NRR:Can you share with us how you
got started into writing?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer
ever since I was around twelve years old. I just seemed to get a lot of story
ideas and was never satisfied with movies or books. I wanted to do it my way.
But getting started was harder than I thought. Well, starting was easy, it was
the finishing that was hard. I took courses on writing, read a lot of books
about writing, then finally when I didn’t have any more excuses, I got down to
actually getting words on the page and not giving up when it got hard. I
dabbled with a young adult trilogy, actually finishing it, before I started on
the book that would lead to getting an agent and my first book deal – Bitten
& Smitten – which was inspired from my love for all things Buffy.
How long does it usually take for
you to put a novel together?
At the moment I’m writing
approximately four full novels a year so I have to be very strategic about my
writing time because I can’t waste any. I have it down to a science now --
sometimes it works out well, and sometimes it gets a bit tight. I write my first
draft in six weeks. I take two weeks off to recover and get some distance from
the material. Then I write the second draft in one month. Three months per
book. I’m working pretty darn hard during this time. I sometimes say that my
first book took me two years to write, but the same amount of hours I take now.
Just spread out a bit more. Ideally I’d like about 4-5 months to write a book
but I’m happy to get the chance to write lots of books.
How were you inspired to write
Nightshade?
Nightshade, oddly enough, was
inspired by Twilight and other vampire romances I’d read where the vampire hero
is afraid to bite the defenseless but irresistible heroine because he was
afraid he’d kill her. I thought -- what if biting her would kill him instead
because her impossible-to-resist blood is poison? That was the initial
spark, but it was also inspired by movies like Blade and The Terminator.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Right now it seems to be reality
shows that involve cake decorating or toddler beauty pageants. Thank God for
TLC.
What is in your to be read pile?
I have so many books on my TBR pile
that I may as well just call it a bookshelf. I’m extremely behind in the
Darkfever series and trying to catch up. I also have a pile of novels I’ve received
to judge for RWA’s Rita contest. I can’t say what they are but there are quite
a few that I am looking forward to cracking open.
Can you share with us a little about
Nightshade (of course no spoilers)?
Absolutely! Nightshade is the first
book about Jillian Conrad, a woman who’s swept into a dangerous world she never
knew existed when she’s injected with a serum that turns her blood both
poisonous and irresistible to vampires. She is kidnapped from her normal life
by an seemingly emotionless dhampyr assassin named Declan Reyes who wants to
use her as a pawn to kill a vampire king. It’s a roller coaster of a book with
a lot of thrills along the way. It’s a bit darker than what my books have been
in the past, but it’s been a lot of fun and a real challenge to get the chance
to push my boundaries a little.
What can fans expect to see from you
next?
If my readers enjoy Nightshade, then
they’re in luck. It’s the first of two books and a novella set in the same
world about the same characters. The story continues with the novella “Bleeding
Heart” in the Primal anthology (out now) and then again in July with the full
length Bloodlust. Readers who prefer the lighter side of my writing can pick up
my third Harlequin Blaze, Inevitable, out in March, and the third and final
Living in Eden novel, That Old Black Magic, will be released in December.
Readers are invited to check out my website at www.michellerowen.com for more
info about all of these books and more.
Thank you for joining us!
My pleasure!
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~Media Coordinator/ Site Owner