Interview with Michelle Rowen

by Rhonda Wilson

RW:  Hi Michelle!  Thanks so much for taking the time to be a part of our special Valentine's Day 2010 update at Monster Librarian.

MR:  My pleasure! Thank you for inviting me!


RW:  Can you tell our readers a little about yourself and how you got your start in the writing industry?

MR: Sure! I’ve always loved reading and knew I wanted to be a writer since I was a kid. I like the control of telling a story the way I want to tell it, because I didn’t always agree with how other authors wrote their books and would have loved a different ending, for example. Now I’m lucky enough get paid to make up stories and live in my imagination. It’s seriously the best job in the world. Since 2006 I’ve had nine books released in light paranormal romance and young adult fantasy. I also had one futuristic romantic suspense released under the pen name Michelle Maddox.  I’ve written six more book than are currently in production and will be on the shelves in the next year and a half.


RW:  Who have been your writing inspirations throughout the years?

MR:  If you’re asking for my favorite authors, I have several of them who’ve made an impact on my writing. I’d say discovering Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series many years ago introduced me to urban fantasy -- finally someone was writing the kind of books I loved to read and couldn’t find anywhere. While my books are very different from hers she inspired me to write in first person point of view which really helped me find my voice. Other authors that had an influence on my writing include Tanya Huff, Christopher Moore, Stephen King, and Meg Cabot. I have very eclectic tastes!


RW:  In case some of our readers aren't familiar with your Immortality Bites series, can you tell us briefly what the series is about?

MR:  Absolutely. The series in a nutshell is that it’s about Sarah, a regular twenty-something, who’s turned into a vampire by a “blind date from hell” and now she needs to navigate and survive in a new world of the supernatural that she is very ill-prepared for. She becomes involved with a suicidal master vampire as well as a vampire-hunter-turned-reluctant-vampire, and finds that she’s being hunted for being “evil” even though she doesn’t feel any different than she did when she was human.


RW:  Which book out of your Immortality Bites series would you say is your favorite and why?

MR:  I’m incredibly fond of the first book, Bitten & Smitten, since it was my first sale and I spent a great deal of time with it -- about two years -- finessing the storyline. However, my favorite of the series is probably Stakes & Stilettos since I got to explore master vampire Thierry’s back story and write from his point of view to show readers where he came from and why he was always so darn cranky! ;)


RW:  Do you have a favorite character from the Immortality Bites series or one that you can relate to the most?

MR:  I’d say Sarah, the heroine, is the one I relate to the most, but she had such a mind of her own that she annoyed and challenged me a great deal of the time. Just part of her charm. I’d say that my favorite character other than her was probably Veronique, Thierry’s wife (in name only). She was delightfully vain and had absolutely no clue she was getting in the way of Sarah’s romantic bliss. And as much as I would have been tempted to write her as the villainess, at her core she just wasn’t evil. Which made her so much more fun when she did seemingly evil (at least in Sarah’s opinion) things.

RW:  Are you disappointed to not be writing about the characters from the Immortality Bites series now that the series has ended?

MR: I can’t say I don’t miss them. I spent the better part of six years with these characters and they feel extremely real to me after all that time. However, I have to say I wholeheartedly embrace the chance to write about new and fresh characters too.


RW:  You had a new teen series come out this past fall, Demon Princess, can you tell our readers a little bit about what this series is about?

MR:  Demon Princess is about a sixteen year old girl who finds out her estranged father is a demon king in another dimension and she’s heir to his throne. It’s also a great deal of fun to write as Nikki, the heroine, has to deal with not only high school issues, but political intrigue and her burgeoning and uncontrollable half-demon powers.


RW:  What major differences have you run into while working on writing teen fiction compared to writing the adult paranormal romance novels and do you have a preference between the two?

MR:  Quite honestly, writing-wise, I don’t feel there’s a great deal of difference between the two and I come at the writing from pretty much the same place. Of course the heroine in the YA is a teenager, and, well, I’m not. I know, surprise surprise. So I do take some time to check to make sure she sounds “teen” enough. I also don’t write anything explicit in my YA’s, although there is nothing wrong with a little sexual tension -- in fact, I think teens insist on it these days. And Nikki’s romantic relationship with the mysterious Michael is half the fun of writing this series.


RW:  Now, let's talk about your brand new series that is coming out.  First off... congratulations!!!  The Demon in Me, first in the Living in Eden series, is due out at the beginning of May.  Can you tell us a little bit about this book?

MR:  Thank you! I’m so excited about the new book. The Demon in Me is about a woman who gets possessed by a (really hot) demon. Luckily for her, he isn’t too demonic and wants her help to break his curse so he can, well, stop possessing her. Because she’s a little bit psychic he’s able to talk to her and also take physical form during daylight hours.


RW:  Do you have a set amount of books contracted for the Living in Eden series?

MR:  At the moment, I’m only contracted for the first two. I’m really hoping that readers like them enough that I get the chance to write more about these fun characters.


RW:  Can you tell our readers what all projects are in the works that they should be keeping an eye out for in the bookstores coming soon?

MR:  Yes! Five months after The Demon in Me releases in May, the sequel, Something Wicked is out in October. My second Demon Princess book, Reign Check, is out in June. My sexy Blaze, Stormy Weather, is out in November. Then I’m taking things a few shades darker than my usual fare with a pair of thrilling vampire urban fantasies, starting with Nightshade in February 2011.


RW:  Where is the best place for our readers to find out more information about Michelle Rowen on the internet?

MR:  Definitely my website at www.michellerowen.com! Also, I’m a tweetaholic at twitter.com/michellerowen.


RW:  Thanks again for taking time out of your schedule to do this interview!

MR:  Thank you! And Happy Valentine’s Day!!



 

Return to the Main Page