Dreamspinner Press
Cover Art: Kanaxa
Buy Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Michaela Grey here today talking about research, writing, and her latest novel, Broken Rules. Welcome, Michaela.
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with Michaela Grey
(Brief suicide mention below)
Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write? Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures? To an extent, yes, it plays a role. For instance, I’m unlikely to give a character a career that bores me, because then I’ve just forced myself into the unenviable position of having to do a ton of research in a deadly dull topic. That’s why I choose careers I’m interested in. Then I genuinely enjoy the research (of which there is a ton, you never really leave school behind) and in the end, my stories are better.
Has your choice of childhood or teenage reading genres carried into your own choices for writing? No, funnily enough—I read primarily “swords and horses” fantasy growing up, with a smattering of sci-fi, and now I 100% write contemporary romance.
Have you ever had to put an ‘in progress’ story aside because of the emotional ties with it? You were hurting with the characters or didn’t know how to proceed? Oh yes. It was actually the most difficult topic, for me—suicide. The character starts his book suicidal and gets worse throughout. It was very difficult to write because I ended up in a similar place and couldn’t see a way out either. So I put it away for over a year and focused on myself. I recently finished that book, and while it will never be an easy read for me, it’s still one of my proudest accomplishments. That, and the fact that I’m still here.
Do you like HFN or HEA? And why? I love HFN and HEA equally. Mostly because I’m such a Pollyanna that I can make any HFN into an HEA in my head. If they’re happy now, they’ll be happy forever, the end.
Do you read romances, as a teenager and as an adult? As a teenager, no. As an adult, absolutely. I’ve read upwards of 100 books so far this year, I think? I’m a voracious reader. My record is 3.65 novels in a 24 hour period.
Who do you think is your major influence as a writer? Now and growing up? There are a lot of writers I look up to, who have an incredible way with words and a turn of phrase that makes my heart sing. People like Roan Parrish, Avon Gale, Piper Vaughn, Maggie Stiefvater, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, etc. I don’t think I could list just one.
How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going? I love it! I read 100% digitally – switching between my phone, work computer, home computer, and Kindle – and think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s right there when I need it, I can store a bajillion books in this small device, I can connect with other readers, leave reviews, find similar products—what’s not to love?
How do you choose your covers? (curious on my part) So far, all my covers have been done by Dreamspinner’s art team. They ask what my vision is for the cover, I tell them, and they strive to bring it to life. I have to say, my latest cover is absolutely my favorite. My artist, Kanaxa, somehow recreated almost exactly what was in my head. It’s a little eerie, looking at it.
Do you have a favorite among your own stories? And why? I think this current book, Broken Rules, will always have a top spot in my heart, mostly because Fox is my favorite character. But each book I write moves into the favorite position at least for awhile.
If you write contemporary romance, is there such a thing as making a main character too “real”? Do you think you can bring too many faults into a character that eventually it becomes too flawed to become a love interest? Depends on the faults. Someone who’s rude to hide their feelings but learns it’s okay to have emotions by the end of the book? Sure. Someone who thinks genocide is peachy keen? Not so much. I love writing unlikeable heroes. I love taking this rude, snarky, horrible person and then peeling back the layers and showing my readers—look, this is why he is the way he is. Now let’s watch him learn to become a better person. You’ll see that trope a lot in my books, it’s one of my favorites.
What traits do you find the most interesting in someone? Do you write them into your characters? Intelligence, a sense of humor, kindness. If a person isn’t smart, funny, and genuinely good at the core, I’m just not interested.
With so much going on in the world today, do you write to explain? To get away? To move past? To widen our knowledge? Why do you write? I write for a lot of reasons. To get away, yes. So much is happening that it can be overwhelming and make me despair, so my writing helps give me the strength to keep going. I also write to face my own experiences, to work through them and learn to deal with them. And I write to show the world that there is no one way to tell a story about people falling in love. It can happen to anyone. I write to make people happy and to help them see themselves reflected back from the page.
What’s next for you as a writer? Well, I just finished the fourth in the Mended Hearts series, of which Broken Rules is #2. Alas, no more new works for me for awhile, because now I have #3, Broken Trust, to edit and send out, as well as one my agent wants me to work on so she can get it to some bigger houses. And as soon as I’m done with those two, it’s time to tackle a trilogy I set aside and rewrite all three books. You can find me on Twitter @greymichaela where I’ll be complaining about how “edit” is a four-letter word for awhile. 😉 Thanks for having me!
Blurb:
Sanyam Desai is a Dom, a master of his craft. He knows exactly how to make a person beg, and he does it for a living, but he has no idea how to be in love.
Sterling Reynard is in desperate need of manners and someone who cares enough to take him in hand, but he knows he’ll never be loved.
When Sterling’s world crumbles around him, he turns to the one person who’s never asked for anything from him but his trust. But their relationship is built on quicksand, and one careless word will bring the whole thing down.
About the Author
Michaela Grey lives and writes in the Texas hill country. Her hobbies include knitting, analyzing her favorite TV shows, and experiencing intense feelings over fictional characters. Michaela Grey told stories to put herself to sleep since she was old enough to hold a conversation in her head. When she learned to write, she began putting those stories down on paper. She and her family reside in the Texas hill country with their cats, and she is perpetually on the hunt for peaceful writing time, which her children make difficult to find. When she’s not writing, she’s watching hockey videos or avoiding responsibilities on Twitter, where she shamelessly ogles pretty people and tries to keep her cat off the keyboard.
Social media:
Twitter: @GreyMichaela
Tumblr: http://greymichaela.tumblr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GreyMichaela
Email: greymichaela@gmail.com
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