story from me, a millennial’s perspective of being lost looking for love. I grew up without a dad which unfortunately brings many far-fetched yet some truthful stereotypes to the table…Daddy issues, anyone? Call me crazy but, I needed to explore my failed relationships and dive ever so slightly into my childhood to reveal some truths that I had been denying for nearly the whole of my life. Conch Shell Confessionals is so much more than me looking for love, it’s me finding myself and I hope that it encourages other woman to take a deeper look at themselves to know that they are worth a selfless love from another. This is and as of now, will be my only non-fiction piece.

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?

Honestly my writing process varies. Some days I meditate on words for days before I start writing. Other times, I just let it go and see where my laptop-ticking fingers take me. The only thing that remains the same is when I write and where I write…morning coffee shop stops!

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

Conch Shell Confessionals is my tell-all (minus some) tale of being lost looking for love. With my self-proclaimed (and running attempt to deny) daddy issues, I am just your average girl with a bit of a bite and, I suppose, one too many thoughts (or fantasies) running through my brain.

I have said, "I love you" without really understanding it; puked out of a moving vehicle on a second date (in my defense, I told him I was going to hurl); table-danced my way through heartbreak in Colombia (yeah, the country); and buzzed my way through online dating. And finally after all of that, I am in real L-O-V-E...like he's the one kind of love. Does this make me look fat? Whatever, I'm fat in love!

So, I am ready to share my horrendously enlightening experiences with the world, a.k.a. all of my single (or miserably coupled-off) ladies (and gentlemen...if you're in to this kind of thing). I'm not a doctor but I've dated one so I'm sure that qualifies me to advise you on the matter of millennial dating.

How did you get the idea for the book?

Initially, I started writing Conch Shell Confessionals as a short for a screenwriting class I was in at UCLA, but soon the class was over and the project was forgotten in the mass of infinite school papers and projects I had. A couple years went by and I met my boyfriend, we were in the green stage of our relationship, learning and completely infatuated with the almost strangers that we still were. We were going through my laptop, looking at the mess of things I had written and we stumbled across Conch Shell Confessionals—he was dying of laughter.

 “You have to finish this,” he said.

 So I did because I am an obsessive psycho who loves to be challenged.

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?

Since my book is a memoir I’m going to take this as which person is my favorite considering every single person is real in my book…no embellishments here. (You’ll understand this once you read it and are introduced to the complete weirdos I dated.) My mom is absolutely my favorite person. Growing up wasn’t easy for us—my dad would have flushed us down a puked-speckled bar toilet if he could’ve—but my mom was always so strong. To this day, I have no idea how she did it. Three of us, no money, no support, with her heart ripped out by the man that she thought would be her Forever. I owe my mom every ounce of my success, she sacrificed her own success for our’s. She is my everything and the reason for every uphill battle I’ve ever won. I love my mom…I’m sure you’d love her, too.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

The most challenging aspect of writing my book was depending on other people and being patient. The writing process itself was fun but when it came to editing and publishing, I thought I was going to jump out of my own skin. Lesson learned: No one will treat your project as carefully as you.

What projects are you currently working on?

Currently I am working on something very far from Conch Shell Confessionals. I am working on a short film that I wrote and will eventually direct called Amor sin amantes or Love without Lovers. I’m bilingual and initially had written it in Spanish but I’m not sure if I should keep it in Spanish. It’s a story about a couple in love but when the man unexpectedly dies, the woman is faced with a decision that no woman in love wants to make on her own. We’re hoping to start filming sometime in June.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?

Write what you want, write what you feel, and write what you love. If something inspires you, stuns you, or emotes some unknown emotion out of you…write about it!