I am
excited to bring you an interview with the very talented and
wonderful author who took time out of her busy schedule to chat with
us here at Joyfully Reviewed. So without further ado...
Michelle M.
Pillow
When did
you begin writing?
I remember trying
to write a book when I was 12. For some reason, I’d spaced it until
this moment, but it was called the ‘Runaways’ and I only got to a
very short chapter one.
What is
your perfect writing environment? Do you need absolute quiet or can
you work with noise?
I normally need
some sort of background noise. With a big household growing up, I’d
learned to tone out noise to do things. But now, silence can be
distracting. But it depends on the noise. If it’s something I want
to watch, I zone out and watch.
I know
that you write in several genres. Do you have a favorite?
It changes with my
mood. The first several novels I’d completed for fun were historical
romance. Now, I do a lot of paranormal and futuristic. I love all
genres I write in for different reasons, but I currently I really
like some of the darker fantasies like Tribes of the Vampire and
Realm Immortal. Ask me again tomorrow and it’ll be something else.
:)
If you
could travel to any time period and place…where would it be and why?
I want to go
everywhere in the world at least once. I love to travel. As for
time, it’s about the same. Middle Ages, Victorian era, Ancient
Rome—this is all considering that there would be certain guidelines
like I don’t show up in a gladiator pit or as a peasant about to get
whacked by the Lord of the Manor or at the height of the Black
Plague.
Tell us a
little about what makes Michelle tick? What are your favorite
foods, movies, and music?
Coffee, Pajama
Pants, Brownies, No Bake Chocolate Cookies, Chicken Parmesan, Pasta,
Chicken Fried Steak, Red Nail Polish.
Music is pretty
varied. My husband is a DJ so we have a lot of it around. And I’m
pretty content to let him play whatever—just because he knows what I
like and I can never remember who sings what. I love ‘Vampire’
music, the dark and seductive.
I love watching
movies, and like my genres depends on my mood. Golden Age
Hollywood—Fred and Ginger movies, Princess and the Pirate, the old
musicals. The old stop-motions are great—Jason and the Argonauts,
Clash of the Titans. Or the older fantasies—Beastmaster (only the
first one), Red Sonja, Conan, original unmastered Star Wars, etc, 13th
Warrior, Pride and Prejudice, Practical Magic, Count of Monte Cristo,
7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Beauty and the Beast, Last of the Mohicans.
If you
could bring any character to life from a book…who would it be and
why?
Rick, a side
character from Tribes of the Vampire series. That way Mandy will
stop bothering me for his book. LOL
I think I’d really
like one of the paranormal characters, just so long as I could still
control them. Some of them are quite bad. I’d love to say I’d seen
at least one thing concrete paranormal or supernatural in my
lifetime.
What does
your family think about your writing career? Do they know that you
write sexy romances?
Oh, yeah. I don’t
keep what I do a secret. I explain to people that sexy is like scary
for me. Books are there to research whichever topic, and whereas I
don’t impale people like some of my vampires, neither do I do what
some of my other characters do.
Can you
tell us a little about what you have coming up?
I tend to work on
several things at once.
New Concepts-Zhang
Dynasty 2: Temptation of the Butterfly.
I just finished this one. It’s part of the NCP Harmony line
(multicultural), but also a spin off of my popular futuristic series
there- Dragon Lords, Lords of the Var. I’m planning many more in the
futuristic series as well as the Tribes of the Vampire series there.
Ellora’s Cave-Call
of the Lycan 2: Call of the Untamed
is due out the beginning of next year.
Virgin Books-I’ve
started a new erotic contemporary series there, Matthews Sisters.
Book one Bit by the Bug releases in Feb ’07 and book
2, Along for the Ride is actually what’s on my
computer being written.
Samhain-Realm
Immortal 3: Stone Queen
is contracted and my next book to be written. That series has been
doing really well for me and I have quite a bit planned for it.
Talons: Seize the Hunter was just released.
How do
your books come to you? Do they come slowly, page by page, or all
at once?
When I start a
book, I have a general idea of where I want it to go. I build the
world, the characters and then let them do what they do. They
completely lead the story.
Who are
your favorite authors and what are you reading right now?
That’s
a hard one. I tend to read “friend” authors first, which isn’t hard
since they’re so talented. I like supporting nice people. Mandy
Roth, Jaycee Clark are high on that list. I want to start Jaycee’s
Angel Eyes soon and I’ve got Mandy’s Warrior of Darkness that I’m
looking forward to
Any
advice for aspiring writers?
Do the research. Do
the writing. Do your thing. But mostly, do the research.
What is
your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
I don’t get a lot
of spare time between writing and owning businesses, but family time
is my favorite. We watch a lot of movies together.
What do
you feel is the best way to promote your books?
It’s a hard one, as
no one seems to know for sure what works. I do a lot of online
promotions and tend to stay active on the yahoo groups—because it
keeps me accessible to fans. I’d say the best way is to constantly
put the info out there in any outlet you can.
Do you
enjoy writing books that a part of a series? Is it easier to write
stand alone titles or series books?
Stand alones are
easiest, because there is less detail to remember. With my
futuristics, I’m on book 10 with more planned. That’s a lot of facts
to keep straight. But I love writing the series because I, as a
reader, love to visit old characters. To me, writing them is like a
puzzle, fitting in pieces, balancing little inside jokes that aren’t
lost on the new reader, but will make the old reader smile
knowingly.
I noticed
that you have done several collaborations with Mandy M.Roth. How
did this come about? Can we look forward to more books from both of
you?
Definitely! I love
working with Mandy. We even write the Raven Vampire Nightclub
together which is about the size of three novels now. It’s an
online, free story for our readers at http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven.htm
How? We were
abducted by the same aliens, lol.
Is there
anything else you would like to tell us?
Michelle’s Links-
~~Michelle loves to hear from readers you can contact her at michelle_pillow@yahoo.com,
and
don't forget to visit
Michelle Pillow's websitefor
other links to her blogs and reader groups.
Michelle Pillow's My
Space
Michelle Pillow's announcement only newsletter
Michelle's Pillow
Talk Blogspot
Chat Group with
Mandy M Roth, called
The Raven Vampire Nightclub
Free online,
ongoing story “The Raven” coauthored with Mandy Roth:The
Raven Happy Hour
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