Welcome to The INNterview, a three-part Sunday chat with Miss Mercy-Faith "Elm" Sunday, the star of the groundbreaking Visionary Fiction book, INN LAK'ECH: A Journey to the Realm of Oneness.
Eleyne-Mari Sharp: Good to see you again, Elm.
Elm Sunday: It's lovely to see you, too, E-MS. Isn't Life wonderful?
E-MS: It is. And you sound much happier than last week.
Elm Sunday: Oh, I am! Everything has changed since I discovered Inn Lak'ech. I feel like I am living inside a rainbow. And guess what? I have a lovely pink aura now!
E-MS: Well, that is something! So, let's pick up from the time after the Blue Moon cruise. Most of the passengers drowned.
Elm Sunday: Yes, and that's when Seraphina saved me. She's the innkeeper at Inn Lak'ech. Very nice, but very mysterious. I wish you had an image of her, but she doesn't like having her picture taken. Then again, she changes a lot.
E-MS: She was a skinny old thing with chin-length, curly white hair, a pink bow-shaped mouth, thin arms, big biceps, and a melodic voice. Elm thought she had the pinkest skin she had ever seen, like pretty pink porcelain. And the woman sang her words!
Elm Sunday: Hey, that's from the book!
E-MS: It is! So Seraphina took you to Inn Lak'ech. And what was that like?
Elm Sunday: Oh, it was SO beautiful! It reminded me of pictures I had seen of Santorini in Greece. And I had my own suite—Suite 8. It had a little pool inside.
E-MS: Something like this?
Elm Sunday: Hey, that's your collage! When did you make that?
E-MS: While I was writing the book. It looks like a nice place to live, Elm. So, what did you do at Inn Lak'ech?
Elm Sunday: I learned my lessons, of course! And I got to meet my soul family.
E-MS: Soul family?
Elm Sunday: We all have one. I met mine at a party for Archangel Zadkiel—Inn Lak'ech is on his island retreat, you know. It was lovely seeing everybody from my previous lives, even the ones who still hated me for whatever reason. One of them was a real surprise. And I met my son, who took me to the movie theater where we watched my life movie. We threw popcorn at the screen!
E-MS: You have a son?
Elm Sunday: Yeah, a sweet kid, too. He's in the Prologue with Seraphina You know what? You should write a book about him.
E-MS: In my copious spare time. Elm, you mentioned Archangel Zadkiel. What was he like?
Elm Sunday: Oh, nothing like I ever expected. He changed his shape a lot, but that image you have on the collage is pretty accurate. He had a purple aura. I mean, has. He's eternal.
E-MS: What kinds of lessons did you learn at Inn Lak'ech?
Elm Sunday: I learned how to fly and to merge with every object you can imagine. I even got to share the body of one of Jesus' apostles. Jesus really existed, you know. I didn't always think so. And I didn't have to stay at Inn Lak'ech the whole time. I visited different planets. I also learned that words have power, and not always the good kind, either. By the way, E-MS. I hope you've stopped cursing because it's not good for your karma.
E-MS: Me? I rarely curse.
Elm Sunday: Uh huh. Well, I just want to remind you about Chapter 38.
E-MS: The Bubble Room?
Elm Sunday: Yeah. Wasn't it groovy?
E-MS: It was if you didn't curse! I liked the colors and the lava lamp, though. And the teacher, Love Child, who was really somebody else. But that's a spoiler. We don't want to give away too much in this INNterview.
Elm Sunday: Like the sign said, Sister, Be cool now!
E-MS: Yeah, I can dig it. Let's talk about the black dragon.
Elm Sunday: Well, you know I never believed in dragons, but I sure changed my mind when I saw one! His name was Char, and he helped me release my fears.
E-MS: By incinerating them?
Elm Sunday: Ha! That's too funny! Anyway, fear is one of those things you have to release before you can progress to the next level.
E-MS: Let's talk about those levels. They're different colors, aren't they?
Elm Sunday: Yes. And you have to earn them. You start off as transparent, then there's Pink, Blue, Gold, Green, Yellow, White, and Violet. Right now my son has reached the Green level. He's a smart boy. But he's not always a boy. Like, I've not always been female. You see how this works?
E-MS: Sort of. You also spent some time with your foremothers. They call themselves The Bad Mothers Club.
Elm Sunday: Yeah, you should write a book about them, too. Especially Sophie Mae. I love her energy.
E-MS: Isn't she the big bawdy one?
Elm Sunday: Yeah. She spent a lot of her time out West, working as a stage actress in honky-tonk saloons. She sang and danced, too. Like me, she was a real rabble-rouser!
E-MS: Didn't Sophie Mae also go to prison, abandoning her young daughters?
Elm Sunday: Yeah. She killed one of her husbands.
E-MS: By accident?
Elm Sunday: On purpose. But I forgave her. Her daughters didn't. But you have to forgive, otherwise you don't progress, you know? Still, Sophie Mae's a real hoot, especially in a hot tub!
E-MS: So, after a long time of lessons, you eventually left Inn Lak'ech. Why was that? Did you get into trouble?
Elm Sunday: No, silly, I had a mission. I had to save Mermie.
E-MS: It's so nice to hear you call her that again. When you were angry, you called her 'Mother' and maybe some other not-so-nice names.
Elm Sunday: I remember and I've forgiven myself. So I went back to Little Blessing but nobody knew it was me because I was in a different form. That was fun.
E-MS: What was wrong with your mother?
Elm Sunday: She was depressed and pretty much an invalid. Snow and other people took care of her, which was nice to see.
E-MS: And by helping her, you had another chance to work with mermaids again.
Elm Sunday: Yes, they helped me help Mermie. They were wonderful.
E-MS: So, what's next for Elm Sunday?
Elm Sunday: I'm doing this interview.
E-MS: Yes, but after that?
Elm Sunday: Well, I'm guessing your readers know you published Seaglass Christmas. It's the prequel to Inn Lak'ech. Can we have an image of that?
E-MS: Sure, and thank you for mentioning that. I had a lot of fun pretending I was eight-years-old again. It's my first mystery and the second book in the Little Blessing series.
Elm Sunday: And I like the fact that nobody gets killed in this book. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of those bloody murder mystery books. Blood? Yeck! Anyway, readers get to see me in action as a kid detective. And many of the characters from Inn Lak'ech are in this prequel—Snow, Noah, Daddy, Mermie, Grandmother Ruth and more. And it all happens during the Christmas holidays—which you know I love—so thank you for that.
E-MS: You're welcome.
Elm Sunday: And you've been very busy writing TWO sequels. Moonwater Beach will be published first. It's really the story of Snow, but I do make some guest appearances. And then there's Lightmover: The Illumination of Silver Violet. She's my daughter, you know.
E-MS: Daughter? How is that possible?
Elm Sunday: Come on, E-MS. You know that ANYTHING is possible when you're a writer.
E-MS: You're absolutely right, Elm. Is there anything else you'd like to add before we conclude this INNterview?
Elm Sunday: Yes. Please stop the anger, People. Stop the fighting. Stop the killing. Stop the judging. Forgive everybody. It's never too late. We are all one. In lak'ech!
E-MS: Thank you. I couldn't have said it any better!
That's all, Folks! CLICK HERE to order your copy of Inn Lak'ech: A Journey to the Realm of Oneness.)
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