INTERVIEW WITH MICHELE

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What’s the story behind your career? Apparently I wrote a lot as a child. My mom reminds me that I won writing competitions but I don’t remember. My first romance novel was sparked by a stint as a visiting author on a cruise ship. The whole setting was so ripe for fiction that I almost couldn’t help myself putting pen to paper about it. I write for a variety of genres, including working for magazines and newspapers. I love writing and just can’t seem to stop myself.

What makes your subject interesting? Humanity. I find people endlessly fascinating.

Who are your favourite authors? SOOO many. I love literary writers like Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie, and romance writers like Sarah Mayberry and Nalini Singh. 

How much time do you spend writing? As much as I can. I have small children so my time is dictated by when they are asleep or at preschool. If I have a deadline I try and steal some weekend time, but I have about 15 hours a week at the moment. I try and plan and then block out chunks of time – I find I write better that way. I had an impossible deadline to write a novella in 35 hours over a week but by having a big chunk of time at the start (a weekend, when I happily had Daddy Daycare) I was able to crack the back of it and then finish all 30K happily within the 35 hours.

What are you reading right now? A face like glass by Frances Hardinge

What has been the biggest thrill of your writing career so far? Hitting the top 100 on Amazon with The Boss and Her Billionaire.

If you could work with any author who would it be? Oooooo. Maybe Nalini Singh? She is a powerhouse of creativity and motivation. 

What projects are you working on at present? I’ve just finished book three in the Burned by Love series which is about to head off to my new editor at Saint Martins Press and I’m 13K into book four. I just wrote Valentine’s Vengeance for the Happily Ever Alpha Box set which was LOADS of fun.

Favourite type of hero? Strong but a little bit of Beta. My real life hero has a good dose of beta in him so it probably stands to reason that I like my written heroes to have an ability to empathise, sympathise and be open with their emotions. That doesn’t mean I like them to be wimpy, far from it – when we were discussing this (and her hatred of Beta heroes) my editor decided that my heroes are mostly Alpha with apparently 30% Beta. So there you go. Stats from an expert ;-)
Night owl or early bird?  Early bird.
Things that make you go “EEEEEEK!” Cockroaches and giant spiders. ARG!!!
Favourite books from childhood: Anything by Roald Dahl, Tolkein or Dr Seuss.
Favourite movies: Amadeus. Crazy, Stupid, Love. The Big Lebowski.
What type of fiction heroine would you be? Someone like Briony Wilde in Burned by Blackmail. I love her gumption, even though I don’t know that I would have the balls to blackmail anyone. Especially not a gang member. But I like her sense of humour and her drive.
Favourite genre to read? I love contemporary romance but I also love literary fantasy, especially magical realism.
Paperback or e-book? Paperback generally, but e-book has its place – on holiday and when the lights are low.
Plotter or go-with-the-flow?  I used to be a total pantser – but now I plot plot plot. I have small kids so have very limited time to write – so if I don’t plan I just don’t get enough done.
What’s on your desk? My computer, some wooden boxes full of books and papers. A jug full of water. A container of pencils and my notebook. It sounds all tidy, and it is at the moment but that’s because my stacks of mess are still unpacked!